MIUnemployment insurance worksheet
Michigan Unemployment Calculator: Up to $530/Week, 26 Weeks
In Michigan, unemployment pays up to $530 a week for up to 26 weeks; your weekly amount is 4.1% of your highest quarter. For claims filed from January 1, 2027, the cap rises to $614.
Checked against primary sources · updated See the sources
How Michigan works out your amount
Michigan 2026: the current eligibility guide and handbook set a $5,328 high-quarter requirement or an alternate earnings route. Enter approved dependents, including zero. Duration can end in a half week.
Weekly earnings reduction is not modeled here unless your state source gives a rule. Optional withholding is separate from the gross estimate.
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency decides eligibility, base-period wages, payable weeks, reductions, withholding and the final award. Use the official record below to verify this scenario.
Michigan: 2026 UIA handbook: $5,328 high-quarter test or $26,677.60 alternate earnings; $530 cap including $19.33 per approved dependent; 14–26 weeks rounded to half weeks. Claims filed in 2027 (MCL 421.27(b)(1)(c), 421.46, 408.934): $614 cap, $26 per dependent, $5,820 high quarter; the 2027 alternate threshold is not yet published. https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/uia/tools/publications/eligibility-requirements (verified 2026-10-26)
What Michigan pays when every paycheck is the same
UIA takes 4.1% of your best quarter. Thirteen weeks at $500 make a $6,500 quarter, and 4.1% of that is $266 a week. The $530 maximum comes early: from $995 a week in pay the formula already passes it, so a $1,000 earner and a $3,000 earner draw the same check, for up to 26 weeks. Figures below assume no dependents, the same pay in all four base-period quarters and a claim filed October 25, 2026.
| Pay every week | Each quarter | Weekly benefit | Share of pay | Weeks | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $6,500 | $266 | 53% | 26 | $6,916 |
| $1,000 | $13,000 | $530 (cap) | 53% | 26 | $13,780 |
| $1,500 | $19,500 | $530 (cap) | 35% | 26 | $13,780 |
| $3,000 | $39,000 | $530 (cap) | 18% | 26 | $13,780 |
Michigan unemployment rules for 2026 and 2027 claims
A 2026 Michigan claim pays 4.1% of your highest base-period quarter plus $19.33 per approved dependent, capped at $530 a week (up from $446 for 2025 claims), for 14 to 26 weeks set by your total base-period wages. The statute already fixes the next step: a claim filed in 2027 adds $26 per dependent and stops at $614, and the higher state minimum wage raises the one-quarter earnings floor.
| Rule | Claims filed in 2026 | Claims filed in 2027 | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly benefit rate | 4.1% of the highest base-period quarter, plus dependents, rounded down to a whole dollar | Same formula | MCL 421.27(b)(1) |
| Dependent allowance | $19.33 each, up to 5 dependents | $26.00 each, up to 5 dependents | MCL 421.27(b)(1)(b)–(c) |
| Maximum weekly rate | $530, dependents included ($446 for 2025 claims) | $614, dependents included | MCL 421.27(b)(1)(a)–(c) |
| High-quarter wages | At least $5,328 in one quarter | At least $5,820 in one quarter: 388.06 hours at the $15.00 minimum wage that starts Jan 1, 2027, rounded down | UIA eligibility requirements (2026); MCL 421.46(c) with MCL 408.934(1)(c) (2027) |
| Total base-period wages | At least 1.5 × the highest quarter, with wages in two or more quarters | Same test | UIA eligibility requirements |
| Alternate earnings qualifier | $26,677.60 in two or more quarters (20 × the $1,333.88 state average weekly wage) | 20 × the 2027 state average weekly wage, a figure UIA sets from wages through June 30, 2026 and has not published | UIA eligibility requirements; MCL 421.46(b)(2) |
| Weeks payable | 43% of base-period wages ÷ weekly rate, rounded down to the half week, then held to 14–26 weeks | Same rule | MCL 421.27(d) |
2026 values checked against the statute and UIA's eligibility page on October 7, 2026; the 2027 column was read from MCL 421.27, 421.46 and 408.934 on October 26, 2026. The worksheet uses the column that matches your claim date: 2026 through December 31, 2026, and 2027 for claims filed January 1 to December 31, 2027. When only the alternate route could qualify a 2027 claim, the worksheet reports eligibility and the account as unknown instead of borrowing the 2026 threshold. Amounts for claims filed in 2028 follow a state treasurer inflation adjustment that has not been published. File or manage a claim through MiWAM, the Unemployment Insurance Agency's claimant portal.
Worked example: a 2026 claim with two dependents
Quarters of $8,200, $9,100, $10,400 and $7,900, two approved dependents, claim filed October 12, 2026. Each result is what the worksheet on this page returns for those entries.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| High-quarter test | Best quarter $10,400, at least the $5,328 minimum | Met |
| Base-period total | $8,200 + $9,100 + $10,400 + $7,900; at least 1.5 × $10,400 = $15,600 | $35,600 |
| Wage part of the rate | 4.1% × $10,400 | $426.40 |
| Dependent part | 2 × $19.33 | $38.66 |
| Weekly benefit rate | $426.40 + $38.66, rounded down after adding; below the $530 cap | $465 |
| Duration before limits | 43% of $35,600 = $15,308; ÷ $465, down to the half week | 32.5 weeks |
| Weeks payable | Held to the 14–26 week range | 26 weeks |
| Benefit-year total | 26 × $465 | $12,090 |
Steady wages across all four quarters push the half-week calculation past 26, so the statutory ceiling sets the duration; the shorter examples below show the formula landing inside the range. Enter the four quarters, 2 dependents and the date above to reproduce each line.
File the same claim in the first week of 2027 and only the dependent part changes: 2 × $26 = $52, so the rate becomes $426.40 + $52, rounded down to $478, still under the $614 cap. Duration stays at 26 weeks, for a $12,428 benefit year; enter a January 2027 claim date in the worksheet to see it.
Use the detailed 2026 wage requirements
The current UIA eligibility guide and claimant handbook require at least $5,328 in one base-period quarter and total wages of at least 1.5 times the highest quarter, with wages in two or more quarters. UIA's general overview contains a different high-quarter schedule; this calculator follows the specific 2026 eligibility publication, supported by MCL 421.46's minimum-wage multiplier.
The alternative earnings qualifier uses wages in at least two quarters and total wages of $26,677.60, equal to 20 times the published 2026 statewide average weekly wage of $1,333.88. The form checks both monetary routes. The agency still selects the correct base period and decides whether earnings count.
Dependents are inside the $530 maximum
For 2026, multiply the highest quarter by 4.1%, add $19.33 for each approved dependent up to five, round the complete rate down to a whole dollar and limit it to $530. The dependency addition cannot raise the weekly rate above that ceiling. A 2027 claim works the same way with $26 a dependent and a $614 limit.
Enter an explicit zero when no dependents qualify. Leaving the count blank preserves the rate before dependents but leaves the final weekly estimate and balance unresolved. Household size alone does not establish an allowance; use the agency's approved count and support rules.
Duration is calculated in half weeks
MCL 421.27 divides 43% of total base-period wages by the weekly benefit rate, rounds down to the nearest half week, and limits regular duration to 14–26 weeks. The balance is that duration multiplied by the weekly rate. This differs from simply awarding every claimant 26 payments.
Example: quarters of $6,000, $3,500, $0 and $0 pass the ordinary 1.5-times test. With no dependents, the weekly rate is $246. The duration calculation gives 16.5 weeks after rounding, and a $4,059 balance. With one approved dependent, the complete rate becomes $265; duration rounds down to 15 weeks and the balance becomes $3,975. The weekly amount and total balance do not necessarily move together.
A concentrated-wage example
Quarters of $26,000 and $677.60, followed by two zero quarters, do not meet the ordinary 1.5-times-high-quarter test. The total reaches the alternate $26,677.60 threshold across two quarters. With zero dependents, the capped $530 rate and 21.5-week duration produce a $11,395 conditional balance.
Examples assume covered wages in the selected period, a 2026 claim, no disqualifying separation and full weekly eligibility. Requalification after an earlier claim, alternative-period decisions, pensions, current earnings and offsets are outside this calculation.
Michigan source records
- UIA detailed eligibility requirements
- UIA 1901 claimant handbook, 2026 wage requirements
- MCL 421.27: benefit rate and half-week duration
- MCL 421.46: monetary requirements and benefit year
- MCL 408.934: the minimum wage behind the high-quarter floor
Checked October 1, 2026; the statutes again on October 26, 2026 for the 2027 column. Review methodology or claim balance and withholding.
Worked in a nearby state too?
Each state pays from the wages reported to it, so a claim follows where the covered work was done. If some of your base-period wages were earned in one of these states, open its worksheet, or compare every state on the unemployment benefits calculator.
Supported claim periods and annual handoff
The Michigan wage-estimate calendar supports claims filed 2026-01-01 to 2027-12-31. 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.
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