Alabama Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Alabama unemployment pays $45 to $275 a week for up to 14 weeks. Enter your wages for the four quarters of your base period to estimate your weekly benefit, your maximum total benefit and which rule capped it.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Formulas and sources checked October 19, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Weekly benefit range (October 19, 2026)
$45 to $275
Effective January 1, 2020
Maximum weeks
14
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Not taxed by the state
Federal income tax applies in every state
Alabama unemployment benefit calculator
Which months are my four quarters?
The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. The quarter you file in, and the one just before it, are left out. Enter the quarters in order, oldest first. Each quarter is three calendar months: January to March, April to June, July to September, October to December.
| If you file in | Your base period is |
|---|---|
| January to March 2026 | October 2024 to September 2025 |
| April to June 2026 | January to December 2025 |
| July to September 2026 | April 2025 to March 2026 |
| October to December 2026 | July 2025 to June 2026 |
Use gross wages (before taxes) from every covered job, in the quarter they were earned. If your wages are too low under this period, many states test an alternate base period made of the last four completed quarters.
Enter your wages above to see your Alabama estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Alabama?
Alabama divides the average of your wages in the two highest base period quarters by 26. A fraction over 50 cents rounds up and 50 cents or less rounds down.
If the result is $44.50 or less there is no weekly benefit amount. The minimum paid is $45 and the maximum is $275, which a two-quarter average above $7,137 reaches.
The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. The Alabama handbook and statute pages we read do not describe an alternate base period, so ask ADOL if you recently started working.
Alabama unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Alabama also decides whether you lost your job through no fault of your own and whether you are able and available to work.
- Total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter, and
- a weekly benefit amount of at least $45 (a two-quarter average above $1,157).
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
The maximum benefit is the lower of 14 times the weekly amount and one-fourth of your base period wages. The 14 weeks hold while the state unemployment rate is 6.5 percent or lower, and rise by a week for each half point above that to 20 weeks at 9.5 percent or more. The total is rounded to the nearest dollar.
Working part time while collecting
Alabama pays your weekly amount less the part of your weekly gross earnings above one third of it, rounded to the nearest dollar. Earnings equal to or above the weekly amount pay nothing. Example: a $240 weekly amount allows $80, so $120 of earnings pays $200.
Are Alabama unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. Unemployment benefits are taxable on your federal return, and ADOL lets you elect 10 percent federal withholding. Alabama does not tax them: the Alabama Department of Revenue's 2024 Form 40 booklet lists unemployment compensation among income you do not report on the Alabama return.
How to apply in Alabama
File online or by phone. You serve an unpaid waiting week at the start of the claim and certify weekly.
Alabama Department of Labor: Unemployment
When this changes: Alabama checks the unemployment rate for the weeks table each year; the $45 and $275 limits are fixed in the Code until the legislature changes them. The $45 to $275 range has been fixed in statute since January 1, 2020. Weeks follow the third-quarter average unemployment rate (14 weeks at 6.5 percent or lower).
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Alabama?
Regular Alabama unemployment pays between $45 and $275 a week as of October 19, 2026. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. Alabama divides the average of your wages in the two highest base period quarters by 26. A fraction over 50 cents rounds up and 50 cents or less rounds down.
How is the Alabama weekly benefit amount calculated?
Alabama divides the average of your wages in the two highest base period quarters by 26. A fraction over 50 cents rounds up and 50 cents or less rounds down. If the result is $44.50 or less there is no weekly benefit amount. The minimum paid is $45 and the maximum is $275, which a two-quarter average above $7,137 reaches.
How long can I collect unemployment in Alabama?
The maximum benefit is the lower of 14 times the weekly amount and one-fourth of your base period wages. The 14 weeks hold while the state unemployment rate is 6.5 percent or lower, and rise by a week for each half point above that to 20 weeks at 9.5 percent or more. The total is rounded to the nearest dollar.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Alabama?
Unemployment benefits are taxable on your federal return, and ADOL lets you elect 10 percent federal withholding. Alabama does not tax them: the Alabama Department of Revenue's 2024 Form 40 booklet lists unemployment compensation among income you do not report on the Alabama return.
Can I work part time and still get Alabama unemployment?
Alabama pays your weekly amount less the part of your weekly gross earnings above one third of it, rounded to the nearest dollar. Earnings equal to or above the weekly amount pay nothing. Example: a $240 weekly amount allows $80, so $120 of earnings pays $200.
Does Alabama pay the first week of unemployment?
No. For claims filed on or after August 1, 2012, the first week of a claim is an unpaid waiting week. You still have to file a weekly certification for it, and it does not use up any of your maximum benefit amount.
Sources for Alabama
- Code of Alabama 25-4-72, Individual weekly benefit amount1/26 formula, rounding, $44.50 floor, $275 maximum
- Code of Alabama 25-4-73, Weekly benefit paymentOne-third earnings rule, waiting week
- Code of Alabama 25-4-74, Maximum benefit entitlement14 to 20 times the weekly amount, one-fourth of wages
- Code of Alabama 25-4-77, Conditions of eligibility1.5 times the highest quarter
- ADOL Benefit Rights and Responsibilities (archived copy)$45 to $275, base period, tax withholding, waiting week
- ADOL Claims and Benefits FAQ (archived copy)Partial earnings and 14 to 20 weeks
- Alabama Department of Revenue: 2024 Form 40 bookletUnemployment compensation is not reported on the Alabama return
- U.S. DOL, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026)Cross-check of minimum, maximum and weeks
Sources checked October 19, 2026.
Verification note: labor.alabama.gov refused direct requests and Justia and the legislature site were blocked, so the ADOL guides come from Internet Archive copies and the statute text comes from the onecle.com copy of the Code of Alabama (last modified May 2021, current through Act 2019-204 for these sections). The statute does not say which way a half dollar rounds for the total benefit or the partial payment, so the calculator rounds halves up. The statute says fractions over 50 cents round up for the weekly amount, while DOL's Comparison of State UI Laws 2023 (Table 3-5) lists Alabama as "Higher $"; the calculator keeps the statute reading. The Alabama tax statement comes from the Alabama Department of Revenue 2024 Form 40 booklet.