Michigan No-Fault Wage Loss Benefits Attorney

Your doctor has written you off work, your paychecks have stopped, and the rent hasn’t. Maybe you were driving for DoorDash on the side, just accepted a new job, or your employer’s short-term disability has started paying.

Michigan no-fault insurance pays a benefit for lost wages, called work loss, no matter who caused the crash. Vahdat Weisman Law auto accident attorneys handle wage loss claims and disputes across Michigan. Call (734) 469-4994 for a free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.

What PIP Wage Loss Pays

Work loss covers income from work you would have performed during the first three years after the accident had you not been hurt (MCL 500.3107(1)(b)). It is part of personal protection insurance (PIP), usually paid by your auto insurer, and fault doesn’t matter.

Three rules set the amount.

85 percent of the income you lost. The statute treats these benefits as not taxable income, so it reduces them by 15 percent to account for that tax advantage. With reasonable proof that the tax advantage in your case is smaller, the lower figure applies (MCL 500.3107(1)(b)). Confirm the tax treatment with a tax preparer.

A cap per 30-day period. The benefit plus anything earned from work in the same 30 days cannot exceed a set maximum, prorated for shorter periods.

Three years from the accident date. The clock runs from the crash, not from the day work stopped.

The Current Monthly Maximum

For accidents on or after October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, the maximum is $7,455 per 30-day period. The Department of Insurance and Financial Services set that figure in Bulletin 2026-20-INS, issued July 29, 2026. The same bulletin lists the prior figures:

• October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026: $7,201
• October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025: $7,014
• October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024: $6,811

The cap that applies to you is the one in effect on the date of your accident. The statute says each annual change applies “only to benefits arising out of accidents occurring after the date of change in the maximum” (MCL 500.3107(1)(b)). If you were hurt in March 2026, your cap is $7,201 for the whole three years, even though the figure rose in October. DIFS posts each year’s figure on its 2026 bulletins page.

How Much Will You Get? Two Examples

Someone earning $5,000 a month gross before an October 2026 crash, and unable to work at all, receives 85 percent: $4,250, under the cap.

At $10,000 a month, 85 percent is $8,500, but the cap holds the benefit to $7,455. The difference can become a claim against the at-fault driver, explained below.

Going back part time changes the math. The cap limits the benefit and new earnings together, so someone earning more than the cap after returning receives no work loss for that period, even at a far smaller paycheck than before (Agnone v. Home-Owners Insurance Co., Docket No. 320196 (Mich Ct App, May 19, 2015)).

If You Are Self-Employed, Own a Business, or Drive for an App

Self-employed people, business owners, and gig workers can claim work loss. The statute pays for lost “income from work” and does not require a W-2.

If you own a corporation and pay yourself W-2 wages, the benefit is figured from those wages; the company’s expenses and losses are irrelevant (Ross v. Auto Club Group, Docket No. 130917 (Mich, May 7, 2008)).

If you are a sole proprietor or a 1099 driver for DoorDash, Uber, or Instacart, the proof is tax returns with Schedule C, 1099s, platform earnings statements, bank deposits, and invoices. Whether you measure the benefit from gross receipts or net profit can change the number significantly.

If You Were Between Jobs When the Crash Happened

Being out of work on the day of the accident does not automatically shut you out. For someone temporarily unemployed, work loss is based on earnings in the last month of full-time employment before the accident (MCL 500.3107a).

The word “temporarily” matters. The proof generally needs to show active job seeking and that the unemployment would not have been permanent without the injury (Frazier v Allstate Insurance Co, 231 Mich App 172 (1998); MacDonald v State Farm Mutual Insurance Co, 419 Mich 146 (1984)). Applications, interview emails, and a signed offer letter answer that question.

Second Jobs, Overtime and Raises

The benefit is meant to replace your income approximately dollar for dollar, up to the cap (Popma v Auto Club Insurance Association, 446 Mich 460 (1994)). A documented second job, regular overtime, and a provable scheduled raise can all be part of the claim, shown through pay stubs from both employers, overtime history, and an employer letter. The cap still applies to combined lost income, so for higher earners a second job may push the loss past the maximum rather than raise the check.

Disability Insurance, Workers’ Comp and Social Security

Whether other income reduces your PIP check depends on its source.

Government benefits. Benefits “provided or required to be provided under the laws of any state or the federal government” are subtracted from your PIP benefits (MCL 500.3109(1)). The offset applies only when the government benefit serves the same purpose as the no-fault benefit and is paid because of the same accident (Jarosz v Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange, 418 Mich 565 (1984)). Workers’ compensation for an on-the-job crash and Social Security disability based on the crash injuries can both reduce the check. Social Security retirement you were already collecting before the crash would generally fail the “same accident” part of that test.

Private disability insurance. Whether employer short-term or long-term disability reduces the PIP check depends mainly on your auto policy. A coordinated policy, bought for a lower premium, lets other health and accident coverage pay first (MCL 500.3109a(1)). A self-funded long-term disability plan counts as that coverage, so you can coordinate work loss with it (Jarrad v Integon National Insurance Co, 472 Mich 207 (2005)). Without coordination, no-fault is the primary payer for wage loss. Some disability plans also require repayment from a later recovery.

You Opted Out of PIP Medical. Do You Still Get Wage Loss?

Yes, under the statute’s terms. The opt-out election created in 2019 covers only benefits payable under MCL 500.3107(1)(a), the allowable expenses such as medical care (MCL 500.3107d(1)). Work loss is a separate benefit under 3107(1)(b). The same is true of the exclusion for people with qualified health coverage (MCL 500.3109a(2)). Our PIP coverage levels page explains those choices.

One separate waiver does reach wage loss: a person 60 or older who would not be eligible for work loss can sign a waiver of that coverage for a reduced premium (MCL 500.3107(2)(a)).

What Happens After Three Years, or Above the Cap

PIP wage loss stops at three years and at the cap. Work loss above the cap and after three years, including future lost earnings, can be claimed against the at-fault driver (MCL 500.3135(3)(c); Hannay v. Department of Transportation, 497 Mich 45 (2014)).

The serious impairment threshold applies to noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering (MCL 500.3135(1)). The excess wage loss provision does not refer to that threshold. Negligence and the lost income still have to be proved, and the at-fault driver’s liability is reduced by the taxes that income would have carried (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)). Our serious impairment threshold page covers the pain and suffering side.

If the Insurer Delays or Stops Paying

Wage loss benefits are overdue if they are not paid within 30 days after the insurer receives reasonable proof of the fact and amount of the loss, and overdue benefits carry 12 percent simple interest per year (MCL 500.3142). If a court finds the insurer unreasonably refused to pay or unreasonably delayed, your attorney is entitled to a reasonable fee (MCL 500.3148(1)).

You generally must give written notice of injury, or receive payment, within one year after the accident, and recovery in a lawsuit reaches back only one year before filing, subject to tolling while a specific claim for payment is pending (MCL 500.3145).

The core paperwork is an employer wage statement or pre-crash pay stubs, recent tax returns, and disability slips from your treating doctor stating dates and restrictions. If benefits stop after the insurer’s own medical exam, our insurance medical exams and benefit cutoffs page explains your rights.

With no applicable auto policy, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan pays PIP. Its statutory cap reaches allowable expenses under 3107(1)(a), and plan benefits are reduced by other sources covering the same loss (MCL 500.3172(5), (7)).

If Someone Died in the Crash

Work loss ends at death. Dependents may claim survivor’s loss under MCL 500.3108, which is also limited to the first three years and uses the same per-30-day maximum set in Bulletin 2026-20-INS.

Why Choose Vahdat Weisman Law?

Wage loss claims turn on proof of income and on the offset and coordination rules: what you earned and from which jobs, which accident-date cap applies, what other benefits the insurer can subtract, and what carries over into a claim against the at-fault driver once PIP stops.

From our Livonia office, we represent injured people and their families throughout Michigan. Founding partners Kara E. Weisman and Jordan S. Vahdat have each been honored as Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Our attorneys are members of the State Bar of Michigan and active in the Michigan Association for Justice. We advance case costs, we work in English and Spanish, and we are available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is the new $7,455 cap the one that applies to me? Only if your accident happened on or after October 1, 2026, the maximum is fixed by your accident date, so a crash between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, stays at $7,201 for all three years (MCL 500.3107(1)(b); DIFS Bulletin 2026-20-INS).
• My short-term disability is paying. Will the auto insurer subtract it? It depends on whether your auto policy is coordinated with other health and accident coverage. With a coordinated policy, the disability plan may pay first, and the no-fault insurer pays what remains; with an uncoordinated policy, no-fault is primary for wage loss. Your policy’s declarations page is the place to start.
• I drive for DoorDash part-time. Does that count? It can. Gig income is income from work, and the proof is your 1099s, platform earnings history, and tax returns. The benefit is measured against that earnings history.

About the Author

Jordan S. Vahdat is a founding partner of Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia and handles negligence, premises liability, auto accident, and insurance dispute cases. He has been admitted to all Michigan state courts since 2014, practices in the Eastern District of Michigan, and has served as a case evaluator for the Washtenaw Circuit Trial Court and the 15th District Court since 2020. He is fluent in Spanish.

Talk to a Michigan Wage Loss Lawyer

If you cannot work after a crash, call Vahdat Weisman Law at (734) 469-4994 or contact us online for a free consultation. Available 24/7, serving all of Michigan, with Spanish-speaking staff. Our no-fault PIP benefits disputes and attendant care and replacement services pages cover related benefits.

Dedicated to Justice. Devoted to You. Winning for Your Future.

Reviewed by Jordan S. Vahdat, Vahdat Weisman Law. Last reviewed October 2026.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.