Massachusetts Unemployment Calculator 2026
Massachusetts pays $0–$1,105 per week for up to 30 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is 1/52 of your two highest-earning quarters combined. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA).
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Enter your gross wages for each quarter of the base period — roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. Your state's exact window is shown with the result.
Base period: DUA: 'Primary base period, or how much you earned in the last 4 completed quarters.' (an alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard one).
File your claim with Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-08-01 against Mass.gov, Department of Unemployment Assistance - 'How unemployment insurance benefits are determined' + 'Unemployment insurance eligibility' + 'Working while receiving unemployment benefits' + DUA 'The Employer's Guide to Unemployment Insurance' (effective 2025-10-05)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Massachusetts disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
- Disregard: 0.3333333333333333 × WBA $400.00 = $133.33
- Countable earnings: $150.00 − $133.33 = $16.67
- Payable: WBA $400.00 − $16.67 = $383.00
How dependants change the Massachusetts benefit
DUA: 'If you have any dependents and you are their main support, you may be eligible for a dependency allowance of up to $25 per child. Spouses are not included. Dependents must be: Under the age of 18; Under the age of 24 and enrolled as a full-time student; Over the age of 18 and not able to work due to a mental or physical disability.' The Employer's Guide: 'A dependency allowance of $25 per week is added to the basic benefit amount for each dependent child... To qualify for the allowance, the dependent child must be wholly or mainly supported by the claimant.' Worked example in the Employer's Guide: '$25 x 4 dependents = $100.00 dependency allowance; $100.00 + $250 original weekly benefit amount = $350.' NO CAP on the total dependency allowance is stated on any DUA page or PDF opened for this pack - see the pack notes.
How long benefits can last
Up to 30 weeks; total benefits are DUA: 'If you are approved for benefits, your claim will remain open for 1 year (52 weeks). This is your benefit year. In that year, you are eligible to receive up to: 30 times your weekly benefit amount, or 36% of your total wages in your base period.' and 'In Massachusetts, the maximum duration of benefits is 30 weeks.' DUA worked example: 'if your weekly benefit amount is $362: And your maximum benefit amount for the year is $10,860, you qualify for 30 weeks ($10,860 / $362 = 30 weeks); And your maximum benefit amount for the year is $8,688, you qualify for 24 weeks ($8,688 / $362 = 24 weeks).'
Who qualifies for benefits in Massachusetts
DUA: 'You should apply for unemployment benefits if you: Lost your job through no fault of your own; Are working significantly reduced hours through no fault of your own; Earned at least $6,300 over the last 12 months; Are authorized to work in the United States; Earned income in Massachusetts; Are able, available, and actively looking for work.' The Employer's Guide adds the wage-multiple test: 'To be eligible, the claimant must have total base period wages of at least 30 times the potential weekly benefit (approximately 15 weeks of employment) and $6000 (rounded down to nearest hundred dollars) in the base period' - the $6,300 figure on the live DUA page is the current indexed amount.
- Minimum base-period wages
- $6,300
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) ↗
Base period in Massachusetts
DUA: 'Primary base period, or how much you earned in the last 4 completed quarters.'. An alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard window. DUA: 'Alternate base period, or how much you earned in the last 3 completed quarters and the time between the last completed quarter and the effective date of your initial claim. This may be used to increase your maximum benefit credit.' The Employer's Guide: 'when a claimant is ineligible using the primary base period, the alternate base period will be used.'
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
DUA: 'Income from severance, vacation time, sick time, and pensions may impact your benefit amount. Report this income when you apply.' The Employer's Guide: 'Workers receiving separation payments are usually not eligible to receive UI benefits for the period covered by the separation pay. Whenever a worker's eligibility is delayed for one or more weeks due to the receipt of separation pay, the benefit year is extended by the same number of weeks... Severance pay, separation pay, or pay in lieu of dismissal notice are all generally disqualifying under the law, however there are exceptions' - the guide's table lists payments for a release of claims, lump-sum severance paid in connection with a DUA-certified plant closing, accrued sick leave, accrued vacation pay at permanent separation, and a stay bonus not based on past service as non-disqualifying.
Source: Mass.gov, Department of Unemployment Assistance - 'How unemployment insurance benefits are determined' + 'Unemployment insurance eligibility' + 'Working while receiving unemployment benefits' + DUA 'The Employer's Guide to Unemployment Insurance' (verified 2026-08-01).
Massachusetts unemployment: frequently asked questions
Massachusetts pays between $0 and $1,105 per week in 2026. Your amount is 1/52 of your two highest-earning quarters combined, and only Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-08-01.
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