Vermont Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Vermont unemployment pays $96 to $751 a week for 21 to 26 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)
$96 to $751
Current figures
Maximum weeks
21 to 26
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Taxable
Federal income tax applies in every state
Vermont 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 Vermont estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Vermont?
The weekly benefit amount is your wages in the two highest base period quarters divided by 45, capped at the maximum. Vermont's pages do not state a rounding rule; the calculator rounds down to the whole dollar.
Vermont adjusts the maximum each July from the state average weekly wage. Its Department of Labor lists $751. Two highest quarters of $33,795 or more reach it.
Vermont first uses the first four of the last five completed quarters. If you are not eligible, it uses the last four completed quarters, then the last three completed quarters plus wages in the current quarter. Enter those quarters if this estimate says you do not qualify.
Vermont unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Vermont also decides whether you lost your job through no fault of your own and whether you are able and available to work.
- Wages in one base period quarter of at least the state minimum quarterly amount ($3,832 per DOL July 2026, adjusted each July with the minimum wage), and
- wages in the other base period quarters of at least 40 percent of your highest quarter.
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
The maximum benefit is the lower of 26 times the weekly benefit amount and 46 percent of base period wages. That gives about 21 to 26 weeks, and 26 weeks for wages spread evenly. A finding of misconduct limits a claim to 23 full weeks.
Working part time while collecting
Vermont's pages that we reached do not state the earnings rule for partial weeks. DOL July 2026 lists 50 percent of gross wages as the amount disregarded. This calculator does not estimate partial weeks; ask the Department of Labor how your earnings will reduce a payment.
Are Vermont unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. Unemployment benefits are taxable on your federal and Vermont returns. If you choose federal withholding, Vermont withholds state tax at 24 percent of the federal amount.
How to apply in Vermont
File through the Vermont Department of Labor claimant portal, then certify for benefits each week.
Vermont Department of Labor: Unemployment Insurance
When this changes: Vermont adjusts the maximum weekly benefit and the minimum quarterly wage every July for claims from the first full week of the month. Vermont adjusts the maximum weekly benefit and the minimum quarterly wage each July (claims from the first full week of July); recheck each July.
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Vermont?
Regular Vermont unemployment pays between $96 and $751 a week as of October 19, 2026. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. The weekly benefit amount is your wages in the two highest base period quarters divided by 45, capped at the maximum. Vermont's pages do not state a rounding rule; the calculator rounds down to the whole dollar.
How is the Vermont weekly benefit amount calculated?
The weekly benefit amount is your wages in the two highest base period quarters divided by 45, capped at the maximum. Vermont's pages do not state a rounding rule; the calculator rounds down to the whole dollar. Vermont adjusts the maximum each July from the state average weekly wage. Its Department of Labor lists $751. Two highest quarters of $33,795 or more reach it.
How long can I collect unemployment in Vermont?
The maximum benefit is the lower of 26 times the weekly benefit amount and 46 percent of base period wages. That gives about 21 to 26 weeks, and 26 weeks for wages spread evenly. A finding of misconduct limits a claim to 23 full weeks.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Vermont?
Unemployment benefits are taxable on your federal and Vermont returns. If you choose federal withholding, Vermont withholds state tax at 24 percent of the federal amount.
Can I work part time and still get Vermont unemployment?
Vermont's pages that we reached do not state the earnings rule for partial weeks. DOL July 2026 lists 50 percent of gross wages as the amount disregarded. This calculator does not estimate partial weeks; ask the Department of Labor how your earnings will reduce a payment.
Why does Vermont pay fewer than 26 weeks to some claimants?
Vermont limits the total to 46 percent of your base period wages or 26 times your weekly benefit amount, whichever is less. Wages concentrated in two quarters can hit the 46 percent limit near 21 weeks, and a finding of misconduct caps a claim at 23 weeks.
Sources for Vermont
- Vermont DOL: Calculating Your UI BenefitsDivide by 45, $751 maximum, 46 percent and 26-week limit, base period methods
- 21 V.S.A. 1338: Weekly benefits40 percent rule, annual adjustment of the maximum and minimum quarterly wage, tax notice and withholding
- Vermont DOL: Annual determinations, July 1, 2024 (maximum and quarterly wage method)How the maximum and the minimum quarterly wage are adjusted
- 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 formula, duration rule, base period methods and $751 maximum come from the Vermont Department of Labor page; the 40 percent test, annual adjustments and tax notice from 21 V.S.A. 1338. Vermont publishes new maximum and minimum quarterly wage notices each July; the 2026 notices could not be found, so the $3,832 quarterly wage and the $96 minimum are DOL July 2026 figures (the 2024 notice listed $3,606). Section 1338(e) and (f) also carry contingent 2021 No. 183 amendments (a $25 addition to the weekly amount and a changed maximum formula) that are not in effect and are not used here. The Vermont pages state no rounding rule, so the calculator rounds down; 21 weeks as the low end is our arithmetic, where DOL lists 23.