Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave: an employer’s guide

Key takeaways

• Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is a state program run by the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), and a business with at least one Massachusetts employee has to register for it through MassTaxConnect.
• In 2026, an employer with 25 or more covered individuals sends DFML 0.88% of eligible wages, and an employer with fewer than 25 sends 0.46%, according to DFML.
• Employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals owe no employer share, but they still have to withhold and send the workers’ share every quarter.
• On January 1, 2027, Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026 moves the employer share from medical leave to family leave. The 0.46% rate for small employers stays the same.
• The maximum weekly PFML benefit is $1,230.39 in 2026 and $1,284.61 in 2027, according to DFML.
• Employers have to hang the DFML poster, give each new hire a written PFML notice within 30 days, and answer a leave application within 10 business days.

If you run a small business in Boston or anywhere else in Massachusetts and you have people on payroll, Massachusetts paid family leave applies to you. Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is a state insurance program that pays workers part of their wages while they are out for their own serious health condition, a family member’s care or a new child. The state sets every rule; Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline have no separate city or town version.

The sections below cover who has to take part, the 2026 contribution rates, the 2027 change announced by the Department of Family and Medical Leave, the 25-person threshold, filing through MassTaxConnect, notices, leave duties and private plan exemptions.

What is Massachusetts paid family and medical leave?

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave is a state program, created by Chapter 175M of the Massachusetts General Laws, that pays weekly benefits to workers on family or medical leave. The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), part of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, runs it.

Under M.G.L. c. 175M, section 2, a covered worker can take the following leave in a benefit year:

• Up to 20 weeks of medical leave for the worker’s own serious health condition.
• Up to 12 weeks of family leave to care for a family member or bond with a child.
• Up to 26 weeks of family leave to care for a covered service member.
• No more than 26 weeks of family and medical leave combined.

DFML pays the benefit, not you. The DFML overview of PFML benefits lists the maximum weekly benefit as $1,230.39 for 2026 and $1,284.61 for 2027.

Which employers have to take part in Massachusetts paid family leave?

Massachusetts paid family leave covers nearly every private employer in the state: according to the Department of Revenue (DOR) and DFML, a business with at least one Massachusetts employee is required to register through MassTaxConnect. Size decides only whether you pay an employer share on top of what you withhold.

Some employers are outside the law. Cities and towns, and their employees, are excluded unless the municipality opts in, and certain kinds of employment listed in section 6 of M.G.L. c. 151A (the unemployment insurance statute) are excluded too. A self-employed person is not required to join but can opt in through MassTaxConnect.

How much are PFML contributions in 2026?

PFML contributions in 2026 are 0.88% of eligible wages for an employer with 25 or more covered individuals and 0.46% for an employer with fewer than 25, according to the DFML contribution rates page. DFML’s 2026 and 2027 figures compare as follows.

Piece of the contribution	2026	2027
Family leave, most you can withhold from a worker	0.18% of eligible wages	0.28% of eligible wages
Medical leave, most you can withhold from a worker	0.28% of eligible wages	0.18% of eligible wages
Employer share, 25 or more covered individuals	0.42%, toward medical leave	0.42%, toward family leave
Rate sent to DFML, fewer than 25 covered individuals	0.46%	0.46%

For a worker earning $1,000 in a week in 2026, the most a 25-person employer can withhold is $4.60, and the employer adds $4.20. An employer with 10 covered individuals sends only the $4.60. You may pay some or all of the worker’s share yourself.

Eligible wages follow the unemployment insurance definition, so you use the same wage base you report to the Department of Unemployment Assistance. Contributions on any one person are capped at the Social Security taxable maximum, a federal figure that the Social Security Administration resets each year.

What changes for PFML contributions in 2027?

PFML contributions in 2027 keep the same worker ceiling of 0.46% but move the employer share from medical leave to family leave. DFML says Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026 makes that shift on January 1, 2027, and that the change is meant to soften the effect of recent IRS guidance on how PFML benefits are taxed.

Starting in 2027, an employer with 25 or more covered individuals can withhold up to 40% of the family leave contribution (0.28% of eligible wages) and pays the remaining 60% (0.42%). The whole medical leave contribution, 0.18%, can be withheld from the worker. Those pieces add up to 0.88%, the same total as 2026. Employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals keep sending 0.46% and pay no employer share.

How do you count your workforce for the 25-person threshold?

Your workforce count for the 25-person threshold is the number of covered individuals you had in the previous calendar year. A new business does that math itself for its first year; after that, according to DFML’s introduction for employers, the Department of Revenue determines the count.

Every Massachusetts W-2 employee is a covered individual, whether full time, part time or seasonal. A 1099-MISC worker is added only if such workers are more than 50% of your total workforce and the person performs services as an individual, lives in Massachusetts and works in Massachusetts. Payments reported on Form 1099-NEC are exempt, according to DOR.

One limit applies here. DFML notes that since 2019 a 1099-MISC worker is covered only if the person does not qualify as an independent contractor under Massachusetts law, so a shop that hires a few true contractors usually does not add them to the count.

How do you register, file and pay PFML contributions?

PFML registration, filing and payment all run through MassTaxConnect, the Department of Revenue’s online portal. The DOR page on PFML registration and contributions describes the steps in this order:

1. Register the business for PFML in MassTaxConnect before your first filing.
2. Withhold the worker share from each paycheck.
3. File a quarterly return in MassTaxConnect listing your covered individuals and their wages.
4. Pay the amount MassTaxConnect calculates, which is the amount due with the return.

Returns are due on or before the last day of the month after each calendar quarter closes, according to DOR’s tax due dates page.

What notices and posters does PFML require?

PFML requires a workplace poster and a written notice to each worker. DFML’s page on informing your workforce sets out these duties:

• Display the DFML poster where employees can read it, in English and in each language that is the primary language of 5 or more of your employees, if DFML offers a translation.
• Give each new hire the written notice within 30 days of the start date, on paper or electronically, and collect a signed acknowledgment or a signed statement declining it.
• Send current workers the new contribution rates at least 30 days before a rate change. No new signature is needed.

The same DFML page lists a fine of $50 per employee for a first violation of the notice rules and $300 per employee for later ones.

What does an employer have to do when an employee takes leave?

An employer whose employee applies for PFML has 10 business days to review the application and send DFML any added information. To do that, set up a PFML employer account with DFML and register a verified leave administrator.

While the person is out, M.G.L. c. 175M, section 2 requires you to keep up employment-related health insurance on the same terms as if the employee were working. When leave ends, you restore the employee to the same or an equal position with the same status, pay, benefits and seniority.

The statute has an exception: you do not have to restore someone if employees of equal status and length of service in the same or similar jobs were laid off for economic or operating reasons during the leave. Retaliation is barred, and DFML’s page on employee protections says any negative change in the job during leave or in the 6 months after is presumed to be retaliation.

Can a private plan replace the state PFML program?

A private plan can replace the state PFML program if DFML approves an exemption. The plan, insured or self-insured, has to pay benefits at least as good as the state’s, and an approved employer stops sending contributions for the leave type the plan covers. Exemptions are renewed every year.

As of July 1, 2026, exemption requests and renewals go through the PFML Employer Portal on DFML’s site and can no longer be filed in MassTaxConnect, according to DOR. An exempt employer still has to hang the poster, give the notices and follow the job protection and retaliation rules.

What should you recheck before you act?

Figures in this guide were checked against official pages on November 13, 2026, and several reset every year:

• The 2026 rates (0.88% and 0.46%) and the 2027 split: DFML contribution rates page, last updated October 1, 2026.
• The maximum weekly benefit ($1,230.39 for 2026, $1,284.61 for 2027): DFML overview and benefits page.
• The Social Security taxable maximum that caps contributions: the Social Security Administration publishes the 2027 figure.
• The $50 and $300 notice fines: the DFML page listing them was last updated November 29, 2021, so confirm with DFML at (833) 344-7365.
• Quarterly due dates and the exemption process: the Department of Revenue and MassTaxConnect.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; confirm the current requirements with the agency named before you file or pay.

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