(NewsNation) — Unemployment benefits provide temporary help to those who are fired for no reason or forced to quit their job. But how much can you receive in unemployment benefits?
How much you can receive in benefits will depend on how much you made at your previous job as well as what state you live in. To qualify, you will need to contact state officials so they can examine your past wages, your reason for being unemployed and your availability for work.
Overall, employees with a higher wage would receive a higher benefits check, but it is still just a percentage of what was earned previously. Certain states also offer additional benefits to individuals with dependents.
What if I make $1K per week? What will my benefits check be?
This will all depend on what state you live in. Other factors that would go into calculating your benefits check include your income and recent work history.
However, here’s what you could expect in some states:
- Michigan: $362 each week for up to 20 weeks.
- Texas: $520 each week for up to 26 weeks.
- Florida: $275 each week for up to 12 weeks.
- Washington: $1,014 each week for up to 26 weeks.
- California: $450 each week for up to 26 weeks.
- New York: $504 each week for up to 26 weeks.
- Georgia: $365 each week for up to 26 weeks.
How are unemployment benefits calculated?
If you want to calculate your weekly benefits amount yourself instead of using an online calculator, you must:
- Figure out what your base period is for calculating benefits (in most states, this is a one-year period).
- Examine the base period and identify the time when you received the highest pay.
- Find the highest quarter (three-month period) earnings with a calculator.
- Figure out what your weekly benefits would be if you got another job.
- Calculate your benefits for every week if the partial before-tax (gross) income differs.
It is important to note that any benefits you receive are taxable. It is recommended that you set aside at least 10% of each benefits check for taxes. If you start working temporarily, you will need to report this to the state so that your unemployment benefits can be adjusted accordingly.
