Illinois Unemployment Calculator: Max $628/Week + Dependents

The 2026 IDES table has three payment columns

For new benefit years and weeks beginning January 1, 2026, the Illinois Department of Employment Security publishes a $628 base weekly maximum, $748 including an approved nonworking spouse allowance and $859 including an approved dependent child allowance. This worksheet uses the exact 737 wage bands in Table 1, including its final uncapped wage band.

Table 2 in the same document applies to older benefit years. Its $857 child-inclusive maximum must not replace the new-claim $859 maximum. Future statutory 2027 percentage changes also do not apply to a 2026 benefit year.

The two highest covered quarters select the table row. All four quarters still matter for qualification. Enter each accepted quarter separately, including confirmed zero-wage quarters. Missing wages remain unresolved.

A $20,000 wage record can have three weekly results

Four $5,000 quarters total $20,000; the two highest total $10,000. The current table assigns a $181 base weekly rate. With no approved allowance, the regular account is $4,706, or 26 weekly amounts. Ten full weeks draw $1,810.

An approved spouse allowance adds $35 weekly for a $216 payment and $5,616 ordinary account. An approved child allowance adds $67 weekly for a $248 payment and $6,448 ordinary account. Ten child-inclusive full weeks draw $2,480; optional 10% withholding shows $223.20 per weekly payment.

Select the allowance type from the IDES determination. A blank selection leaves the final weekly payment and inclusive account unresolved while still showing the base weekly rate. Selecting none is an explicit statement that no allowance is approved.

Spouse and child allowances are alternatives for a payable week. The child column covers one or more approved children; the published amount is not multiplied by child count. IDES decides dependency eligibility and changes during the claim.

Check $1,600 total and $440 outside the high quarter

The current claimant handbook requires at least $1,600 in insured base-period wages and at least $440 earned outside the quarter with the highest wages. Passing one condition does not waive the other.

Quarters of $1,160, $440, zero and zero meet both thresholds exactly. Their table row gives a $51 base rate, $66 spouse-inclusive or $77 child-inclusive. Reducing the $440 quarter by one cent fails both the total and outside-quarter requirements.

A $5,000 quarter and $439.99 in a second quarter have more than $1,600 total but still fail the independent $440 outside-quarter condition. Entering a single large quarter is insufficient, even if its wages reach a maximum payment row.

If the standard base period fails, IDES may consider the alternate period of the four most recent completed quarters. It is used to establish monetary eligibility, not simply to increase an otherwise valid benefit amount. Use the period accepted in your monetary determination.

Exact wage bands matter at rounding boundaries

The IDES table uses the prior average weekly wage and separate allowance rules. The base rate generally uses 47%; the spouse calculation uses 9% with a $15 minimum. The child rule includes a minimum tied to half the base weekly rate, limited to $50, as well as the 17.3% calculation. Inclusive ceilings can reduce a supplement at the top of the table.

Two-highest-quarter wages of $2,872.99 give $52 base and $78 child-inclusive. At $2,873.00, the row gives $53 base and $80 child-inclusive. The worksheet follows the printed bands rather than a single high-quarter divisor or a fixed dollar payment per child.

At two-highest-quarter wages of $34,697 or more, the new-claim table reaches $628 base and $859 child-inclusive. Its printed spouse allowance column is $121, but the $748 inclusive ceiling limits the added payment to $120 at that base maximum. The outputs show the supplement actually included in the modeled payment.

Insured wages can limit the account before 26 weeks

Section 403 limits the ordinary account to the smaller of 26 weekly amounts, including the applicable dependent allowance, or all insured wages paid during the accepted base period. A benefit year is the one-year window for the claim; it does not create 52 payments or guarantee 26 full payments.

For the $1,160 and $440 quarterly record above, all insured wages total $1,600. Without an approved allowance, 26 payments of $51 produce a $1,326 account. The spouse-inclusive $66 weekly amount would give $1,716 over 26 weeks, but the wage ceiling limits the account to $1,600. The child-inclusive $77 weekly amount is also limited to $1,600, rather than $2,002.

Twenty child-inclusive full-rate weeks model $1,540, leaving $60 in the account. A request for 21 or more full-rate weeks stops at $1,600; the remaining draw is not assumed to be another full $77. The weekly award and 26-week ceiling stay separate from the available balance. Verify actual final payments with IDES.

This calculation covers full unemployment weeks. Partial work, vacation or holiday pay, pensions, separation decisions, work search and availability require separate IDES rules. Certify and report earnings for the appropriate weeks. The calculation does not predict approval.

Primary Illinois sources

• IDES 2026 weekly benefit Table 1: all modeled wage bands, allowances and caps.
• IDES handbook eligibility: $1,600 total and $440 outside-high-quarter tests.
• IDES benefit determination handbook: base periods, allowances and ordinary benefit account.
• Current Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act: Section 401 weekly amounts and allowances; Section 403 insured-wage account ceiling.

Reviewed October 1, 2026. Confirm the approved payment and dependency class with IDES.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Illinois wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-01-01 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.