Massachusetts Unemployment Calculator: $1,154/Week Base Max

If you earn the same every week in Massachusetts

DUA pays about half of your average weekly wage, so a level paycheck keeps a 50% share from $500 through $1,500 a week. From $2,308 a week up, the $1,154 cap takes over; it is the cap before any dependency allowance, which this table leaves out. The weeks column shows 26 or 30 because DUA confirms the length of each claim, and that length sets the balance too. Computed for a claim filed October 25, 2026 with equal wages in every base-period quarter.

Worked example: four quarters to a base account

A benefit year starting October 12, 2026, with quarters of $9,000, $11,500, $12,000 and $10,500, no dependents, and a 30-week limit confirmed by DUA. These are the worksheet's own results for that record.

Only the two best quarters set the rate, so the $9,000 quarter changes nothing until the 36% test, where every quarter counts. Because 36% of wages is larger here, the duration limit decides the account. Enter the record above, choose 30 or 26 weeks, and the worksheet shows the same lines.

Count the quarters with wages first

Massachusetts changes the average-weekly-wage calculation based on how many base-period quarters contain covered earnings. If three or four quarters have wages, add the two highest quarters and divide by 26. If only one or two quarters have wages, divide the highest quarter by 13 instead.

Section 1(w) rounds that average up to the next whole dollar. Section 29(a) then takes half and rounds down to a whole dollar. The base weekly ceiling is $1,105 for benefit years beginning October 5, 2025–October 3, 2026, and $1,154 for those beginning October 4, 2026–October 2, 2027. The new ceiling follows section 29(a): 57.5% of DUA's promulgated $2,007.20 statewide average weekly wage, rounded down from $1,154.14. Circular 364's October 1 effective date concerns workers' compensation; the UI cap changes on the first Sunday in October. A blank date uses your current local date. Beyond the supported annual periods, enter the actual agency award instead of assuming a successor cap.

Same highest quarter, different weekly estimate

Suppose the quarters are $7,800, $7,800, $8,840 and $10,000. The two largest total $18,840. Dividing by 26 gives $724.615…; the statutory average becomes $725, and half rounded down gives $362 weekly.

Now suppose only two quarters have wages: $10,000 and $5,000. The highest quarter divided by 13 is $769.230…; the rounded average is $770, giving $385 weekly. Using the sum of those two quarters divided by 26 would understate this claimant's formula amount. These examples assume the agency accepts the entered quarters and wages.

Check both earnings requirements

Current DUA eligibility guidance requires at least $6,300 in covered base-period wages. Section 24 also requires at least 30 times the weekly benefit rate. The worksheet applies the larger requirement before reporting a payable base estimate.

For a $385 weekly rate, that requirement is $11,550. The two-quarter $15,000 example meets it. A single $10,000 quarter produces the same preliminary formula rate but fails the $11,550 test. Missing quarters stay unknown; zero means you confirmed there were no covered wages in that quarter.

Confirm 26 or 30 weeks before estimating the balance

Section 30 normally limits the regular base account to the smaller of 30 weekly amounts or 36% of covered base-period wages, rounded down to a whole dollar. It also has a 26-week branch tied to the specified unemployment-rate conditions, and a 26-week restriction during an extended-benefit period. The annual weekly cap alone does not establish which duration applies to your claim.

Select the 26- or 30-week regular limit confirmed by DUA. Leave it blank if unknown: the weekly formula can still be estimated, but the balance, selected duration and modeled total stay unresolved. This is a claim-start limit, not your remaining checks; training, extended and other special benefits are not added.

With a confirmed 30-week limit, the four-quarter $362 example has a $10,860 base balance, below 36% of its $34,440 wages ($12,398.40). With a confirmed 26-week limit, its ceiling is $9,412. The two-quarter $385 example has a $5,400 balance under either limit because 36% of $15,000 is smaller. That amount funds 14 full $385 payments with $10 of base balance remaining, subject to DUA's payment rules.

For sufficiently high covered wages and a benefit year beginning October 4, 2026, the $1,154 weekly maximum corresponds to a $30,004 ceiling at 26 weeks or $34,620 at 30 weeks. These are conditional base-account estimates, not an approval of duration or a guarantee of that many payable checks.

Dependent allowances are separate

Section 29(c) provides $25 per approved dependent child. The current statutory provision has no limit tying the total allowance to half of the base weekly benefit. Do not reuse the older 50% cap. Agency rules govern support, age, student status, disability and whether another claimant receives the allowance for the same child.

Enter an approved count, including zero. A blank count leaves the supplement unknown. For eight approved children, the separate supplement is $200 weekly, even when half of a $362 base benefit would be $181. The base weekly amount, claim balance, modeled total and withholding output exclude this supplement; the agency establishes how dependency payments apply to each payable week.

Use the actual monetary determination

The worksheet does not select a regular or alternate base period, approve job separation, calculate earnings deductions, decide WorkShare or training benefits, or process offsets. Copy the covered quarters from DUA's record and resolve missing employer wages with the agency. Optional withholding illustrates a selected percentage; it is not taxes owed.

Massachusetts source record

• Official Circular 364: DUA-promulgated 2026 statewide average weekly wage of $2,007.20
• DUA: claim preparation and benefit balance guidance
• DUA: current $6,300 earnings minimum
• M.G.L. 151A §1(w): average wage and quarter count
• Section 24: monetary eligibility
• Section 29: weekly rounding, cap periods and dependency benefits
• Section 30: total balance and duration triggers

Annual wage notice and duration law reviewed October 3, 2026; separately retained statutory and agency eligibility evidence supplies the unchanged wage and dependent rules. Read methodology or prepare the required wage inputs.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Massachusetts wage-estimate calendar supports October 5, 2025–October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026–October 2, 2027. 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.