Workers' comp · NM
New Mexico workers' comp calculator
New Mexico counts temporary and permanent benefits against one shared limit of weeks for a body injury.
Rules read on official New Mexico pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,146.66
- from January 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $36
- floor
- Waiting period
- 7 days
- paid back past 28 days
The New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration (WCA) describes temporary total disability as the full compensation rate: 66.67% of the worker's average weekly wage, based on the 26 weeks before the accident. For injuries in 2026, the WCA rate table sets the weekly maximum at $1,146.66, which is 100% of the state average weekly wage, and the minimum at $36. Earnings above about $1,720 a week are capped. Benefits begin on the eighth day of non-work status; the first 7 days are paid only if the worker is off more than 4 weeks. A housekeeper earning $560 who misses thirty days receives $1,600. TTD ends at maximum medical improvement or when the worker is offered or takes a job at the pre-injury wage. For a whole-body injury, temporary and permanent partial benefits together are limited to 500 weeks when the permanent rating is below 80%, and to 700 weeks at 80% or more. Permanent ratings add points for age, education, skills and physical capacity.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in New Mexico
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,146.66 / $36 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration (WCA) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
One clock for temporary and permanent benefits
In many states, the weeks of temporary disability and the weeks of a permanent award run on separate meters. New Mexico puts them on one. If the total permanent partial rating is under 80%, the WCA says the maximum duration of indemnity for a whole-body injury is 500 weeks, TTD included; at 80% or more, it is 700 weeks. A long TTD period therefore shortens what remains for the permanent award. The WCA disability rates table prints the dollar value of both limits at the top rate. A pumper in the Permian Basin earning $1,950 a week computes to $1,300 and is paid $1,146.66, $9,173 for eight weeks off.
Four weeks to recover the first week
New Mexico's threshold for repaying the waiting period is long. The first 7 days of non-work status, which do not have to be consecutive, are paid only when the worker is off more than 4 weeks. A housekeeper earning $560 who is back after twenty-five days receives $960; at thirty days she receives $1,600, the waiting days included. Her weekly rate is $373.
Modifiers on a whole-body rating
When a worker reaches maximum medical improvement and returns at the old wage, permanent partial disability is simply the weekly rate times the impairment rating. When the worker does not return at that wage, New Mexico adds modifier points for age, education and the specific vocational preparation (SVP) of the job in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, then multiplies them by a residual physical capacity score. Using the WCA's own pattern, a 12% impairment with six modifier points and a capacity score of three becomes a 30% rating; for the housekeeper that would be $112 a week instead of $45. Scheduled injuries to specific members follow a separate statutory schedule.
Employers with three or more employees must carry workers' compensation insurance; owning executives of corporations and LLCs count toward the three (WCA FAQs, NMSA 1978, § 52-1-7). Whoever did not pick the first doctor (worker or employer) has an automatic right to change doctors after 60 days of treatment (WCA FAQs). For what a settlement adds, see how much workers’ comp pays, and the New Mexico child support page for benefits counted as income.
The New Mexico rules this calculator applies
| Rule | New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,146.66 |
| Weekly minimum | $36 |
| Applies to | injuries in calendar year 2026 |
| Waiting period | 7 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 28 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | 500 weeks |
Rate. Two-thirds of the worker's average weekly wage, based on wages for the 26 weeks before the accident (WCA, Indemnity Benefits); maximum is 100% of the state average weekly wage (WCA disability rates table; NMSA 1978, § 52-1-41). source
Waiting period. TTD starts on the 8th day of non-work status (days need not be consecutive); the first 7 days are paid only if the worker is off work more than 4 weeks (WCA FAQs; NMSA 1978, § 52-1-40). source
Duration. TTD stops at maximum medical improvement or when the worker is offered or accepts work at the pre-injury wage (WCA FAQs). Combined TTD and PPD for a whole-body injury are limited to 500 weeks when the PPD rating is under 80%, and 700 weeks at 80% or more (WCA, Indemnity Benefits). source
Permanent disability. Whole-body PPD is the compensation rate times the impairment rating if the worker returns at the pre-injury wage; otherwise modifiers for age, education, skill level (SVP) and residual physical capacity are added to the impairment rating (WCA, Indemnity Benefits; NMSA 1978, § 52-1-26). Scheduled injuries to specific body parts are paid by statutory schedule (§ 52-1-43). source
Worth knowing in New Mexico
- The 2026 maximum equals 100% of the state average weekly wage of $1,146.66; the maximum total for 500 weeks is $573,275 and for 700 weeks $802,585 (WCA disability rates table dated July 22, 2025). source
- Employers with three or more employees must carry workers' compensation insurance; owning executives of corporations and LLCs count toward the three (WCA FAQs, NMSA 1978, § 52-1-7). source
- Whoever did not pick the first doctor (worker or employer) has an automatic right to change doctors after 60 days of treatment (WCA FAQs). source
- The employer must report the accident to its insurer within 72 hours after the worker reports it (WCA FAQs). source
- Workers' attorney fees are charged only if the attorney obtains a benefit (NMSA 1978, § 52-1-54, WCA FAQs); the WCA reports that 75% of disputes resolve at mediation. source