Wisconsin Unemployment Calculator 2026
Wisconsin pays $54–$370 per week for up to 26 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is 4% of your highest-earning base-period quarter. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance.
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: DWD: 'The first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the filing of your initial claim application for UI for a new benefit year.' (an alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard one).
File your claim with Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-07-31 against Wisconsin DWD Unemployment Insurance - Qualifying Wages (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Wisconsin disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
How long benefits can last
Up to 26 weeks; total benefits are DWD: 'Your MBA will be 26 times your WBR or 40% of your total base period wages from all covered employment - whichever is smaller.'
Who qualifies for benefits in Wisconsin
DWD Qualifying Wages: the claimant must 'have been paid wages from covered employment in at least two quarters of your base period', 'have a weekly benefit rate of $54 or more', 'have wages in the three calendar quarters of your base period with the lowest earnings that are equal to at least four times your weekly benefit rate when added together', and 'have total base period wages equal to at least 35 times your weekly benefit rate.' After a prior benefit year the claimant must also have worked since that year began and earned at least eight times the weekly benefit rate of that claim.
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance ↗
Base period in Wisconsin
DWD: 'The first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the filing of your initial claim application for UI for a new benefit year.'. An alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard window. DWD: 'If you do not have enough wages to qualify for UI using this base period, an "alternate base period" will be used. The alternate base period is the first four most recently completed calendar quarters prior to the week you filed your initial claim application for UI for a new benefit year.'
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
DWD Reductions page: 'When you report income on your weekly claim, wages earned in that week are added to other types of income (such as holiday, vacation, and dismissal/severance pay) to determine your gross income for the week.' Gross pay of more than $500, or 32 or more hours at the usual rate of pay, from any combination including termination pay, makes the week unpayable.
Source: Wisconsin DWD Unemployment Insurance - Qualifying Wages (verified 2026-07-31).
Wisconsin unemployment: frequently asked questions
Wisconsin pays between $54 and $370 per week in 2026. Your amount is 4% of your highest-earning base-period quarter, and only Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-07-31.
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