Parental Leave Pay Planner
Plan your income across paid, benefit & unpaid leave — and your return-to-work date.
Total gross income over leave
Parental Leave Pay Planner — guide & how to use
What it does
New parents almost never get one steady paycheck across leave. Most leave is a blend of three pay tiers: days your employer pays at 100%, days covered by short-term disability or a state paid-family-leave benefit at a fraction of your wage, and unpaid job-protected days. This planner converts your salary to a daily rate, applies each tier's rate to its days, and shows your total gross income, an estimated take-home figure, the percentage of your normal pay you'll receive, your income gap versus working, and your computed return-to-work date with a week-by-week timeline. Everything is calculated privately in your browser — free.
Worked example
$75,000 salary, 5 work-days/week, 10 fully paid days, 30 partial-benefit days at 67% with a $1,228.53/week cap, 20 unpaid days, 22% tax:
- Daily rate: 75,000 ÷ (52 × 5) = $288.46/day; weekly gross 75,000 ÷ 52 = $1,442.31/week.
- Tier 1 — fully paid: 10 × $288.46 = $2,884.62.
- Tier 2 — benefit: $1,442.31 × 67% = $966.35/week (below the $1,228.53 cap, so no cap applied) → $966.35 ÷ 5 = $193.27/day → 30 × $193.27 = $5,798.08.
- Tier 3 — unpaid: 20 × $0 = $0.
- Total gross: $2,884.62 + $5,798.08 = $8,682.70 over 60 work-days = 12.0 weeks.
- Normal-pay baseline (if you'd worked): 60 × $288.46 = $17,307.69, so the income gap is $8,624.99 and the replacement is about 50% of normal pay.
- Estimated take-home: $8,682.70 × (1 − 0.22) = $6,772.51.
How to use it
- Enter your annual gross salary and pick a pay basis — 5 work-days for employer pay/FMLA counting, 7 calendar days for state benefit weeks.
- Set your leave start date so the planner can place tiers on a calendar and compute your return date.
- Split your leave into the three tiers — fully paid, partial-benefit, and unpaid. Tiers must not overlap; total days = the sum of the three.
- Enter your plan's benefit replacement rate and weekly cap (0 disables the cap), plus a rough tax rate for the take-home estimate.
- Optionally enter a fixed return-to-work date; the tool reconciles it against your day counts and flags a mismatch instead of overwriting either number.
FMLA, STD, and state PFL — what actually pays you
FMLA pays nothing. It provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave (eligibility: 12 months employed, 1,250 hours worked, employer with 50+ employees within 75 miles). Paid income comes only from your employer's paid-parental/PTO policy, short-term disability (commonly 50–70% for ~6 weeks vaginal / ~8 weeks cesarean), or a state paid-family-leave program. Most US states have no state PFL, so for many families the only paid income is voluntary employer or STD coverage. Where a state program exists, it caps the weekly benefit — 2026 examples: NY PFL 67% capped at $1,228.53/week; CA PFL a tiered 70–90% capped at $1,765/week.
Accuracy & important notes
- This is a budgeting estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice and not an official benefit determination. Confirm exact figures with your HR/benefits administrator and your state agency.
- The tool uses a single flat benefit rate. Real STD and state PFL can change the rate over time, have waiting/elimination periods (often ~7 unpaid days before STD starts), and tier rates by income (notably California). These are not modeled.
- Gross vs net: the take-home figure uses one flat withholding rate. Benefits are frequently taxable for income tax but generally exempt from Social Security/Medicare (FICA), so actual net will differ.
- Stacking/coordination varies: some states and employers offset (reduce) benefits by other pay; the tool assumes you've already split days into non-overlapping tiers and does not model offset rules.
- Calendar-vs-workday conversion is an approximation — it ignores company holidays, your actual pay-period calendar, and partial first/last weeks. Large day counts compute, but FMLA job protection is typically capped at 12 weeks and state programs have their own week limits.
Disclaimer: For educational and budgeting purposes only. Not legal, tax, or financial advice. Sources: U.S. DOL FMLA, NY State Paid Family Leave (2026), California EDD Paid Family Leave (2026).
How to embed this tool on your website
<iframe src="https://snaptoolsuite.com/parental-leave-pay-planner/?embed=1"
style="width:100%;max-width:560px;height:1480px;border:0;"
title="Parental Leave Pay Planner" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p>Free <a href="https://snaptoolsuite.com/parental-leave-pay-planner/">Parental Leave Pay Planner</a> by Snap Tool Suite</p>See it live: view a real embed example →
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate income during parental leave?
Split your leave into three tiers — fully paid, partial-benefit, and unpaid — convert your salary to a daily rate, apply each tier's rate to its days, and add them up. This planner does that and shows the gross total, an estimated take-home, and your replacement percentage.
Does FMLA pay you during parental leave?
No. FMLA is up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. Paid income comes only from your employer's policy, short-term disability, or a state paid-family-leave program.
What is the 2026 weekly benefit cap?
It varies by state. For 2026, NY PFL is 67% capped at $1,228.53/week and CA PFL is a tiered 70–90% capped at $1,765/week. Most states have no program. Enter your own plan's rate and cap.
Why is my benefit less than the stated percentage of my salary?
The weekly cap. If your stated percentage of weekly wage exceeds the cap, you only get the cap — higher earners effectively receive a smaller percentage. The planner flags this and shows how much per week you lose to the cap.
Is the income estimate gross or take-home?
The headline is gross. A separate estimate applies the flat tax rate you enter to approximate take-home. Because benefits are often taxable for income tax but FICA-exempt, that net figure is rough.
Is this financial or legal advice?
No — it's a free budgeting estimate, not advice and not an official benefit determination. Confirm exact numbers with your HR/benefits team and your state agency.
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