About the Lost Wages Calculator
This lost wages calculator adds up the earnings you lost because you could not work — after a car accident, workplace injury, illness, wrongful termination or other event — and turns them into a single, documented figure. It covers past lost wages (regular pay plus typical overtime), the value of employer benefits you lost, paid time off you were forced to use, and payments that offset the loss, such as short-term disability, sick pay or workers’ compensation.
If the injury will reduce what you earn going forward, it also estimates the present value of future lost earnings: the yearly shortfall, growing with expected raises and discounted back to today’s dollars, which is how economists and insurers usually value future loss.
Use it to prepare a demand letter, check an insurer’s offer, or organise records for an attorney or HR. It works in gross (pre-tax) pay, which is how most claims are stated. Whether each item is recoverable — and whether offsets such as disability benefits reduce a claim — depends on your state’s law and the type of claim, so treat the result as a starting point, not legal advice.
With the default inputs, the total lost earnings claim is $14,200.00. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the lost wages calculator
- 1Choose hourly or salary and enter your pay and usual hours.
- 2Add average overtime, tips or commission from recent pay stubs.
- 3Enter the weeks you missed, lost benefits and any extra PTO hours used outside those weeks.
- 4Subtract any disability, sick pay or workers’ comp you received.
- 5If earnings will stay lower, add the yearly loss and number of years.
Formula and method
Weekly pay is hourly rate × regular hours (or salary ÷ 52) plus average overtime, tips or commission. Past lost wages are weekly pay × weeks missed. Lost benefits are a percentage of base pay for the same period, and extra PTO used outside those weeks (for example, for later medical appointments) is valued at your hourly rate (salary ÷ 2,080 for salaried staff). Leave you were paid during the missed weeks is already covered by counting those weeks in full, so do not subtract that PTO pay. Disability, sick-pay plans or workers’ comp received are subtracted.
Future loss treats the yearly earnings shortfall as growing at g a year and discounts each year back to today at rate r, then sums the years. A higher discount rate lowers the present value; higher expected wage growth raises it.
- g
- Expected annual wage growth
- r
- Discount rate (interest you could earn on a lump sum)
- t
- Year of future loss (1, 2, …)
- Offsets
- Disability, sick pay or workers’ compensation received
Worked examples
$25/hour, 12 weeks off, 10% benefits, 40 PTO hours for later appointments
At $25 × 40 hours you earn $1,000 a week, so 12 weeks is $12,000 of lost wages. Benefits worth 10% add $1,200, and 40 hours of PTO used for follow-up appointments after returning add $1,000, for a $14,200 claim.
$78,000 salary, 6 weeks, $2,700 short-term disability received
A $78,000 salary is $1,500 a week, so six weeks is $9,000. Short-term disability of $2,700 offsets part of it, leaving a net past loss of $6,300.
Adding $10,000 a year of future loss for 5 years
A $10,000 yearly shortfall growing 2% a year totals about $52,000 over five years, but discounted at 3% it is worth $47,610 today. Added to the $14,200 past loss, the claim is $61,810.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate lost wages?+
Multiply what you normally earn per day or week by the days or weeks you missed, then add regular overtime, tips or commissions you would have earned. Use pay stubs, W-2s or tax returns to prove the rate, and an employer letter or doctor’s note to prove the time missed.
Can I claim lost wages if I used sick days or PTO?+
In many personal injury claims, yes. Paid leave has value and you would otherwise have kept it for later, so courts often allow it as part of lost earnings: count the missed weeks in full rather than subtracting the PTO pay you received. Rules vary by state and by the type of claim.
Are lost wages calculated before or after tax?+
Claims are usually stated in gross (pre-tax) pay. Personal injury settlements for physical injuries are generally not taxable under federal law, but back pay in employment cases is taxable wages. Ask an attorney or tax adviser about your situation.
Do disability or workers’ comp payments reduce my claim?+
It depends. Workers’ compensation usually replaces the wage claim against an employer. Against a third party, the collateral source rule in many states means insurance you paid for does not reduce damages, though some states allow offsets. This calculator lets you include or leave out offsets.
What is loss of earning capacity?+
It is the reduction in your ability to earn in the future because of a lasting injury, even if you return to work. It is usually valued by projecting the yearly shortfall over your remaining working life and discounting it to present value, which this calculator estimates.
What if I am self-employed?+
Use your average weekly net business profit from recent tax returns (Schedule C) as the hourly or weekly figure, plus documented lost contracts. Self-employed claims rely heavily on records showing what you would have earned.
Results are general estimates and not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction — consult a qualified attorney.