Tennessee Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Tennessee unemployment pays $55 to $325 a week for up to 12 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)
$55 to $325
Effective December 1, 2023
Maximum weeks
12
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Not taxed by the state
Federal income tax applies in every state
Tennessee 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 Tennessee estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Tennessee?
Tennessee does not use a percentage. It averages your wages in the two highest base period quarters and looks the average up in a table in the law. Averages from $780.01 to $806 pay $55 a week and each $26 band adds $1.
The table reaches $194 at an average of $4,420, then continues at $220 from $4,420.01 (that is how the statute is written) and tops out at $325 for averages above $7,150.
The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. The pages we could read do not describe an alternate base period, so ask the Department if you fall short.
Tennessee unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Tennessee also decides whether you lost your job through no fault of your own and whether you are able and available to work.
- An average above $780 in your two highest base period quarters,
- wages outside your highest quarter of at least the lesser of 6 times the weekly amount or $900, and
- total base period wages of at least 40 times the weekly amount.
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
Tennessee pays 12 weeks while the state average unemployment rate is at or below 5.5 percent, adds a week for each half point above that and stops at 20 weeks. The Department sets the rate twice a year from the seasonally adjusted figure, and your weeks are not changed during a benefit year. The total is the weekly amount times those weeks.
Working part time while collecting
Tennessee lets you earn part of your weekly amount before a reduction: the Department says a claimant at the $325 maximum can earn up to $81.25 (25 percent) and still get the full benefit. The DOL July 2026 compilation lists the greater of $50 or 25 percent of the weekly amount. We could not read the statute or rule for the exact formula, so this calculator does not estimate partial payments.
Are Tennessee unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. Tennessee does not tax wages or unemployment benefits, so benefits are taxed only on your federal return. The Department sends a Form 1099-G and lets you elect federal withholding.
How to apply in Tennessee
Apply through Jobs4TN. You must search for work (at least four contacts or activities a week) and certify weekly.
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
When this changes: Tennessee updates the number of weeks twice a year from the seasonally adjusted state unemployment rate. The number of weeks is set twice a year from the seasonally adjusted state unemployment rate. The $55 to $325 table is fixed in T.C.A. 50-7-301.
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Tennessee?
Regular Tennessee unemployment pays between $55 and $325 a week as of October 19, 2026. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. Tennessee does not use a percentage. It averages your wages in the two highest base period quarters and looks the average up in a table in the law. Averages from $780.01 to $806 pay $55 a week and each $26 band adds $1.
How is the Tennessee weekly benefit amount calculated?
Tennessee does not use a percentage. It averages your wages in the two highest base period quarters and looks the average up in a table in the law. Averages from $780.01 to $806 pay $55 a week and each $26 band adds $1. The table reaches $194 at an average of $4,420, then continues at $220 from $4,420.01 (that is how the statute is written) and tops out at $325 for averages above $7,150.
How long can I collect unemployment in Tennessee?
Tennessee pays 12 weeks while the state average unemployment rate is at or below 5.5 percent, adds a week for each half point above that and stops at 20 weeks. The Department sets the rate twice a year from the seasonally adjusted figure, and your weeks are not changed during a benefit year. The total is the weekly amount times those weeks.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Tennessee?
Tennessee does not tax wages or unemployment benefits, so benefits are taxed only on your federal return. The Department sends a Form 1099-G and lets you elect federal withholding.
Can I work part time and still get Tennessee unemployment?
Tennessee lets you earn part of your weekly amount before a reduction: the Department says a claimant at the $325 maximum can earn up to $81.25 (25 percent) and still get the full benefit. The DOL July 2026 compilation lists the greater of $50 or 25 percent of the weekly amount. We could not read the statute or rule for the exact formula, so this calculator does not estimate partial payments.
Why does the Tennessee benefit table jump from $194 to $220?
The table that Public Chapter 560 (2021) prints for T.C.A. 50-7-301(b) pays $194 for averages up to $4,420 and $220 from $4,420.01, so no weekly amount from $195 to $219 exists. It lifts the top of the table from $275 to $325. The calculator follows the table exactly as the act prints it.
Sources for Tennessee
- Tennessee Public Chapter 560 (2021), amending T.C.A. 50-7-301Full benefit table, 12 to 20 weeks, 40 times and $900 tests
- TN Labor and Workforce Development: Do I Qualify?$780.01 average, wage tests, base period
- TN Labor and Workforce Development: Apply for Benefits$325 maximum, 12 weeks at 5.5 percent or lower, 25 percent earnings example
- U.S. BLS: State employment and unemploymentSeasonally adjusted state unemployment rate for the weeks trigger
- U.S. DOL, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026)Cross-check of minimum, maximum, weeks and the earnings disregard
Sources checked October 19, 2026.
Verification note: The Tennessee Code on Justia and the Department help center blocked automated requests, so the benefit table and duration rules come from the signed text of Public Chapter 560 (2021), which amended section 50-7-301, and not from the current compiled code. The Department's Do I Qualify page prints an older duration table (12 weeks only at 4.5 percent or lower) that conflicts with the act and with its own Apply page; this page follows the act. Either way the current rate gives 12 weeks. The table pays whole dollars, so no rounding rule is needed. That Tennessee has no tax on wages or unemployment benefits is general knowledge of state law that we did not confirm on a state page.