# WGA Minimums 2026: How Much Screenwriters Make > What a screenwriter is paid at minimum in 2026: official WGA floors for a feature screenplay, a TV episode, a staff week and streaming residuals, free. What a screenwriter is paid at minimum in 2026: official WGA floors for a feature screenplay, a TV episode, a staff week and streaming residuals, free. Useful output, not a score ## What this tool gives you ### The published floor for the step See the official Guild minimum for a named writing step — original, rewrite, polish, story and teleplay, or a staff week — in the MBA year you choose. ### Four-year schedule where it exists Feature, episode, staff, and High-Budget SVOD residual tables publish Years 1–4, as the official schedule and FAQ list them. ### A copyable readout Copy the family, the step, the floor, and the source. The memo is not a quote and not a deal. ## How to use it 1. 1 ### Choose a deal family High-budget feature, low-budget feature, half-hour, hour, staff week, or a streaming residual table. 2. 2 ### Pick the writing step Original, rewrite, polish, story and teleplay, or the residual platform row. For story-and-teleplay, optionally apply the official pilot or backup multiple. 3. 3 ### Read the floor, then confirm the Guild Copy the readout if you want it in notes. The live schedule on the Guild site is the authority. ## How to read the result These are official minimums for covered work at a signatory, not typical earnings and not a salary. Residuals follow credit and reuse; this page displays published totals and does not calculate what a specific title is owed. Confirm the current MBA schedule before a deal. ## Questions writers ask ### Is this a salary calculator? No. It shows published Guild floors for named writing steps. Typical earnings, quotes, and residuals on a specific title are a different question. ### Does a spec pay scale? Scale applies after a signatory hires or buys covered work. A spec can sell; until then the pages are yours. Confirm whether the buyer is a signatory before treating any figure as a Guild floor. ### Where do the numbers come from? The official 2026 Schedule of Minimums for theatrical, television, and staff rates, and the 2026 MBA Contract Changes FAQ for High-Budget SVOD three-year residual totals. ### Can I use this as legal or financial advice? No. This page is not legal advice, not financial advice, and not a quote for your deal. Minimums, credits, and residuals are fact-specific: the writing step, the budget band, whether the company is a signatory, and the credit on the picture all change the number. Confirm the live Guild schedule and the MBA FAQ before you rely on a figure. Talk to the Guild or a qualified representative about your contract. ## Defined in the glossary - [WGA (Writers Guild of America)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/wga) [The labor union representing film, television, radio, and new-media writers in the United States — two affiliated bodies, the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East, split by geography.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/wga) - [2026 WGA MBA](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/2026-wga-mba) [The current Minimum Basic Agreement between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, effective May 2, 2026, with minimums and working protections for covered writing.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/2026-wga-mba) - [Residuals](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/residuals) [Payments owed under the WGA agreement to a credited writer when covered work is reused after its first run — broadcast repeats, licensing to another market, home video, and streaming. They are separate from the fee paid to write the script.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/residuals) - [Guaranteed Second Step](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/guaranteed-second-step) [A second paid writing step guaranteed in qualifying WGA-covered theatrical deals. Under the 2026 MBA, the protection expands to writers hired for a first-draft screenplay at up to 225% of the applicable minimum.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/guaranteed-second-step) - [WGA Signatory](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/wga-signatory) [A company that has agreed to be bound by the WGA collective-bargaining agreement for covered writing employment, including applicable minimums, credits, residuals, and pension and health contributions.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/wga-signatory) ## Keep working with the draft ### [Free Screenplay Length Checker](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-length) [Check a feature, pilot, or short against page-count practice, official contest windows, and a published feature corpus — then export a memo you can send with the draft.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-length) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-length) ### [Free Writing Deadline & Word Goal Planner](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/writing-goal-planner) [Turn a word-count or page goal into realistic writing-day targets, weekly pacing, buffer time, milestone dates, and a copyable schedule.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/writing-goal-planner) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/writing-goal-planner) ### [Free Script Breakdown Tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) [Break down a Fountain or Final Draft screenplay privately in your browser: scene sheets, eighths, cast, locations, day/night, and exportable CSVs.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) Continue in Plot and keep writing, with the screenplay formatting done for you. [Start writing in Plot](https://app.inkwell.software/signup) [Read the related guide](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenwriter-pay) --- Canonical page: