Mississippi Unemployment Calculator: Up to $235/Week

Three earnings conditions must be met

Mississippi requires covered wages in at least two base-period quarters, at least $780 in the highest quarter, and total base-period wages of at least 40 times the weekly benefit amount. Passing one condition does not waive the others.

The weekly amount is the highest quarter divided by 26, rounded down to a whole dollar and capped at $235. An amount below $30 does not qualify; it is not raised automatically to $30.

A record of $780 in one quarter and $420 in another totals $1,200. It meets the two-quarter condition, the $780 high-quarter minimum, and the 40-times-$30 earnings requirement. One cent less in the second quarter fails the total-wage test. A record with $1,200 only in one quarter fails because it lacks a second paid quarter.

Enter all four quarters from the wage record. A blank quarter remains unresolved; zero means you have confirmed no covered wages in that quarter. The ordinary base period is the four completed calendar quarters before the claim's effective date, skipping the latest one. This worksheet does not select an alternate or combined-state wage record.

Reaching the weekly cap does not establish a full account

A $6,110 high quarter reaches the $235 weekly maximum. The separate 40-times test then requires total covered wages of at least $9,400, including another paid quarter. With a high quarter of $6,109.99, the weekly rate is $234 and the corresponding total-wage requirement is $9,360.

At exactly $9,400 in total wages, the $235 rate can qualify monetarily, but the account is only $3,133 after one-third-wage rounding. It is not automatically $6,110. Total base-period wages must reach $18,330 for the one-third-wage limit to permit a full $6,110 account at the maximum rate.

Four $5,000 quarters instead give a $192 weekly rate. The twenty-six-rate limit is $4,992 and is smaller than one-third of the $20,000 total, so $4,992 controls. Increasing the three lower quarters may expand the balance without changing the weekly rate.

Your MDES determination decides monetary eligibility and the applicable schedule.

Use the smaller balance, rounded down

Section 71-5-507 limits ordinary regular benefits to the smaller of 26 times the weekly amount or one-third of covered base-period wages. If that balance is fractional, current benefit years round it down to the next whole dollar.

Quarters of $5,000 and $3,000 with two confirmed zeros produce a $192 weekly rate. Total wages of $8,000 exceed the $7,680 earnings requirement. One-third of wages limits the account to $2,666, below the $4,992 twenty-six-week ceiling.

Thirteen full-rate weeks use $2,496, leaving $170. Modeling fourteen weeks reaches $2,666; the last draw is not assumed to be another $192. The maximum-weeks output is a ceiling, while the modeled total also respects the account balance.

Ordinary monetary qualification does not establish weekly eligibility. The waiting week, work searches, availability, separation review, pension deductions, child support, overpayments and special extensions can affect actual payments. Cotton-ginning and professional-baseball seasonal restrictions and subsequent-benefit-year work tests require additional records and are outside this model.

The 2026 regional-duration proposal did not become law

Senate Bill 2678 proposed varying benefit duration using regional unemployment rates. Its official history records that it died in the House committee on March 3, 2026. The passed-Senate version is a proposal, not the rule used by this calculator.

The current MDES eligibility page still describes the 26-times-weekly-rate or one-third-wages account. This worksheet uses that ordinary statutory ceiling, with wages limiting how many full-rate payments it can support.

Part-time earnings and withholding are separate calculations

Mississippi's ordinary partial-week rule deducts earnings above a $40 allowance, with weekly payment rounding under section 71-5-505. This worksheet models full-rate weeks and does not apply that partial-week rule to the account automatically. Report gross earnings and work as MDES instructs, then use the agency's weekly payment result.

Optional withholding uses only your entered percentage. A $192 weekly estimate with 10% withholding leaves $172.80 before other adjustments. It is not a final tax calculation.

Compare the quarterly wage detail with your monetary determination. If an employer or wage is missing, follow the notice's correction or appeal instructions. You can also use the agency-award worksheet to budget from an approved amount, balance and payable duration.

Mississippi sources and verification

• Current MDES wage tests, weekly formula and account limits
• MDES benefit chart: wage bands, weekly rates and forty-times thresholds
• MDES Employment Security Law: sections 71-5-503, 505, 507 and 511
• Official 2026 SB2678 history: died in committee
• MDES claimant questions and payment guidance

Verified October 1, 2026. See source coverage and methodology.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Mississippi wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-01-01 to the current statutory schedule, subject to amendment. 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.