Approximate weekly unemployment benefit and total over duration.
Weekly benefit
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Total over period
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Replacement %
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Your breakdown
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What your state actually pays
Every state runs its own unemployment insurance program, so there is no single national benefit. What they share is a shape: a percentage of your prior earnings, replaced up to a hard weekly ceiling, for a limited number of weeks. This calculator strips that shape down to its three moving parts so you can sanity check what an official monetary determination is likely to land on before it arrives in the mail. It takes your prior weekly wage, the replacement rate you select, and your state maximum, then returns the smaller of the formula amount and the cap.
Most states target a replacement rate somewhere in the 40 percent to 50 percent range of average weekly wages, which is why the field defaults to 50 percent. The weekly maximum is where states diverge sharply. Massachusetts sits near the top around $1,033 a week, while Mississippi anchors the bottom near $235. Plug in the number from your own state agency rather than guessing, because the cap is usually what decides your check, not the percentage.
Where the cap quietly clips you
The formula and the cap fight each other, and the lower number always wins. A worker earning $600 a week in a state with a $600 maximum never feels the ceiling, because half of $600 is only $300. A high earner is a different story. The more you made, the more the cap drags your effective replacement rate down, which is the single most common surprise people hit when their first payment posts well below half their old paycheck.
A capped claim, run end to end
Say you earned $1,600 a week before losing the job, your state replaces 50 percent, the weekly maximum is $600, and you expect a full 26 week run. The formula wants to pay $800, but the cap holds it to $600. That is a 37.5 percent replacement rate, not the 50 percent the rate field suggested. Over 26 weeks the total comes to $15,600.
The tax bite people forget
Unemployment compensation is fully taxable as ordinary income at the federal level. The state agency reports it to you and the IRS on Form 1099-G, and it flows onto your Form 1040 the same way wages do. Nothing is withheld unless you ask. When you file your claim you can elect voluntary federal withholding of 10 percent using Form W-4V, which I almost always recommend, because a 26 week run at $600 a week is $15,600 of income that can quietly push you into a balance due the following April. State treatment varies. A handful of states exempt these benefits entirely, others tax them in full, so confirm with your own department of revenue.
This tool is built for the person who just got laid off and wants a fast, honest range, not a promise. Real determinations use a base period of roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters, may average your two highest quarters, and can add dependent allowances. Treat the output as a planning figure and let the official notice be the final word.
How long can I actually collect?
The historic standard is 26 weeks, but it is no longer universal. Several states now tie maximum duration to the statewide unemployment rate, so the cap can fall to 12 to 20 weeks when the job market is strong. Florida and North Carolina are well known for shorter sliding scales. Set the weeks field to match your state's current schedule rather than assuming 26.
Does severance or part-time work reduce my benefit?
Often, yes. Many states treat severance as wages that delay or offset benefits, and part-time earnings during a claim week usually reduce that week's payment under a partial benefit formula. Report all income to the agency. Failing to report earnings is the fastest way to trigger an overpayment notice you will have to repay later.