Re: [csswg-drafts] Absolute position respecting the padding of the parent element (#12929)

> When an element is positioned absolutely (`position: absolute`), its positioning coordinates (`top`, `right`, `bottom`, `left`) are calculated relative to the border box of its nearest positioned ancestor.

This is not correct.

From the CSS Positioned Layout spec:

Containing Blocks of Positioned Boxes
[https://www.w3.org/TR/css-position-3/#def-cb](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-position-3/#def-cb)

> If the ancestor is not an inline box, the containing block is formed by the **padding edge** of the ancestor.

And:

Positioning Coordinates
[https://www.w3.org/TR/css-position-3/#coords](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-position-3/#coords)

> For absolute positioning, the inset properties represent insets from the containing block.

Since the containing block is formed by the **padding edge**, offsets are calculated relative to the **padding box**, not the border box.

So absolute positioning does not ignore the parent’s padding; `top: 0` / `left: 0` already align to the padding edge.


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Received on Monday, 9 March 2026 14:11:49 UTC