Workers' comp · IA
Iowa workers' comp calculator
Iowa replaces most of a worker’s take-home pay and treats the shoulder as a scheduled member worth 400 weeks.
Rules read on official Iowa pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 80%
- Weekly spendable earnings (gross minus income taxes and FICA)
- Weekly maximum
- $2,431
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $425
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 3 days
- paid back past 14 days
Iowa pays temporary total disability, and healing period benefits when the injury leaves a permanent impairment, at 80% of the employee's weekly spendable earnings: gross weekly earnings less the payroll taxes that would apply with the worker's actual exemptions. For injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the Workers' Compensation Division of DIAL caps that benefit at $2,431 a week and permanent partial disability at $2,237, based on a state average weekly wage of $1,215.65. The minimum is the lower of $425, which is 35% of that wage, and the worker's own spendable earnings. TTD starts on the fourth day off; if the worker misses more than 14 days, the first 3 are paid too. Benefits continue until the worker returns to work or can do similar work. An operator with $1,000 of spendable weekly pay receives $800 a week. Since July 1, 2017 a shoulder injury is scheduled at 400 weeks.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Iowa
$880
$3,813 a month · 80% of the wage, tax-free
| 80% of $1,100 | $880 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $2,431 / $425 |
| 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 Workers' Compensation Division, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Four-fifths of take-home pay
Iowa is one of the states that start from net pay, and the share it replaces is 80%. The Division publishes a ratebook spreadsheet each July that gives the weekly rate by gross earnings, marital status and number of exemptions, so the adjuster does not compute taxes by hand. Enter spendable earnings in the calculator. A Cedar Rapids cereal-plant operator with $1,000 of spendable pay receives $800. A Des Moines actuary with $3,300 of spendable pay computes to $2,640 and is held to $2,431; the ceiling applies from about $3,039 of spendable pay.
The Division’s rate page shows how fast the ceiling moves: $2,350 for injuries in 2025-2026, $2,431 from July 1, 2026.
A floor that never exceeds the paycheck
For TTD and healing period, the minimum is the lower of $425 and the injured employee's spendable earnings. A seasonal grain-elevator hand with $380 of spendable weekly pay therefore receives $380, the whole spendable wage, not the floor, and the calculator above follows the same rule. For permanent partial, permanent total and death benefits the $425 minimum applies as such.
Day four, and day fifteen
TTD begins on the fourth day the worker is off because of the injury. If the absence passes 14 days, the first 3 days are paid as well. The operator back after 10 days receives $800; out 18 days, $2,057. Temporary partial disability, for a worker placed in a lower-paying job, carries the same three-day wait.
The 400-week shoulder
PPD starts at maximum medical recovery. Scheduled members are paid at the PPD rate for the impairment percentage of the statutory weeks (for injuries on or after July 1, 2017: thumb 60, hand 190, arm 250, foot 150, leg 220, eye 140, shoulder 400 weeks); body-as-a-whole injuries depend on loss of earning capacity (industrial disability). Since July 1, 2017 the shoulder is a scheduled member worth 400 weeks. A 10% shoulder impairment is therefore paid for 40 weeks; at the operator's rate of $800 that is about $32,000. In most circumstances the employer chooses the medical care; the worker may choose only in an emergency when the employer cannot be reached.
The Iowa rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Iowa |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 80% of weekly spendable earnings (gross minus income taxes and fica) |
| Weekly maximum | $2,431 |
| Weekly minimum | $425 |
| Applies to | injuries July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 (SAWW $1,215.65) |
| Waiting period | 3 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. 80% of the employee's weekly spendable earnings (gross weekly earnings less payroll taxes based on exemptions for actual dependency), not exceeding the maximum weekly rate at the time of injury (Iowa Code § 85.37, § 85.61). source
Waiting period. TTD begins on the fourth day the injured worker is off work; if the worker misses more than 14 days, the first three days are also paid (Iowa Code § 85.32). source
Duration. TTD continues until the worker returns to work or has recovered enough medically to return to similar work; when the injury causes permanent impairment, healing period benefits are paid instead (Iowa Code §§ 85.33, 85.34(1)). source
Permanent disability. PPD starts at maximum medical recovery. Scheduled members are paid at the PPD rate for the impairment percentage of the statutory weeks (for injuries on or after July 1, 2017: thumb 60, hand 190, arm 250, foot 150, leg 220, eye 140, shoulder 400 weeks); body-as-a-whole injuries depend on loss of earning capacity (industrial disability). The 2026-2027 PPD maximum is $2,237.00 per week (Iowa Code § 85.34(2)). source
Worth knowing in Iowa
- Iowa's weekly benefit is 80% of spendable (after-tax) earnings; the TTD maximum rose from $2,350.00 (2025-2026) to $2,431.00 for injuries from July 1, 2026. source
- Iowa has separate maximums by benefit type: $2,431.00 for TTD, healing period, PTD and death, and $2,237.00 for PPD (injuries July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027). source
- Since July 1, 2017 the shoulder is a scheduled member worth 400 weeks. source
- In most circumstances the employer chooses the medical care; the worker may choose only in an emergency when the employer cannot be reached. source
- DIAL publishes a ratebook spreadsheet each year giving the weekly rate by gross earnings, marital status and exemptions for injuries from July 1 to June 30. source