Georgia Unemployment Calculator: Up to $365/Week, 14 Weeks

Georgia's weekly check for a regular paycheck

GDOL adds your two highest quarters and divides by 42. At $500 a week those two quarters total $13,000, which gives $309; from $590 a week the $365 maximum applies instead. A claim filed October 25, 2026 is paid for up to 14 weeks, so even at $3,000 a week the balance tops out at $5,110. All four quarters are assumed equal.

Worked example: an October filing traced line by line

Quarters of $5,200, $6,900, $7,400 and $4,100, filed October 12, 2026. The worksheet returns exactly these results for that entry.

The weekly amount comes from the top two quarters only, so the $4,100 quarter adds nothing to the rate but still counts toward the one-fourth limit and the distribution test. With wages this even, the 14-week cap binds first. Type the four quarters and the filing date into the worksheet to check each result.

Start with two quarters, then test the full base period

Georgia's regular formula adds the two highest covered-wage quarters, divides by 42 and drops the dollar fraction. Wages must appear in at least two quarters, and the total base-period wages must reach 1.5 times the highest quarter.

A computed amount above $26 but below $55 is raised to $55; the weekly ceiling is $365. A computed amount of $26 or less does not create a minimum award. These are the current rules in O.C.G.A. §34-8-193, corroborated by GDOL's current claimant guidance. Some older employer material still says $45, which this worksheet does not use.

With $6,000, $6,000, $3,000 and $3,000 in the four quarters, the top pair totals $12,000. Division by 42 gives $285 after rounding down. The total of $18,000 exceeds the $9,000 wage requirement, so the basic monetary tests pass.

The alternate calculation can rescue a concentrated wage record

If the 1.5-times test is the reason the regular calculation fails, Georgia divides the single highest quarter by 21 instead. It rounds down, applies the weekly limits and requires total wages of at least 40 times that weekly amount. Wages must still appear in two quarters. This is a separate calculation, not a waiver of the earnings requirement.

For example, $14,000 in one quarter and $600 in another totals $14,600. That fails 1.5 × $14,000. The alternate formula reaches the $365 cap, and $14,600 exactly equals 40 × $365, so it meets the statutory alternate test. Reducing the second quarter to $599.99 fails that test. A high quarter alone cannot qualify.

July–December 2026 has a 14-week ceiling

For claims filed in July through December, the statute uses the previous April's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. GDOL reported April 2026 at 3.5%, below the 4.5% threshold for a 14-week ceiling. The calendar month of filing determines this duration period; the claim's effective Sunday can be in the preceding month.

The date field here represents the filing date for Georgia's duration selection. A blank filing date uses your current local date and selects its supported filing period. For a January–June 2026 filing date, enter the authorized 14–26 week ceiling from the determination. October 2025 unemployment data was not published during the federal funding lapse, so this worksheet does not invent a rate for that earlier period. For a later filing year outside the verified wage calendar, copy the agency's weekly award, maximum balance and authorized weeks into the official-award worksheet; no successor duration is inferred.

The balance rounds to a weekly-benefit multiple

Section 34-8-193(d) starts with the smaller of the duration ceiling times the weekly amount, or one-quarter of base-period wages. It then adjusts that result to the nearest multiple of the weekly benefit. This is why a simple quarter-of-wages balance can differ from the award.

In the $285 example, 14 × $285 is $3,990, less than $4,500, so the modeled balance is $3,990. The $14,600 alternate example starts with $3,650, exactly 10 payments of $365. The maximum balance at $365 for all 14 weeks is $5,110, but an individual wage record may support fewer weeks.

For very low wages, the statutory calculation can produce fewer than six payable weeks while GDOL's current FAQ states a six-week minimum. This worksheet leaves the balance, duration and wage-status conclusion unknown in that conflict instead of assuming an extra award. The weekly formula remains a conditional illustration. Ask GDOL to resolve the determination.

What the wage estimate does not approve

Use only covered wages and quarters accepted by GDOL. The agency selects a regular or alternate base period, handles interstate wage credits and decides separation and continuing eligibility. Current earnings, pensions, severance, work-search requirements and offsets can affect payments. This model assumes full eligible weeks, and optional withholding is not a calculation of taxes owed.

Review the monetary determination when an employer or quarter is missing. A formula result is not an approval or a payment date. Use the award worksheet when you already have an agency balance to model.

Georgia primary sources

• General Assembly Title 34 publication: §34-8-193
• GDOL current claimant FAQ: minimum, maximum and duration
• GDOL April 2026 seasonally adjusted rate
• GDOL notice that October 2025 data is unavailable

Verified October 1, 2026. See methodology and state source records.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Georgia wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-01-01 to 2026-06-30; 2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31. Source dates describe when evidence was checked; they do not create a legal expiration. A blank claim date uses the current local date. After a finite schedule ends, the form shows an explicit official-award worksheet. Enter the weekly award, maximum account and authorized weeks from the determination. An unverified successor rate is never copied from the previous annual table.