Minnesota Unemployment Calculator: Up to $983/Week, 26 Weeks

Two formulas, each with its own ceiling

Your Minnesota rate is computed twice, by two wage formulas, and the higher figure is the one DEED uses. The annual-wage method divides all covered base-period wages by 104. The high-quarter method divides the single largest quarter by 26. Each result drops any cents, and each has a separate ceiling tied to the statewide average weekly wage: two-thirds of it for the annual method, 43 percent of it for the high-quarter method.

Which ceilings apply depends on the date your benefit account takes effect, and they change every year on the last Sunday in October. For an account effective October 25, 2026 through October 30, 2027, DEED's claimant handbook for that period puts the state maximum at $983 a week, which is the annual-method ceiling. That handbook does not print the lower high-quarter ceiling, so this worksheet asks for it, and only when the high-quarter method could decide your amount.

An account that took effect October 26, 2025 through October 24, 2026 keeps that year's $948 and $611 ceilings for its whole benefit year; the October change does not raise a rate once it is set (§268.07, subd. 2a(b)).

Worked example: an account effective November 1, 2026

Four equal quarters of $16,000 make the two methods meet, which is why steady earnings never need the unprinted high-quarter ceiling.

Earnings of $104,000 spread evenly, $26,000 a quarter, give $1,000 by the annual method, so the $983 ceiling sets the rate; the account holds $25,558, which is 26 full weeks. Because the high-quarter ceiling sits below the state maximum, no quarter pattern can lift a rate past $983.

A single quarter of $20,000, with nothing in the other three, works differently: the annual method gives $192, while the large quarter alone gives $769 before the high-quarter ceiling. That ceiling decides the rate, so the worksheet leaves the amount open until you enter it, or until you copy the weekly amount from your Determination of Benefit Account.

Earlier schedule: an account effective October 13, 2026

This account took effect before the October 25, 2026 change, so for its whole benefit year it keeps the $948 and $611 ceilings of accounts effective through October 24, 2026. It is built on wage credits of $11,000, $12,400, $13,000, $9,800. Run those four quarters with that date through the worksheet and it shows the same two method results and the same account.

Here the high-quarter method wins by $56 a week without touching its ceiling, because the best quarter is well above the average quarter. Under §268.07, subd. 2a(b), the rate set for this account stays the same after the October change in the state maximum.

On the earlier schedule, steady wages and one large quarter can differ

On the schedule for accounts effective through October 24, 2026, four quarters of $15,600 give $62,400 in total wages. Both methods produce $600 per week, and the ordinary account balance is $15,600.

If the same $62,400 was paid in a single quarter, the annual method still gives $600, but the high-quarter method reaches its $611 ceiling. The larger $611 rate controls and the 26-rate account ceiling is $15,886. This monetary calculation does not decide whether your separation or weekly circumstances qualify.

Four quarters of $20,000 give total wages of $80,000. The annual method rounds $769.23 down to $769, which exceeds the high-quarter result of $611. The account ceiling is $19,994. To reach the $948 annual maximum, total covered wages must reach $98,592; a $24,648 high quarter alone does not establish that rate.

The high-quarter method reaches $611 at a $15,886 quarter. One cent less produces $610, provided the annual method does not exceed it. Earnings distribution matters even when two workers have the same total wages.

The indexed total-wage test: $4,000 now, $3,900 before

Section 268.07 sets the floor for base-period earnings at 5.3 percent of Minnesota's average annual wage, with the product cut to the next lower $100; your total must reach it. The statute defines the average weekly wage as that annual wage divided by 52, and the same statewide figure sets the weekly ceilings, so a published ceiling pins the test down even though DEED does not print the test itself.

A $983 ceiling at two-thirds of the weekly wage means a statewide weekly wage of at least $1,474.50 and under $1,476. Over 52 weeks that is $76,674 to just under $76,752, and 5.3 percent of any amount in that span lies between about $4,063 and $4,068, which rounds down to $4,000. Whichever way the ceiling was rounded, the test lands on the same $4,000, so the worksheet uses it for accounts effective from October 25, 2026.

The earlier $948 ceiling places that year's weekly wage between $1,422 and $1,423.50, which gives about $3,919 to $3,923 and a $3,900 test for accounts effective through October 24, 2026. On the current schedule four $1,000 quarters total exactly $4,000 and give a $38 weekly estimate; trimming one quarter by a cent fails the test. A single $4,000 quarter passes as well: the ordinary test does not need wages in two quarters.

Use the base period accepted by Minnesota UI. Alternate periods, combined-state wages and subsequent-account work requirements need the agency's records; the worksheet does not choose those periods or reuse wages from a prior account.

The account can run out before 26 full-rate weeks

The ordinary maximum benefit amount is the smaller of one-third of total wage credits or 26 times the weekly amount. Section 268.034 requires monetary computations to round down to the next whole dollar unless a specific exception applies.

Take an account effective before October 25, 2026 with $20,000 in one quarter and zeros in the others: the annual method gives $192 and the high-quarter method reaches its $611 ceiling for accounts effective through October 24, 2026. The $611 rate controls, but one-third of wages limits the account to $6,666. Ten full-rate weeks use $6,110 and leave $556 in the account. Modeling eleven weeks reaches the account ceiling; the eleventh payment is not assumed to be another full $611. The same one-third limit applies on the current schedule once the rate is known.

The 26-week output is an ordinary maximum, not a promise of 26 payments. The waiting period, weekly eligibility, work and earnings, pensions, debts, tax withholding, special extensions and other deductions can change actual payments. Approved iron-mine extensions and other special programs are outside this model.

Optional withholding uses only the percentage you enter. A $769 weekly estimate with 10% withholding leaves $692.10 before other adjustments. This does not determine your final tax liability.

Working during a claim has a cutoff

Minnesota's current claimant guidance says you are not eligible for benefits in a week with 32 or more work hours, or gross earnings equal to or above your weekly benefit amount. Do not assume that every dollar of part-time earnings always leaves some unemployment payment.

This calculator estimates an ordinary full-rate account; it does not calculate a partial-week payment. Report hours and gross earnings as instructed in the Minnesota UI work-reporting guide, then use the agency's weekly payment record for budgeting.

Compare your wage detail and benefit-account determination with the entered quarters. If an employer or quarter is missing, follow the correction and appeal instructions on your notice. The agency-award worksheet can model an approved amount and balance without reconstructing its formula.

Minnesota sources and verification

• Minnesota Statutes 268.07: wage-credit test, the two methods and their ceilings, the last-Sunday-in-October change and the account balance
• Section 268.034: whole-dollar downward rounding
• Section 268.035, subdivision 23: statewide annual and weekly wage, and the year each one governs
• DEED information handbook for accounts effective October 25, 2026 through October 30, 2027
• The handbook's benefit-amount page: the $983 state maximum for that period
• U.S. DOL July 2026 provisions: the $948 and $611 ceilings of the October 26, 2025 through October 24, 2026 schedule

Verified November 3, 2026. See source coverage and methodology.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Minnesota wage-estimate calendar covers accounts effective 2025-10-26 to 2027-10-30, in two yearly schedules that meet at October 25, 2026. A blank claim date uses the current local date. For an account effective after October 30, 2027 the form switches to an official-award worksheet: enter the weekly amount, maximum account and authorized weeks from your Determination of Benefit Account. Source dates describe when evidence was checked; they do not create a legal expiration, and an unpublished rate is never carried over from an earlier year.