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The Mandate Monitor

Rhode Island TDI and TCI: 1.1% of wages in 2026

In effectChecked November 7, 2026Run by Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT)

Short answer

Rhode Island’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) are paid entirely by employees: in 2026 employers withhold 1.1% of each employee’s first $100,000 in wages and send it to the state. TDI pays up to 30 weeks for an employee’s own illness or injury, and TCI pays up to 8 weeks to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member or serve as a bone marrow transplant donor or living organ donor. A 2025 state law raises the benefit formula for claims starting in 2027 and again in 2028.

Next date: November 15, 2026: State law deadline for the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) to compute the 2027 employee contribution rate. The rate comes from the fund’s payouts over the 12 months ending September 30.

Does your payroll handle Rhode Island TDI and TCI? See the free state route and the 2 payroll systems with help docs that cover it.

What changed recently

  1. · Took effect

    Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance now covers bone marrow and living organ donors

    Starting January 1, 2026, Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) benefits also cover employees taking part in a bone marrow transplant or living organ donation as the donor, in addition to bonding with a new child and caring for a family member with a serious health condition (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-41-35(a)(3)).

Every change, newest first

On your payroll: Rhode Island TDI and TCI2026
Premium, share of wages
1.1%
Most you may deduct from employees
1.1%
Employer pays at least
0%
Wages subject to premium, per employee
$100,000

2027 rate: not yet announced (expected by 2026-11-15, the date state law sets for computing it).

Rhode Island TDI and TCI premium calculator

In 2026, Rhode Island TDI and TCI premiums are 1.1% of each employee’s wages up to $100,000 a year. Employers may deduct all of it from pay.

Total premium a year
$550.00
Most you may deduct from employees
$550.00
Employer pays at least
$0.00

Assumes the full employee share is deducted.

Rhode Island TDI and TCI deadlines

  1. · Paid leave

    State law deadline for the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) to compute the 2027 employee contribution rate

    The rate comes from the fund’s payouts over the 12 months ending September 30.

  2. · Paid leave

    Benefit formula rises to 5.38% of wages in the employee’s highest-paid base-period quarter, up from 4.62%, for benefit years starting on or after this date

  3. · Paid leave

    Benefit formula rises to 5.77% of wages in the employee’s highest-paid base-period quarter, for benefit years starting on or after this date

Dates already passed (4)
  • : Maximum weekly benefit becomes $1,150 before dependents’ allowances, for benefit years starting on or after this date. It is based on the 2025 average weekly wage of $1,352.74.
  • : 2026 employee withholding for Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) is 1.1% of the first $100,000 in wages.
  • : State law sets the taxable wage base at no less than $100,000, up from a $38,000 floor.
  • : Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) rises to a maximum of 8 weeks in a benefit year, up from 7 weeks in 2025.

What employers have to do

  1. Withhold 1.1% of each employee’s wages for Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) every payday in 2026, stopping once the employee’s wages for the year pass $100,000, and show the deduction on your payroll records (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-3).
  2. Register online with the Employer Tax Unit of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), then file the Quarterly Tax and Wage Report (Form TX-17) and send the withheld contributions with it by the last day of the month after each quarter ends: January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31.
  3. Keep accurate records of each employee’s weekly hours and wages, and file any reports the state requests (§ 28-39-14).
  4. When an employee takes Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) leave, keep their existing health benefits in force during the leave and restore them to the same or an equivalent position afterward (§ 28-41-35). Employees are expected to give 30 days’ written notice unless the timing can’t be foreseen.

Handling Rhode Island TDI and TCI in payroll

The free route: register directly with the state

You can register and report on your own through Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT). You’ll still need your payroll to figure the premium on each paycheck and withhold any employee share.

Payroll systems with a help document covering Rhode Island TDI and TCI

SystemWhat the documentation saysLink
GustoGusto’s paid family leave article says Temporary Caregiver Insurance is part of Rhode Island’s TDI tax, which Gusto withholds from each paycheck and sends to the state. Read their help doc, Nov 8, 2026See plans for Gusto
Patriot SoftwareRhode Island tax list shows Patriot withholding the employee TDI and Caregiver Leave contribution and filing it on Form TX-17 for Full Service customers. Read their help doc, Nov 8, 2026See plans for Patriot Software

Listed alphabetically. We may earn a commission from these links; it never decides who’s listed.

How Rhode Island TDI and TCI works

Employees pay the full cost. Employers withhold 1.1% of each employee’s wages up to $100,000 in 2026 and send it to the state; there is no employer Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) tax. Starting in 2026, state law sets the taxable wage base at $100,000 or a higher figure tied to the maximum benefit, whichever is greater. The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) computes the next year’s employee rate by November 15 from the fund’s recent payouts (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-1).

No premium cost: Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) are funded entirely by employee withholding. An employer that fails to deduct contributions when wages are paid becomes solely liable for them (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-4). The employer keeps paying its share of health benefits during TCI leave.

Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) pays up to 30 weeks when an employee can’t work because of an illness, injury or pregnancy. Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) pays up to 8 weeks in a benefit year, starting in 2026, to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or take part in a bone marrow transplant or living organ donation as the donor; TDI and TCI together can’t exceed 30 times the weekly benefit in a benefit year. The weekly benefit is 4.62% of wages in the employee’s highest-paid base-period quarter, rising to 5.38% for benefit years starting in 2027 and 5.77% from 2028. For claims from July 1, 2026 the maximum is $1,150 a week, plus dependents’ allowances of up to $1,552 a week in total with five dependents. Employees on TCI leave are entitled to their job or an equivalent one when they return, and their existing health benefits continue during the leave.

Questions employers ask

Who has to follow Rhode Island TDI and TCI?

Every employer covered by Rhode Island’s unemployment insurance law, which includes any business with one or more employees in a calendar year, even for part of a day (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-39-2 and 28-42-3). Household employers of domestic workers fall under separate thresholds in that law. Employees pay the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) contributions from their wages.

What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?

An employer that fails to file a required report or pay contributions on time owes a $10 penalty for each failure plus 10% of any amount due (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-39-26), and interest of 1.5% a month on late contributions (§ 28-40-9). Knowingly failing to pay or report is also a crime: a fine of $10 to $100, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day counted as a separate offense and corporate officers who take part also liable (§ 28-39-25).

Can employers use a private plan instead?

Not available. Rhode Island’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) law (chapters 28-39 to 28-41) has no private-plan option, so covered employees pay into the state fund.

Everything employers in Rhode Island must do ·Paid leave in every state

Sources

  1. R.I. Gen. Laws chapters 28-39 to 28-41 (Temporary Disability Insurance), including §§ 28-40-1 (contributions) and 28-41-34 and following (Temporary Caregiver Insurance)
  2. 2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference (effective July 1, 2026): TDI/TCI rate, wage base, benefit amounts and durations, Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (read Nov 8, 2026)
  3. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-1 (effective January 1, 2026; P.L. 2025, ch. 235 and 237): taxable wage base and employee rate, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  4. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-41-5 (effective January 1, 2026): weekly benefit rate for 2026, 2027 and 2028, dependents’ allowances, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  5. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-41-35 (effective January 1, 2026): Temporary Caregiver Insurance benefits, 8 weeks, job restoration, health benefits, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 8, 2026)
  6. Employer Tax Unit (2026 Temporary Disability Insurance rate and wage base; quarterly Form TX-17 and payments), Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (read Nov 8, 2026)
  7. Frequently Asked Employer Tax Questions (quarterly taxes due the last day of the month after the quarter), Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (read Nov 8, 2026)
  8. TDI/TCI for Employers (employer responsibilities; send tax to the Employer Tax Unit quarterly), Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (read Nov 8, 2026)
  9. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-3, Withholding and disposition of contributions, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  10. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-4, Employer’s liability for contributions not withheld, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  11. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-40-9, Interest on delinquent payments, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  12. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-39-14, Employers’ records and reports, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  13. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-39-25, Criminal penalty for failure to make contributions or reports, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  14. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-39-26, Pecuniary penalty for failure to make contributions or reports, Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 8, 2026)
  15. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-39-2, Definitions (employer means an employer under the unemployment law), Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
  16. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-42-3, Definitions (employer with one or more individuals in employment), Rhode Island General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)