Wisconsin Unemployment Calculator
As of October 19, 2026, regular Wisconsin unemployment pays $54 to $370 a week for 14 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)
$54 to $370
Effective January 5, 2014
Maximum weeks
14 to 26
Regular state benefits only
State income tax on benefits
Taxable
Federal income tax applies in every state
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin estimate.
How much does unemployment pay in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin pays 4 percent of your wages in the highest-paid quarter of your base period, rounded down to the dollar. The weekly rate is at least $54 and at most $370.
A highest quarter of $1,350 pays the $54 minimum, and $9,250 or more reaches the $370 maximum. There is no dependents allowance.
Wisconsin uses the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. If your wages fall short there, DOL lists an alternative base period of the last four completed quarters; the Wisconsin statutes we read do not spell out the details, so ask DWD if you started working recently.
Wisconsin unemployment eligibility: the wage tests
These are the monetary tests only. Wisconsin 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 35 times your weekly rate, and
- at least 4 times your weekly rate earned in quarters other than your highest one.
Maximum weeks and maximum benefit amount
The most you can collect in a benefit year is the lower of 26 times your weekly rate and 40 percent of your base period wages, so claims run 14 to 26 weeks. Wisconsin does not index the weeks to the unemployment rate.
Working part time while collecting
Wisconsin disregards the first $30 of weekly wages and reduces your benefit by 67 percent of the rest, rounded down to the dollar. A payment under $5 is not made, no benefit is paid when your weekly wages exceed $500, and none is paid for a week in which you work 32 hours or more (108.05(3)(c)).
Are Wisconsin unemployment benefits taxable?
Unemployment benefits are taxable income on your federal return in every state. Wisconsin DWD says unemployment insurance is income for federal and state taxes. You can ask for 10 percent federal and 5 percent state withholding in your online account, and DWD reports your payments on a Form 1099-G.
How to apply in Wisconsin
Apply online with the Department of Workforce Development, then file a weekly claim for every week you want paid.
Wisconsin DWD: Apply for unemployment
When this changes: Wisconsin writes the $54 minimum and $370 maximum into statute, so they change only when the Legislature amends 108.05. Minimum $54 and maximum $370 are fixed in Wis. Stat. 108.05(1)(r); recheck after each legislative session and in each DOL edition.
Frequently asked questions
How much does unemployment pay in Wisconsin?
Regular Wisconsin unemployment pays between $54 and $370 a week as of October 19, 2026. Your amount depends on the wages you were paid in your base period. Wisconsin pays 4 percent of your wages in the highest-paid quarter of your base period, rounded down to the dollar. The weekly rate is at least $54 and at most $370.
How is the Wisconsin weekly benefit amount calculated?
Wisconsin pays 4 percent of your wages in the highest-paid quarter of your base period, rounded down to the dollar. The weekly rate is at least $54 and at most $370. A highest quarter of $1,350 pays the $54 minimum, and $9,250 or more reaches the $370 maximum. There is no dependents allowance.
How long can I collect unemployment in Wisconsin?
The most you can collect in a benefit year is the lower of 26 times your weekly rate and 40 percent of your base period wages, so claims run 14 to 26 weeks. Wisconsin does not index the weeks to the unemployment rate.
Are unemployment benefits taxable in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin DWD says unemployment insurance is income for federal and state taxes. You can ask for 10 percent federal and 5 percent state withholding in your online account, and DWD reports your payments on a Form 1099-G.
Can I work part time and still get Wisconsin unemployment?
Wisconsin disregards the first $30 of weekly wages and reduces your benefit by 67 percent of the rest, rounded down to the dollar. A payment under $5 is not made, no benefit is paid when your weekly wages exceed $500, and none is paid for a week in which you work 32 hours or more (108.05(3)(c)).
Does Wisconsin pay the first week of unemployment?
Not the first eligible week. Wisconsin Statutes 108.04(3) make the first week of your benefit year, for which you applied on time and are otherwise eligible, a waiting period. You still file for that week. This calculator estimates the weekly benefit and the total available, not when the first payment arrives.
Sources for Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Statutes 108.05, Amount of benefitsFormula, $54 and $370, partial-week rule, rounding
- Wisconsin Statutes 108.04 and 108.06Wage tests (35 times, 4 times), waiting week and the 26 times or 40 percent limit
- Wisconsin DWD: Tax withholdingTax treatment and withholding rates
- Wisconsin DWD: UI handbookWeekly claim steps and eligibility rules
- 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 Legislature website did not answer automated requests, so the statute text above was read from an Internet Archive copy of the 2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes (updated through 2025 Wis. Act 87, published March 1, 2026). The DWD pages were read directly. DWD does not publish a worked example we could reproduce, so the tests check the statute formula against the DOL figures instead. The statute does not state how to round the 40 percent limit, so this calculator rounds it down to the dollar.