Yes, you do get paid for jury duty, but usually not much and not always by the people you’d expect. The court that summoned you pays a daily stipend, which in federal court is $50 per day and in state courts ranges from nothing to around $50. Your regular paycheck is a separate question: federal law protects your job while you serve, but it does not require your employer to keep paying your wages. Whether your salary continues depends on your state, your employer’s policy, and how you’re classified at work.
What the Court Pays
Federal district courts pay petit jurors $50 for each day of attendance, starting with the day you show up for selection, whether or not you’re seated on a panel. Travel days at the start and end of service count too. If you sit on a single trial for more than ten days, the trial judge has discretion to raise your pay to $60 per day for the days beyond the tenth. Grand jurors get the same increase after 45 days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees Federal checks typically arrive 30 to 60 days after service ends.
State court pay is all over the map. Some states pay nothing for the first day, others pay $5, $15, or $25, and only a handful come close to the federal $50. The national average sits around $22 per day. A few states step the amount up after several days, and a few tie juror pay to lost wages or the minimum wage rather than a flat rate. Several states delay any payment until day two or three, so if you’re dismissed at selection you may go home with nothing. The court listed on your summons is the reliable source for the exact rate.
On top of the daily amount, most federal courts reimburse mileage at a rate set by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and cover tolls in full; reasonable parking is reimbursable with a receipt.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees If you have to stay overnight near the courthouse, a subsistence allowance covers meals and lodging. State courts handle expenses less uniformly, often at a lower mileage rate, sometimes covering public transportation instead. Childcare reimbursement exists in a few places but is unusual.
Whether Your Employer Has to Keep Paying You
Federal law makes it illegal for any employer to fire, threaten, or punish an employee for serving on a federal jury. An employer who does so faces liability for lost wages, an order to reinstate the employee, and civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1875 – Protection of Jurors Employment Nearly every state has a comparable anti-retaliation law for state jury service.
Keeping your job, though, is not the same as keeping your paycheck. Federal law does not require employers to pay wages during jury duty, and most states don’t either. Roughly eight states and the District of Columbia require some form of paid jury leave, with the details varying: some require full pay for a limited number of days, some apply only to employers above a certain size, and the rest leave it to the employer. Many larger companies voluntarily offer paid jury leave anyway, so your employee handbook or collective bargaining agreement is worth checking before you assume you’ll lose income.
One common wrinkle: if your employer continues your regular salary while you serve, the company can usually require you to sign over the court’s daily stipend in exchange.
Salaried Exempt Employees
If you’re an exempt salaried employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act, your employer generally cannot dock your pay for partial-week absences due to jury duty. The employer may offset any jury fees you receive against your salary for that week.3U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor Your paycheck stays whole even if you miss several days for court.
Hourly and Non-Exempt Employees
Hourly workers feel the loss most directly. Unless your state mandates paid leave or your employer voluntarily provides it, the court’s daily stipend is all you’ll receive for time on jury duty. Hours at the courthouse also don’t count as “hours worked” under the FLSA, so they don’t push you into overtime for the week.4eCFR. 29 CFR Part 778 – Overtime Compensation If jury service replaces what would have been a 50-hour workweek, you can lose both the base wages and the overtime premium.
If You’re Self-Employed
Freelancers, sole proprietors, and small business owners have no employer to fall back on and no federal program to replace lost revenue. The $50 federal stipend won’t come close to a day of billable work for most. A small number of states have started to address this: at least one lets jurors apply for reimbursement of up to $300 per day in documented lost income for longer trials, and another ties juror pay to the state minimum wage on an hourly basis. If jury service would genuinely threaten your livelihood, requesting a hardship excuse or postponement is usually the more practical route.
Taxes on What You Receive
Jury pay is taxable income. Report it on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8h, regardless of the amount.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income If your total jury fees for the year hit $600, the court will issue a Form 1099-MISC and report the amount to the IRS; the income remains taxable even without a form.
If your employer kept paying your salary during service and required you to hand over the court stipend, you can deduct what you turned over. Report the full jury pay as income on line 8h, then enter the amount surrendered to your employer on Schedule 1, line 24a as an adjustment to income.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income The two cancel out, so you aren’t taxed twice on the same dollars.
Deducting unreimbursed jury expenses such as parking or mileage the court didn’t cover is no longer an option. The miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% adjusted-gross-income floor, which used to cover those costs, have been permanently eliminated.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
If the Money Really Doesn’t Work
Every federal district court allows jurors to request a postponement or an excuse from service. The standard is “undue hardship or extreme inconvenience,” evaluated under each of the 94 districts’ own policies, and the decision is at the court’s discretion and not appealable.6United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
For a financial hardship excuse, documentation matters. Courts usually want evidence that the income loss would be severe rather than inconvenient: tax returns, pay stubs, a letter from your employer confirming you won’t be paid, or an affidavit describing your finances. Sole proprietors who run the business alone tend to have a strong case, especially if the business would close entirely during their absence.
A postponement is generally easier to obtain than a full excuse, and many courts will let you pick a more convenient date within the next six to twelve months. If timing is the real problem, ask for a deferral first.