Benefits and Premium Amounts – Disability Insurance Elective Coverage

For Small Business Owners, Self-Employed and Independent Contractors

If you are covered by Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC), you may be eligible for Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits to protect against a loss of income.

Benefits

DI provides up to 39 weeks of benefits to eligible DIEC participants due to injury, pregnancy, or illness (whether or not it is work related). However, if your illness or injury is work related and you are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, your workers’ compensation benefits will be used before your DI and PFL benefits.

PFL provides up to 8 weeks of benefits in a 12-month period to:

• Care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner.
• Bond with a new child entering the family through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Participate in a qualifying event because of an eligible family member’s (spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, or child) military deployment to a foreign country.

Benefit Amounts

The weekly benefit amounts are the same for DI and PFL claims. For calendar year 2024, the DIEC minimum weekly benefit amount is $50 and the maximum weekly benefit amount is $1,620.

Benefits are based on net profits (income credits) reported to the IRS on your tax forms up to four years prior, depending on the timing of your claim. It is not based on your actual earnings during the base period quarters. Please contact the DIEC Unit if you have questions.

To view the range of weekly benefit amounts, review Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) Weekly Benefit Amounts in Dollar Increments (DE 2589) (PDF).

If you think you are eligible and want to participate in DIEC, learn How to Apply.

Premiums

For calendar year 2024, DIEC premiums are based on the net profit you reported on your 2022 IRS Form 1040, Schedule SE, or Schedule C. Each quarter, 25 percent of this amount is reported as wage credits.

The DIEC premium rate for 2024 is 9.78 percent of your net profit. The premium includes contributions for DI and PFL benefits.

Premiums by Net Profit

If the net profit shown on your 2022 IRS Form 1040, Schedule SE, line 3 or Schedule C, line 31 is:

• $4,600 or less, you will pay an annual premium of $449.88 during 2024. Your premium will be paid in four equal quarterly installments.
• $4,601 or more, multiply your net profit by 9.78 percent to determine your 2023 annual premium. Your premium will be paid in four equal quarterly installments

For more information, review Disability Insurance Elective Coverage Rate Notice and Instructions for Computing Annual Premiums (DE 3DI-I) (PDF).

Contact DIEC Unit

To speak with a representative, call:

• DIEC Unit at 1-916-654-6288.
• EDD Taxpayer Assistance Center at 1-888-745-3886.
• TTY users dial the California Relay Service at 711.

Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Offices are closed weekends and holidays.

Send mail to:

Employment Development Department
DIEC Unit, MIC 5
PO Box 826880
Sacramento, CA 94280-0001

For questions about filing a DI or PFL claim, contact State Disability Insurance by telephone, in person, or mail.