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Last Modified on Oct 12, 2026
A workplace injury doesn’t just cost you your paycheck. It can mean doing math every week just to keep the lights on. Temporary total disability checks already run about two-thirds of what you used to earn, and if you’ve got a spouse or kids leaning on that income, the gap gets sharper fast. Arizona just closed a small piece of it.
As of September 26, 2025, the monthly dependent allowance on a workers’ compensation check jumped from $25 to $100, after years of the old number staying flat while everything else got more expensive.
Seventy-five extra dollars a month isn’t life-changing on its own, but it adds up, and if your claim qualifies, it’s money you may be entitled to, whether they mention it or not.
Arizona Injury Law Group has spent nearly seventy combined years working to help Phoenix workers get every benefit the law allows, including the allowances that quietly get left off a check.
What the Dependent Allowance Increase Actually Changes
The dependent allowance is a flat monthly payment added on top of temporary total disability benefits when an injured worker has a spouse or child who depends on their income.
Before September 26, 2025, that add-on was $25 a month, and it stayed there whether you had one child or four, because Arizona law caps it as a single flat amount rather than a per-dependent multiplier. Under A.R.S. § 23-1045(A)(2), the figure now reads $100, and every dollar of it goes on top of what workers comp pays in Arizona at the regular two-thirds rate, not instead of it.
A worker earning $4,000 a month who qualifies for the allowance now receives roughly $2,767 instead of $2,691 during a month of total disability, once the base benefit and the allowance are added together.
Why Arizona Raised It From $25 to $100
Insurance carriers write dependent allowance checks off a number the legislature hadn’t touched in years, while rent, groceries, and gas kept climbing every year in between. Lawmakers folded the fix into Senate Bill 1551, and it took effect under the general effective date for that legislative session. For the families receiving it, quadrupling a number that had sat still for years shows up directly in a bank account.
Who Qualifies for the New $100 Payment
The $100 allowance applies if:
- You’re receiving temporary total disability compensation, not permanent partial or permanent total benefits calculated under a different formula
- You have a spouse, or a child who is generally considered a dependent while under 18 (or up to 22 if enrolled full time in school), who depends on your income
- Your claim was filed with the Industrial Commission of Arizona on or after September 26, 2025
The allowance isn’t based on a per capita number of dependents. One dependent or five, the payment is still $100 a month, on top of your base benefit.
Getting the Amount You’re Actually Owed
Insurance carriers don’t always catch a mid-case statutory change. If your claim was filed on or after September 26, 2025, ask your adjuster in writing whether your payment reflects the new $100 figure. If your claim was filed before that date, the $25 rate still applies, even if you’re currently receiving payments.
Arizona Injury Law Group reviews benefit statements for this kind of quiet underpayment, and a workers’ compensation attorney can request a corrected calculation from the Industrial Commission of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix, if the carrier won’t fix it on its own. Shortfalls like this can often be corrected once identified.
Arizona Injury Law Group, PLLC: Your Phoenix Workers’ Compensation Law Firm
Weston Montrose, Briana Chua, and Benjamin Manion are Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists through the State Bar of Arizona, with close to seventy years combined helping Phoenix families get every benefit the law allows.
Contact our firm today for a free review of your claim, and let’s make sure your check adds up.
