The monthly maximum depends on your crash date
The cap is adjusted every October 1 for inflation. The figure that applies is the one in effect on the date of your crash, and it stays with your claim.
| Crash date | Maximum per 30 days |
|---|---|
| Oct. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2027 | $7,455 |
| Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026 | $7,201 |
| Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025 | $7,014 |
| Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024 | $6,811 |
Source: MCL 500.3107(1)(b); DIFS Bulletin 2026-20-INS and prior annual DIFS bulletins.
How the benefit is calculated
Start with the gross income you would have earned in the period: wages, overtime you regularly worked, and income from self-employment. Take 85% of it. If that number is above the monthly cap, the cap applies. If you return to work part-time, what you earn counts against the cap, so a person earning near the cap may get little or nothing until their income drops.
Fringe benefits such as employer health insurance and retirement contributions are generally not counted as income for PIP purposes.
What you need to prove it
- A disability slip from your treating doctor that covers the dates you missed
- Pay stubs, a wage verification form completed by your employer, or W-2s
- Tax returns and profit-and-loss statements if you are self-employed
- Proof of a job you were about to start, if you were between jobs
Insurers often stop wage loss after their own doctor says you can work. When your doctor disagrees, the dispute is about the evidence, and we build it.
A case in focus
A $5,000 offer became $35,000, plus $45,000 in unpaid wages
- The problem
- Disc protrusions in the neck and lower back on MRI, about six months of physical therapy and a recommendation for pain procedures. The client came to us from another firm holding a $5,000 offer, and her own insurer had not paid her lost wages.
- Before
- $5,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer, as a full and final settlement.
- What the firm did
- Took over the case from the client’s previous firm. Gathered her complete treatment records and obtained written opinions from her treating physicians on how the injuries affect her life and the long-term restrictions they will cause.
- The evidence that mattered
- The MRI findings and her treating physicians’ written opinions on her restrictions. Neither was in the file when she came to us.
- Outcome
- $35,000 for pain and suffering, against a $50,000 policy limit, settled within a few months (August 2026). Separately, $45,000 in wage-loss benefits her own no-fault insurer had not paid.
- Keep in mind
- These were two different recoveries from two insurers: $35,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer, and $45,000 in no-fault wage-loss benefits from her own insurer. Both are gross amounts.
Read Justin’s account of this case
Details that could identify the client are left out. Every matter turns on its own facts; this does not predict the result in another case. Amounts are gross, before fees, costs and liens.
Three years, then it ends. PIP wage loss stops three years after the crash no matter how disabled you remain. Lost income after that point, and above the cap, can only come from a claim against the at-fault driver, which must be filed within three years of the crash.
Questions people ask us
Are no-fault wage loss benefits taxed?
No. That is why PIP pays 85% of gross income rather than 100%. If you can show your actual tax advantage is smaller, the insurer may have to pay a higher percentage.
I am self-employed. Can I collect wage loss?
Yes, but the calculation is different. Courts generally look at business income after business expenses, so tax returns and profit-and-loss statements matter.
What if I earn more than the monthly cap?
PIP stops at the cap. Income lost above the cap, and income lost after three years, can be claimed from the at-fault driver as excess economic loss.
