Workers' comp · AK
Alaska workers' comp calculator
Alaska starts from take-home pay, not gross pay, and pays permanent impairment as a single lump sum.
Rules read on official Alaska pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 80%
- Weekly spendable earnings (gross minus income taxes and FICA)
- Weekly maximum
- $1,627
- from January 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $358
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 3 days
- paid back past 28 days
Alaska pays temporary total disability at 80% of the injured worker's spendable weekly wage, which AS 23.30.220 defines as gross weekly earnings minus payroll tax deductions. For calendar year 2026 the Alaska Workers' Compensation Division, Department of Labor and Workforce Development set the weekly maximum at $1,627, 120% of the Alaska average weekly wage, and the minimum at $358, 22% of that maximum (Bulletin 25-06, effective January 1, 2026). A worker whose spendable wage is below the minimum receives the spendable wage itself. The first 3 days are unpaid unless the disability lasts more than 28 days (AS 23.30.150). A camp cook with $1,150 of spendable weekly pay who is off 30 days receives $920 a week, $3,943 for the period. TTD ends at medical stability, with no week cap, and any permanent partial impairment is then paid as one lump sum of $273,000 times the whole-person rating.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Alaska
$880
$3,813 a month · 80% of the wage, tax-free
| 80% of $1,100 | $880 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,627 / $358 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,771 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the Alaska Workers' Compensation Division, Department of Labor and Workforce Development rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Starting from the paycheck after taxes
Alaska is one of a handful of states where the benefit is not a share of gross wages. The adjuster takes gross weekly earnings, computed under one of the methods in AS 23.30.220 (weekly, monthly × 12 ÷ 52, or one fiftieth of the better of the two prior calendar years for hourly and piece workers), then subtracts federal income tax and payroll taxes to reach the spendable weekly wage. The 80% rate applies to that net figure. In practice, a worker with a family and a moderate income often receives a check close to normal take-home pay, which is the design. The calculator on this page therefore asks for spendable earnings, not gross pay.
A Prudhoe Bay camp cook with $1,150 of spendable weekly pay receives $920. A deckhand whose spendable earnings reach $2,600 computes to $2,080 and is held to the $1,627 ceiling, which applies once spendable pay passes about $2,034. A seasonal clerk with $400 of spendable pay is below the $358 floor and is paid $358, the full spendable wage, as § 23.30.175(a) requires.
Four weeks before day one counts
The waiting rule in AS 23.30.150 is written with a long tail: nothing for the first 3 days unless the disability lasts more than 28 days. Back after 20 days, the cook is paid for 17 days, $2,234; out 30 days, every day is paid, $3,943. The first check is due on the fourteenth day after the employer knows of the injury, and later checks every fourteen days unless the Board orders otherwise (§ 23.30.155).
Medical stability ends TTD, then a lump sum
There is no week limit on TTD; it stops at the date of medical stability (§ 23.30.185). Permanent partial impairment is not a weekly benefit in Alaska. It is a single payment of $273,000 multiplied by the whole-person impairment percentage, paid without any discount for early payment and rated under the AMA Guides, which the Division’s bulletins updated to the Sixth Edition, 2025, in Bulletin 26-01. An 8% rating is worth $21,840. Ratings are not rounded up to the next five percent.
Leaving the state after an injury
Beneficiaries who no longer reside in Alaska have their compensation adjusted by a cost-of-living ratio list (C2ER) effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028 (AS 23.30.175(c), 8 AAC 45.138). A worker who retires to Arizona or Washington while drawing benefits may therefore see the weekly amount move with the cost-of-living ratio of the new home.
The Alaska rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Alaska |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 80% of weekly spendable earnings (gross minus income taxes and fica) |
| Weekly maximum | $1,627 |
| Weekly minimum | $358 |
| Applies to | calendar year January 1 - December 31, 2026 (Alaska Average Weekly Wage $1,356; max = 120% of AAWW) |
| Waiting period | 3 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 28 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. 80 percent of the employee's spendable weekly wages (AS 23.30.185); spendable weekly wage = gross weekly earnings minus payroll tax deductions (AS 23.30.220(a)). source
Waiting period. Compensation is not allowed for the first three days of disability (except medical benefits); if the disability lasts more than 28 days, compensation is paid from the date of disability (AS 23.30.150). The first installment is due on the 14th day after the employer has knowledge of the injury (AS 23.30.155(b)). source
Duration. TTD is paid during the continuance of the disability but may not be paid for any period after the date of medical stability; no fixed week cap (AS 23.30.185). source
Permanent disability. Permanent partial impairment is paid as $273,000 multiplied by the whole-person impairment percentage under the AMA Guides, in a single lump sum without present-value discount (AS 23.30.190(a)-(b)). source
Worth knowing in Alaska
- Alaska is one of the few states that compute benefits on spendable (after-tax) weekly wages: gross weekly earnings minus payroll tax deductions (AS 23.30.220). source
- The 2026 maximum is 120% of the Alaska Average Weekly Wage of $1,356 ($1,627) and the minimum is 22% of the maximum ($358); the reemployment-benefits maximum under AS 23.30.041(k) is 105% of AAWW ($1,424). source
- Beneficiaries who no longer reside in Alaska have their compensation adjusted by a cost-of-living ratio list (C2ER) effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028 (AS 23.30.175(c), 8 AAC 45.138). source
- Permanent partial impairment is a lump sum of $273,000 times the whole-person rating, and ratings may not be rounded up to the next five percent (AS 23.30.190). source
- Bulletin 26-01 adopts the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Sixth Edition, 2025 for impairment ratings. source