Published on Thursday, December 18, 2025
CRANSTON, R.I. – Today, the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) announced the 2026 tax rates for the unemployment insurance (UI) and temporary disability insurance (TDI) programs.
The 2026 UI Taxable Wage Base for most employers will be $30,800, an increase of $1,000, or 3.4 percent, from the 2025 taxable wage base of $29,800. For employers at the highest tax rate, the UI taxable wage base is set $1,500 higher and will be $32,300 in 2026. The UI Taxable Wages Base is set at 46.5 percent of the average annual wage of workers employed by employers subject to the contribution provisions (i.e., taxable employers) of the Employment Security Act.
The 2026 TDI Taxable Wage Base for Rhode Island employees will be $100,000 in 2026, an increase of $10,800 (12.5%) from the 2025 taxable wage base of $89,200. The TDI contribution rate will be set at 1.1 percent for calendar year 2026, down from 1.3 percent in 2025. The maximum TDI contribution in 2026 will be $1,100.00, an increase of $59.60, or $1.15 per week, from the 2025 maximum contribution of $ 1,159.60. An individual working full-time, earning the minimum wage of $16.00 an hour, will pay a total of $366.08 in TDI contributions in 2026, or approximately $7.04 a week.
UI Tax Schedule F, with rates ranging from 0.9 percent to 9.4 percent, will be in effect throughout calendar year 2026, changing from Schedule G, which was in effect in 2025. These rates will be reduced by 0.21 percent to offset the Job Development Assessment.
The new employer rate will be 1.21 percent for calendar year 2026. This includes the 0.21 percent Job Development Assessment.
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About Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Unemployment Insurance provides temporary income support to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and have sufficient wages in the base period to meet the monetary requirements. Worker benefits are funded entirely from state and federal UI taxes paid by Rhode Island employers.
About Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)
TDI protects workers against wage loss due to a non-work-related illness or injury. Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) provides up to seven weeks of payments to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member. TCI is not a separate state program; TCI is part of the TDI program. TDI is paid by employees, not employers, through a payroll tax.
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