Defense Base Act benefits start from a simple rule: two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at the Department of Labor's maximum for the fiscal year your disability began ($2,082.70 a week for FY2026 and $2,163.92 for FY2027). This Defense Base Act settlement calculator turns that rule into numbers for each benefit type the law provides: temporary total disability, scheduled permanent partial awards, loss of wage-earning capacity, permanent total disability with annual Section 10(f) increases, and death benefits. For ongoing benefits it also shows an illustrative present value with a discount rate you choose, which helps when you think about a lump sum under a Section 8(i) settlement.
The Department of Labor describes the Defense Base Act as workers' compensation protection for civilian employees working outside the United States on U.S. military bases or under a contract with the U.S. government for public works or for national defense. The statute, 42 U.S.C. 1651, makes the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act apply to those workers, so the formulas below come from the Longshore Act (33 U.S.C. 906 to 910) and DOL's published rate table.
Leave blank to use annual earnings instead.
Divided by 52 under 33 U.S.C. 910(d)(1).
Defense Base Act disability benefits are generally paid at 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage. The Longshore Act uses that percentage for permanent total disability, temporary total disability and permanent partial disability. Two limits then apply under 33 U.S.C. 906(b):
The average weekly wage is one fifty-second of average annual earnings under 33 U.S.C. 910(d)(1). For a worker employed during substantially the whole year before the injury, annual earnings are 300 times the average daily wage for a six-day worker or 260 times for a five-day worker; other methods apply when those do not fit. When wages are high, the cap controls: at the FY2026 maximum, any average weekly wage above $3,124.05 produces the same $2,082.70 weekly rate.
The Secretary of Labor determines the NAWW each year from the three calendar quarters ending June 30, and it applies from October 1 through September 30 of the next year. The Department of Labor's table shows:
| Fiscal year | Period | NAWW | Maximum | Minimum | Oct. increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY27 | 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2027 | $1,081.96 | $2,163.92 | $540.98 | 3.90% |
| FY26 | 10/01/2025 to 09/30/2026 | $1,041.35 | $2,082.70 | $520.68 | 4.18% |
| FY25 | 10/01/2024 to 09/30/2025 | $999.55 | $1,999.10 | $499.78 | 3.76% |
| FY24 | 10/01/2023 to 09/30/2024 | $963.29 | $1,926.58 | $481.65 | 5.05% (limited to 5%) |
| FY23 | 10/01/2022 to 09/30/2023 | $916.99 | $1,833.98 | $458.50 | 6.20% (limited to 5%) |
| FY22 | 10/01/2021 to 09/30/2022 | $863.49 | $1,726.98 | $431.75 | 5.77% (limited to 5%) |
| FY21 | 10/01/2020 to 09/30/2021 | $816.35 | $1,632.70 | $408.18 | 4.65% |
| FY20 | 10/01/2019 to 09/30/2020 | $780.04 | $1,560.08 | $390.02 | 3.26% |
The calculator also holds FY2016 through FY2019 from the same DOL table.
A claim can take years to resolve, so the fiscal year matters. In Roberts v. Sea-Land Services (2012), the worker was injured in fiscal year 2002 and an administrative law judge awarded benefits in fiscal year 2007 at the fiscal year 2002 maximum rate. The Supreme Court held that an employee is newly awarded compensation when he first becomes disabled and thereby becomes statutorily entitled to benefits, no matter whether, or when, a compensation order issues. The calculator therefore picks the fiscal year from the date your disability began: a disability that began on October 1, 2025 or later, through September 30, 2026, uses the FY2026 maximum. You can override the year in the calculator if your facts are different.
While you cannot work during recovery, 33 U.S.C. 908(b) pays 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage for as long as the disability continues, within the maximum and minimum. No compensation is paid for the first three days unless the disability lasts more than 14 days, in which case it is paid from the start.
For listed body parts, 908(c) pays a fixed number of weeks at the compensation rate, in addition to any temporary disability already paid. Partial loss or partial loss of use is paid in proportion.
| Loss | Weeks | Loss | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arm | 312 | First finger | 46 |
| Leg | 288 | Great toe | 38 |
| Hand | 244 | Second finger | 30 |
| Foot | 205 | Third finger | 25 |
| Eye | 160 | Toe other than great toe | 16 |
| Thumb | 75 | Fourth finger | 15 |
| Hearing, one ear | 52 | Hearing, both ears | 200 |
The schedule also allows compensation of up to $7,500 for serious disfigurement of the face, head, neck or other normally exposed areas likely to handicap the employee in getting or keeping work, and it treats loss of both hands, arms, feet, legs or eyes, or any two of them, as permanent total disability in the absence of conclusive proof to the contrary.
For permanent partial disabilities not on the schedule, such as back, neck and psychological injuries, which the schedule does not list, 908(c)(21) pays 66 2/3 percent of the difference between the pre-injury average weekly wage and the wage-earning capacity afterward, for as long as the partial disability continues. Temporary partial disability under 908(e) uses the same two-thirds of the difference but cannot be paid for more than five years.
Permanent total disability pays 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage for the continuance of the disability, within the limits above, and it is increased each October 1 under Section 10(f).
When a covered injury causes death, 33 U.S.C. 909 pays reasonable funeral expenses up to $3,000 and weekly benefits to survivors:
Two special rules apply. The average weekly wage used for death benefits may not be less than the NAWW, and the total weekly benefits may not exceed the lesser of the deceased worker's average weekly wage or the maximum rate. Other dependents, such as dependent parents, can qualify in some cases; the calculator covers spouse and children only.
Permanent total disability and death benefits rise each October 1 by the lesser of the percentage increase in the NAWW or 5 percent. The DOL table shows the increase for each year: 3.90 percent on October 1, 2026 and 4.18 percent on October 1, 2025, while the FY2022 to FY2024 increases were limited to 5 percent. Temporary and scheduled benefits do not receive these increases. In the calculator the yearly increase is an assumption you set, because future NAWW changes are not known.
Under 33 U.S.C. 908(i), the parties can settle a claim for compensation, including survivors' benefits and, if they agree, future medical benefits. The district director (the regulations substitute this title for the "deputy commissioner" named in the statute) or an administrative law judge must approve the settlement within 30 days unless it is found inadequate or procured by duress. If both parties have counsel, the agreement is deemed approved unless specifically disapproved within 30 days. An approved settlement discharges the employer's or carrier's liability, and settlements can be reached at any stage, even after a final compensation order.
The law does not set a settlement formula. A practical way to prepare is to start from the benefits the statute would pay, as in the calculator, and then weigh the open questions: how long disability will last, the correct average weekly wage, future medical care, and the risk each side faces at a hearing. The present value box lets you set the number of years, a discount rate and an annual increase so you can see how those assumptions move the total. These are illustrative inputs, not market rates or what claims settle for.
Attorney fees are regulated too. 33 U.S.C. 928 says fees for attorneys representing the claimant must be approved, and in some situations a reasonable fee is awarded against the employer or carrier on top of the compensation, for example when the carrier declined to pay and the claim was then won with an attorney's help.
IRS Publication 525 says amounts received as workers' compensation for an occupational sickness or injury are fully exempt from tax if they are paid under a workers' compensation act or a statute in the nature of a workers' compensation act, and that the exemption also applies to survivors. Ask a tax professional how this applies to your payments and to any interest or penalties.
The Defense Base Act applies the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to covered overseas contract work. Disability compensation is generally 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage, subject to a maximum of 200 percent of the national average weekly wage and, for total disability, a minimum of 50 percent of it. The average weekly wage is one fifty-second of average annual earnings.
The Department of Labor lists a maximum weekly compensation rate of $2,082.70 for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and $2,163.92 for fiscal year 2027, which starts October 1, 2026. The minimums are $520.68 and $540.98.
In Roberts v. Sea-Land Services (2012), the Supreme Court held that an employee is newly awarded compensation when he first becomes disabled and becomes statutorily entitled to benefits, no matter whether or when a compensation order issues. The maximum is therefore tied to the fiscal year in which the disability began.
The schedule in 33 U.S.C. 908(c) allows 312 weeks of compensation for loss of an arm, and partial loss of use is paid in proportion. A 25 percent loss of use of an arm equals 78 weeks. At the FY2026 maximum rate of $2,082.70, that is $162,450.60.
Section 9 pays reasonable funeral expenses up to $3,000, 50 percent of the deceased worker's average wages to a widow or widower, and 16 2/3 percent more for each child, with a total cap of 66 2/3 percent. The wage base is not less than the national average weekly wage, and total weekly benefits cannot exceed the lesser of the worker's average weekly wage or the maximum rate.
Yes. Under 33 U.S.C. 908(i), a settlement must be approved by the deputy commissioner (called the district director in the Labor Department's regulations) or an administrative law judge within 30 days unless it is found inadequate or procured by duress. When the parties have counsel, it is deemed approved unless specifically disapproved within 30 days. Fees for the claimant's attorney must also be approved.
IRS Publication 525 says amounts received as workers' compensation for an occupational sickness or injury are fully exempt from tax if paid under a workers' compensation act or a statute in the nature of a workers' compensation act, and the exemption applies to survivors. Confirm your situation with a tax professional.