Wisconsin Unemployment Benefit Limits

The state of Wisconsin limits unemployment benefits based on how much you have made in a 12-year period previous to filing for unemployment. However, to understand how that maximum amount is calculated, it is imperative to first explain how the state determines what you will be paid on a weekly basis.

Understanding Your Base Period

Your base period is a 12-month period prior to filing for unemployment. Dividing the year into fixed three-month quarters, Wisconsin defines that base period as the first four of the prior five completed quarters before the week you filed.

In other words, if you filed for unemployment in the week of July 4, 2010, your base period would be from April 2009 until March 2010. Whatever you made in the last complete quarter prior to the week you filed--which in this example is April through June 2010--does not count toward the year-long total earnings used to calculate your unemployment benefits.

Determining Your High Quarter

Next, you need to figure out your highest-paid quarter, or high quarter. This is simply defined as the quarter within your base period during which you made the most wages, adding up earnings from all work you had.

Keep in mind that the quarters are fixed periods. You should not randomly choose consecutive months, but keep to calendar quarters: January through March, April through June, July through September and October through December.

Calculating Your Weekly Benefit Rate

Your weekly benefit rate will be equal to four percent of your total wages during your high quarter. This is the total the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development will pay you per week if you are receiving no other wages.

If you earned less than $1,350 during your high quarter, your weekly benefit rate will be less than the minimum allowed by state law, and you will not qualify for unemployment. The highest benefit weekly rate allowed is $1,350.

Finding Your Maximum Benefit Amount

Your maximum benefit amount is calculated one of two ways. It is either 26 times your weekly benefit rate or 40 percent of your total wages from your year-long base period, whichever of the two totals is less. Therefore, if you have collected unemployment for 26 weeks within a 52-week period from the time you filed for unemployment, you cannot collect anymore.

If you have earned qualifying wages and are still unemployed or partially unemployed at the end of those 52 weeks, you can file a new unemployment benefit year.

Other Considerations

If you earn any partial wages within a week, you could still be eligible for an unemployment check. However, your weekly unemployment check is limited by your earnings.

To calculate your partial unemployment wages, subtract $30 from your gross income, multiply the remainder by 67 percent and subtract the result from your weekly benefit rate. You cannot receive a partial unemployment check for less than $5.