Federal courts pay $50 per day for jury duty. State and local courts pay somewhere between nothing and roughly $50 per day, depending on where you live. That stipend is a token acknowledgment of your time, not a wage replacement, so how much the court pays you for jury duty is usually a smaller question than whether your employer keeps paying your salary while you serve.
Federal Court Pays $50 a Day
Report to a federal courthouse and you’ll receive a flat $50 attendance fee for each day you serve, whether you’re there for two hours or eight. The fee also covers travel days at the start and end of your service term.
Longer trials pay a little more. A petit juror hearing a case that runs beyond ten days can receive up to $60 per day for every day past the tenth, at the trial judge’s discretion. Grand jurors get the same bump after forty-five days. The higher rate isn’t automatic; the judge has to authorize it.
These amounts are set by federal statute and haven’t moved in years.
State Court Pay Varies Widely
State stipends are all over the map. Some states pay nothing for the first day or two. Others offer up to $50 per day from day one. A handful raise the daily rate once a trial extends past a set number of days.
Your summons will usually list the pay rate or point you to the court’s juror information page. Checking before you report takes about two minutes and tells you exactly what to expect.
Travel, Parking, and Overnight Costs
Federal courts reimburse travel on top of the daily attendance fee. The per-mile rate is set by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and applies regardless of whether you drive, take transit, or carpool. You’re paid round-trip mileage by the shortest practical route between your home and the courthouse.
Tolls for roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries are reimbursed in full. Parking can be reimbursed at the court’s discretion if you keep the receipt.
If your home is far enough from the courthouse that you need to stay overnight, you’re entitled to a subsistence allowance for meals and lodging. The rate mirrors what court employees receive when traveling in that same area, so it varies by location. You don’t need to itemize.
State reimbursement is less consistent. Many state courts cover mileage and parking, but rates and eligibility differ by jurisdiction, and some smaller courts offer nothing at all.
Whether Your Employer Keeps Paying You
Federal law protects your job during federal jury service. It does not require your employer to keep paying you. The statute protects the position, not the paycheck.
Roughly a dozen states and territories fill that gap by requiring private employers to pay employees for at least part of their jury service. The specifics vary. Some mandate full pay for the first three to five days. Others cap the required amount at a set dollar figure per day. Some apply only to employers above a certain size. The U.S. Department of Labor confirms that while federal law is silent on wages during jury service, some state laws do require them.
About fifteen states also prohibit employers from forcing you to burn vacation days, sick leave, or PTO to cover a jury absence. In states without that protection, whether your employer can require you to use paid leave depends on company policy and any applicable state rules. If your employee handbook doesn’t address jury duty, ask HR before your service starts.
Federal Government Employees
Federal employees get a better arrangement than most private-sector workers. The government grants court leave, which is paid time off that doesn’t come out of your annual or sick leave balance. You receive full salary for every day of jury service.
The trade-off: you have to turn over the $50-per-day attendance fee to your employing agency. You keep any expense reimbursements for mileage and transportation, but the attendance stipend goes back. If the court excuses you for a full day or a substantial part of one, you’re expected to notify your supervisor, because that time may need to be charged to regular leave.
Many state and local government employers follow a similar model, paying full salary and requiring employees to remit the court stipend. Check your agency’s specific policy.
Jury Pay Is Taxable
The IRS treats jury duty pay as taxable income. Report it on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, line 8h, no matter how small the amount.
If your employer paid your regular salary during jury service and required you to hand over the court’s stipend in exchange, you can deduct the amount you gave your employer as an adjustment to income on Schedule 1, line 24a. You still report the full jury pay as income first, then subtract what you turned over. The net effect is that you aren’t taxed on money you never actually kept.
Travel reimbursements from the court are generally not taxable. A federal district court that pays you more than $600 in attendance fees during a single calendar year will issue a 1099, though that only comes up on unusually long trials.
Asking to Be Excused for Financial Hardship
Federal courts can excuse or defer jurors whose service would cause “undue hardship or extreme inconvenience.” Each of the 94 federal district courts handles these requests on its own procedures, and the decision rests entirely with the court.
In practice, deferrals are easier to get than permanent excusals. A deferral pushes your service out by several months. If you’re self-employed or your employer doesn’t pay for jury leave, you’ll typically need to explain the financial impact in writing or in person before the judge. Simply saying you’d lose income usually isn’t enough on its own, since that’s true of most jurors. The question is whether your situation goes beyond the ordinary burden.
When the Check Arrives
Federal courts generally process payment after your service ends. Most districts mail a check to the address on file; some have moved to prepaid debit cards. Processing times vary. Some districts pay weekly during long trials; others issue a single payment at the end. If your address changes during service, tell the clerk’s office so your payment doesn’t get lost.
State timelines are similarly inconsistent. Some courts cut checks within a week or two; others take a month or longer. Your summons or the court’s juror information page will usually say what to expect. If payment hasn’t arrived in the stated window, contact the clerk’s office directly.