The program
What Paid Leave Oregon is
Paid Leave Oregon is the state\u2019s family and medical leave insurance program. It gives eligible workers paid time off for their own serious medical condition, caring for a family member, and bonding with a new child \u2014 including time off for pregnancy-related needs. The program is funded by a payroll deduction that appears on nearly every Oregon paycheck.
For most workers the cost is automatic and unavoidable: 0.6% of every paycheck, withheld the way Social Security is. The payoff is that when you need leave \u2014 a new baby, an illness, a sick parent \u2014 Oregon replaces a share of your wages while you\u2019re away, funded by everyone who pays in.
The cost
What it costs on your paycheck
The total Paid Leave Oregon contribution is 1% of wages. The employee share is 60% of that \u2014 0.6% \u2014 and employers with 25 or more staff pay the remaining 40% (0.4%). Your paycheck shows only the employee share:
| Annual wages | Employee deduction (0.6%) | Per biweekly check |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $300 | $11.54 |
| $75,000 | $450 | $17.31 |
| $100,000 | $600 | $23.08 |
| $184,500 (cap) | $1,107 | $42.58 |
It\u2019s one of the smallest line items on a stub \u2014 but it\u2019s Oregon-specific, and generic calculators almost always forget it.
The cap
The $184,500 wage cap
Like Social Security, Paid Leave Oregon stops collecting at a wage ceiling: $184,500 for 2026, matching the Social Security wage base. Above that amount, the 0.6% stops. That means at very high incomes the deduction maxes out at about $1,107 a year \u2014 and marginal dollars above the cap carry no Paid Leave cost at all.
The benefit
What the program pays
Eligible workers can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year (up to 14 for a serious health condition with complications of pregnancy or childbirth), receiving up to 100% of their average weekly wage for lower-income workers, with the weekly benefit capped. The exact replacement rate and cap are set annually. Because the program is insurance, most people pay in for years and use little \u2014 but when they do use it, the benefit is typically far larger than the total they ever contributed.
The opt-in
The self-employment opt-in
W-2 workers have no choice \u2014 the deduction is automatic. The self-employed can opt in and pay the contribution themselves (typically the full applicable rate on their self-employment income), which makes them eligible for the same benefits. It\u2019s optional rather than automatic, so sole proprietors and independent contractors who want coverage need to actively enroll. This calculator\u2019s self-employment tax calculator shows the income-tax picture; add the Paid Leave contribution separately if you opt in.
The employer share
Employer side
Employers with 25 or more employees pay the 40% share (0.4% of payroll up to the cap) in addition to the employee deduction. Employers with fewer than 25 employees are exempt from the employer contribution but still collect and remit the employee share. For your take-home pay, the only number that matters is the 0.6% on your stub \u2014 the employer side never comes out of your check.
Rates and dates
Rates and dates for 2026
For 2026: total contribution 1%, employee share 0.6%, wage cap $184,500. Contributions are collected year-round from the first paycheck, and the deduction restarts from zero each January. Rates are set annually and can be adjusted by Paid Leave Oregon based on the fund\u2019s balance, so always confirm the current rate \u2014 the calculator above uses the 2026 numbers and updates each year.