Montana Unemployment Calculator: Up to $805/Week, 24 Weeks

How does the Montana unemployment estimator work?

With $6,500 in each base-period quarter, a November 5, 2026 claim produces $260 per week and a $6,240 account over 24 full weeks in this calculator. The annual-wage method gives $260, above the two-quarter method's $247. Montana law describes both calculations. Enter your own wages to compare them.

Compare one percent of all wages with 1.9% of two quarters

Montana calculates two weekly amounts: 1% of total covered base-period wages, and 1.9% of the sum of the two highest wage quarters. The larger amount controls, subject to the current minimum and maximum.

The directly retrieved state estimator's 2026 schedule supplies a $238 minimum, an $805 maximum, and a statewide average annual wage of $61,987.12. Section 39-51-2201 ties the annual limits to the July schedule.

Four $10,000 quarters produce an annual-method amount of $400 and a two-quarter amount of $380. The $400 rate controls. Two $10,000 quarters with two zeros produce a smaller annual amount, but the same two-quarter amount of $380; that method controls instead.

The form displays both method results after the current limits. A qualifying low-wage record may use the $238 minimum. A $25,000 high quarter with another $25,000 quarter reaches the $805 maximum after the two-quarter formula. Qualification and account duration still need separate checks.

There are two wage-qualification routes

Section 39-51-2105 permits an ordinary route when total base-period wages are at least 1.5 times the high quarter and at least 7% of the statewide average annual wage. The alternate route permits total wages of at least 50% of that statewide annual wage without the 1.5-times distribution condition.

For a $14,000 high quarter, $7,000 outside it reaches the ordinary 1.5-times test. The two-quarter result is $399 per week. Reducing the outside wages by one cent fails that route, and the $20,999.99 total is too small for the alternate route.

A single $40,000 quarter clears the alternate annual-wage test even with three confirmed zeros. The two-quarter formula gives $760, and the duration table assigns eight weeks. This route is why the calculator does not require two paid quarters for every eligible Montana record.

Use wages actually accepted for the agency's base period. The standard period uses the four completed calendar quarters that precede the most recent one; alternative periods and combined-state wages require agency selection. A blank quarter stays unknown. Prior-account work requirements, school restrictions and separation issues are not decided from four wage totals.

The current duration table runs from eight to twenty-four weeks

Section 39-51-2204 sets duration by dividing total base-period wages by the high quarter. The current table, amended in 2023, assigns eight weeks at a ratio of 1.00 to below 1.25, then adds two weeks for each quarter-point step through a maximum of 24 weeks.

The ordinary qualification route needs a ratio of at least 1.5, so its initial entitlement starts at twelve weeks. Eight- and ten-week accounts can arise through the alternate earnings route.

Four $10,000 quarters have a ratio of four, giving 24 weeks at $400 and a $9,600 account. Two $10,000 quarters have a ratio of two, giving 16 weeks at $380 and a $6,080 account. A high quarter alone cannot predict duration.

The ordinary maximum account is the weekly rate multiplied by the table's full weeks. The worksheet does not apply a generic 26-week limit or a one-third-of-wages balance rule.

Resolve rounding disagreements near a boundary

Section 39-51-2201 says a fractional weekly amount rounds down to the next whole dollar. The agency's public estimator rounds its 1%-annual calculation to the nearest dollar, while truncating the two-quarter calculation. This model follows the statute's downward rounding.

Four $10,012.50 quarters give a 1%-annual result of $400.50 and a smaller two-quarter result. The statutory model gives $400; the reviewed public estimator code gives $401. Your monetary determination controls the actual award, and an unexplained difference should be checked with the agency.

The public estimator also rounds 7% and 50% of the statewide wage to whole-dollar qualifying thresholds. The statute expresses those thresholds as percentages. Where those rules give different eligibility results, this worksheet leaves the estimate unresolved instead of declaring approval or denial.

For example, the current exact 7% figure is $4,339.0984, while the estimator uses $4,339. A distributed $4,339 record sits inside that disagreement. Similarly, the exact alternate figure is $30,993.56, while the estimator uses $30,994. Those narrow boundaries need agency review.

Plan from the approved account and weekly eligibility

The modeled total respects the statutory full-week entitlement and the number of weeks you request. With four $10,000 quarters, ten modeled weeks give $4,000 from a $9,600 account. Optional 10% withholding gives $360 per $400 full-rate week before other adjustments.

Actual payments also depend on the waiting week, work and earnings, availability, work searches, pensions, severance, debts and other offsets. Partial-week payments, extensions and training programs are outside this worksheet. A positive wage result is not an approval of the claim.

Check the wage detail on your monetary determination and follow its correction or appeal instructions for missing employers or quarters. The agency-award worksheet can budget from the approved weekly rate, balance and duration.

Montana sources and verification

• Current Montana estimator and 2026 schedule
• MCA 39-51-2105: ordinary and alternate qualifying wages
• MCA 39-51-2201: two methods, limits and weekly rounding
• MCA 39-51-2204: current nine-band duration table
• Current Montana claimant handbook and wage-record guidance

Verified October 1, 2026. Source disagreements are described above. See source coverage and methodology.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Montana wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-07-01 to 2027-06-30. 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.