PD commutation calculator
A permanent disability award is a stream of weekly checks — but settlements, lump sums, and attorney fees are priced on its present value. California doesn’t leave the discount to argument: the DWC publishes its own commutation table (CCR Title 8 §10169, Table 1 — present value of $1/week at 3% interest). This page runs the exact table on your rating, wage, and injury year.
Converting future payments to a lump sum takes a petition and a WCAB order (Lab. Code §5100) — this page prices the math, not the process. Real commutations also come in flavors the petition specifies: the whole award, or a slice taken off the far end of the stream (common for attorney fees, so the worker’s weekly checks continue undisturbed) — the regulation’s instructions cover both. And a life pension is different: lifetime streams use the mortality-based Tables 2/3, not Table 1 — at 70%+ price the pension itself in the life pension calculator. One more boundary, from a January 2026 significant panel decision (Rader v. Ticketmaster): a fee commuted as a weekly reduction from a permanent-total award runs only until the gross approved fee is satisfied — then the worker’s full weekly rate resumes.
Present value at every rating level
Engine-computed at your $1,200.00 wage entry for a 2026 injury — Table 1 applied to the §4658 weeks at each rating.
| PD | Weeks | Total | Present value | PV / total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 30.25 | $8,772.50 | $8,692.81 | 99.1% |
| 20% | 75.50 | $21,895.00 | $21,421.17 | 97.8% |
| 30% | 131.00 | $37,990.00 | $36,593.77 | 96.3% |
| 40% | 201.00 | $58,290.00 | $55,062.50 | 94.5% |
| 50% | 271.25 | $78,662.50 | $72,875.35 | 92.6% |
| 60% | 351.25 | $101,862.50 | $92,315.64 | 90.6% |
| 70% | 433.25 | $125,642.50 | $111,348.29 | 88.6% |
| 80% | 593.25 | $172,042.50 | $146,033.63 | 84.9% |
| 90% | 753.25 | $218,442.50 | $177,873.75 | 81.4% |
Notice the pattern: the longer the stream, the deeper the discount — small awards commute at nearly face value, while high ratings leave real money on the table at 3%. That asymmetry is half the negotiation in every C&R. Price the full award first on the settlement calculator, or start from the medical report in the rating calculator.
Table 1 (CCR §10169) at 3% statutory interest, applied to the whole finite award; partial and off-the-far-end commutations follow the regulation’s instructions and require WCAB approval. Estimates for informational use only; not legal advice.
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