Kansas Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Kansas unemployment pays $165 to $663 a week for 10 to 16 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)
$165 to $663
Effective July 1, 2026
Maximum weeks
10 to 16
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Taxable
Federal income tax applies in every state
Kansas 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 Kansas estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Kansas?
Kansas pays 4.25 percent of your wages in the highest base period quarter, rounded down to the dollar. The result is raised to the $165 minimum or cut to the $663 maximum.
A highest quarter of about $15,600 or more reaches the maximum. Kansas sets the maximum at 55 percent of the statewide average weekly wage each July 1, and a claim keeps the figure in force when its benefit year began.
Kansas uses the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. The DOL comparison lists an alternative base period of the last four completed quarters, and the statute adds one for a claimant returning to work after a qualifying injury. Ask KDOL if your regular base period falls short.
Kansas unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Kansas also decides whether you lost your job through no fault of your own and whether you are able and available to work.
- Base period wages of at least 30 times your weekly amount, and
- wages in more than one quarter of the base period.
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
Kansas ties the maximum weeks to the three-month state unemployment rate at the start of your benefit year: 16 weeks under 5 percent, 20 weeks from 5 percent to under 6 percent and 26 weeks at 6 percent or more. Kansas was near 3.9 percent in early 2026, so new claims get at most 16 weeks. The total is also limited to one-third of base period wages, so low or uneven wages can mean as few as 10 weeks.
Working part time while collecting
Kansas reduces your weekly benefit by the part of your weekly wages above 25 percent of your weekly amount, and rounds the payment down to the dollar.
Are Kansas unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. Kansas Department of Labor guidance says unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal and state returns. You can choose withholding in the KansasUI.gov portal, and KDOL sends a Form 1099-G each January.
How to apply in Kansas
File your initial claim online with the Kansas Department of Labor, then request benefits every week.
Kansas Department of Labor: Unemployment
When this changes: Kansas resets the maximum and minimum every July 1; the next reset applies to claims effective July 1, 2027. Maximum (55 percent of the statewide average weekly wage) and minimum reset each July 1; weeks depend on the three-month state unemployment rate (16 weeks under 5 percent).
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Kansas?
Regular Kansas unemployment pays between $165 and $663 a week as of October 19, 2026. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. Kansas pays 4.25 percent of your wages in the highest base period quarter, rounded down to the dollar. The result is raised to the $165 minimum or cut to the $663 maximum.
How is the Kansas weekly benefit amount calculated?
Kansas pays 4.25 percent of your wages in the highest base period quarter, rounded down to the dollar. The result is raised to the $165 minimum or cut to the $663 maximum. A highest quarter of about $15,600 or more reaches the maximum. Kansas sets the maximum at 55 percent of the statewide average weekly wage each July 1, and a claim keeps the figure in force when its benefit year began.
How long can I collect unemployment in Kansas?
Kansas ties the maximum weeks to the three-month state unemployment rate at the start of your benefit year: 16 weeks under 5 percent, 20 weeks from 5 percent to under 6 percent and 26 weeks at 6 percent or more. Kansas was near 3.9 percent in early 2026, so new claims get at most 16 weeks. The total is also limited to one-third of base period wages, so low or uneven wages can mean as few as 10 weeks.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Kansas?
Kansas Department of Labor guidance says unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal and state returns. You can choose withholding in the KansasUI.gov portal, and KDOL sends a Form 1099-G each January.
Can I work part time and still get Kansas unemployment?
Kansas reduces your weekly benefit by the part of your weekly wages above 25 percent of your weekly amount, and rounds the payment down to the dollar.
Does the Kansas maximum change during my claim?
No. Kansas pays claims that qualify for the maximum at the maximum in effect when the benefit year began, even if a new maximum starts on the next July 1. The minimum is also fixed for the benefit year.
Sources for Kansas
- K.S.A. 44-704, Benefits; limitationsFormula, minimum and maximum rules, weeks by unemployment rate, partial rule, one-third limit
- K.S.A. 44-705, Eligibility30 times test and more-than-one-quarter test
- Kansas Department of Labor: Unemployment tax and 1099-GTax treatment and withholding
- U.S. DOL, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026)Cross-check of minimum, maximum, weeks and the partial-benefit disregard
Sources checked October 19, 2026.
Verification note: The statutes were read on the Revisor of Statutes site. The Kansas Department of Labor site returned errors to automated requests, so the $165 and $663 amounts come from the DOL July 2026 compilation, which matches the 55 percent and 25 percent rules in the statute, and the tax sentence comes from a search excerpt of the KDOL tax page. The Kansas unemployment rate of about 3.9 percent in early 2026 comes from a BLS state summary seen in search results; we could not read a September 2026 figure.