SDUnemployment insurance worksheet
South Dakota Unemployment Calculator: Up to $575/Week
In South Dakota, unemployment pays up to $575 a week for up to 26 weeks; your weekly amount is your highest quarter divided by 26.
Checked against primary sources · updated See the sources
How South Dakota works out your amount
South Dakota July 2026: high quarter divided by 26, rounded down and capped at $575. The high quarter must reach $728 and outside-quarter wages must reach 20 weekly amounts. The account is one-third of wages or 26 weekly amounts, rounded down.
Weekly earnings reduction is not modeled here unless your state source gives a rule. Optional withholding is separate from the gross estimate.
The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation decides eligibility, base-period wages, payable weeks, reductions, withholding and the final award. Use the official record below to verify this scenario.
South Dakota: DLR's verified $575 cap: high-quarter wages divided by 26, rounded down. Qualification needs $728 in the high quarter and outside-quarter wages of at least 20 weekly amounts; the account is the smaller of 26 weekly amounts or one-third of total wages, rounded down. SDCL 61-6-2, 61-6-4 and 61-6-8 keep 26 weeks; proposed 2026 SB 6, tabled February 19, is not used. Source review dated October 1, 2026. https://dlr.sd.gov/ra/individuals/wage_requirements.aspx (verified 2026-10-01)
The July 5, 2026 weekly range is $28–$575
South Dakota calls its unemployment program Reemployment Assistance. The department's current wage-requirements page verifies a $575 maximum starting July 5, 2026. SDCL 61-6-2 calculates the weekly benefit as the highest covered wage quarter divided by 26, rounded down to the next whole dollar and capped by the current maximum.
A $5,200 high quarter gives $200. At $5,199.99, the result is $199. The $575 ceiling begins at a $14,950 high quarter. One cent below that boundary gives $574 before monetary qualification.
A supplied earlier or later unreviewed date does not inherit this annual rate. The required $728 high quarter gives the $28 minimum when the other wage test is satisfied.
The outside-quarter test is 20 times your weekly rate
SDCL 61-6-4 requires at least $728 in the highest quarter and wages outside it of at least 20 times the calculated weekly rate. Wages in the highest quarter do not count again toward that outside-quarter requirement.
With a $5,200 high quarter, the $200 weekly rate requires at least $4,000 across the other three quarters. A record of $5,200, $2,000, $2,000 and zero reaches the boundary. Reducing one outside quarter by a cent fails, even though total annual wages remain substantial.
The minimum record of $728 in the high quarter and $560 outside reaches 20 × $28. A $727.99 high quarter fails the separate high-quarter minimum. A single large quarter with three zeros fails the outside test.
Enter covered wages for the selected four-quarter base period. The normal period is the four completed quarters that precede the most recent one. A work-related injury may create a special period, while department-designated seasonal wages can limit when benefits are payable. Those selections and restrictions are outside this ordinary worksheet.
One-third of wages can limit the account
SDCL 61-6-8 sets the ordinary maximum benefit amount at one-third of total base-period covered wages, capped at 26 weekly amounts and rounded down to a whole dollar.
The $5,200 plus two $2,000 quarters example totals $9,200. Its one-third limit is $3,066.6667, rounded down to $3,066. That is lower than 26 × $200 = $5,200. Ten full weeks use $2,000; fifteen use $3,000, and the modeled sixteenth week reaches the account ceiling.
At the minimum $728 plus $560 record, total wages are $1,288. The $28 rate has a $429 account after rounding, rather than $728 for 26 full payments. Four $20,000 quarters reach the $575 weekly cap and the $14,950 ordinary account ceiling.
Optional 10% withholding from the $200 rate shows $180 separately. Withholding is not subtracted from the gross account draw and does not estimate income tax due.
The proposed 2026 duration cut is not this law
South Dakota's 2026 SB 6 proposed reducing benefit duration. The official Senate record reports that it was recalled and tabled in committee on February 19. Current codified section 61-6-8 still retains the 26-rate ceiling, and the current agency wage page agrees. This calculator uses the current law.
Regular benefits still depend on separation, availability, work search, the waiting period and weekly certifications. The model excludes partial earnings deductions, special seasonal eligibility, extensions and trade training payments. Passing the displayed wage test does not establish every condition.
Primary South Dakota sources
- DLR wage requirements and benefit amounts: current July 2026 $575 ceiling and monetary rules.
- SDCL 61-6-2, 61-6-4 and 61-6-8: formula, outside wages and account rounding.
- February 19, 2026 Senate Journal: SB 6 committee disposition.
Reviewed October 1, 2026. Use the department's claimant guidance for the actual determination and claims.
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 South Dakota wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-07-05 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.
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