California lets a self-employed person - a dancer working for herself, a creator, a performer - buy State Disability Insurance by election (DI Elective Coverage). In 2026 the premium is 8.84% of net profit (the 2024 Schedule SE), $406.64 at $4,600 or less, paid in four equal installments. Each quarter, 25% of that net profit counts as your wages, and the weekly benefit comes off EDD's own chart: 90% of weekly wages up to a $16,279.90 quarter, $1,127 up to $20,931.30, then 70% up to $1,765 a week. It pays up to 39 weeks of disability and up to 8 weeks of Paid Family Leave in a year. Every figure is editable for when the next year's are announced.

To elect you need at least $4,600 a year in net profit, a trade run year-round (not seasonally), more than half your income from self-employment, and a plan to keep working that way in California for the next eight quarters. You stay in for two full calendar years; a cancellation is sent on or before January 31 and takes effect January 1 of that year. A claim can be filed six months after the start date, and after a cancellation you wait 18 months to rejoin.