Texas Unemployment Calculator (TWC Payment)
Paid $52,000 a year every two weeks, you would get $560 a week from Texas unemployment, up to $14,040 in all. A week with $200 of part-time pay pays $500.
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Your weekly benefit
Your weekly benefit
$560.00
Most in all
$14,040.00
Part-time week
$500.00
You would get $560.00 a week, 56.0% of your $1,000.00 weekly pay, and at most $14,040.00 in all.
Paid every two weeks, 7 of your 26 paychecks land in your best quarter, $14,000.00, and divided by 25 it is exactly $560.00.
The total stops at 27% of your $52,000.00 of base-period wages, $14,040.00, which the weekly amount uses up in 25.07 weeks.
With $200.00 of part-time pay in a week, $140.00 does not count, so you get $560.00 less $60.00, $500.00, or $700.00 with the pay.
Your wages and your claim
- best quarter = 7 × $2,000.00 = $14,000.00, each paycheck $52,000.00 ÷ 26 = $2,000.00
- weekly = $14,000.00 ÷ 25 = $560.00
- wages needed = 37 × $560.00 = $20,720.00; yours $52,000.00: payable
- 27% × $52,000.00 = $14,040.00
- most in all = the smaller of 26 × $560.00 = $14,560.00 and $14,040.00 = $14,040.00
- part-time week = $560.00 − ($200.00 − $140.00) = $500.00
Weekly benefit at each best quarter
Your benefit as part-time pay rises
How TWC treats your best quarter
| Best quarter | Weekly benefit | Base-period wages needed | Yearly pay, every two weeks | Yearly pay, twice a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01 to $1,912.50 | $76.00set by the minimum | $2,812.00 | $2,812.03 to $7,103.58 | $2,811.96 to $7,650.11 |
| $1,912.51 to $15,462.50yours | $77.00 to $618.00set by best quarter ÷ 25 | $2,849.00 to $22,866.00 | $7,103.59 to $57,432.04 | $7,650.12 to $61,850.03 |
| $15,462.51 or more | $619.00set by the maximum | $22,903.00 | $57,432.05 or more | $61,850.04 or more |
Your $14,000.00 quarter is $1,462.51 short of $15,462.51, the first quarter that pays the $619.00 maximum.
TWC's lowest and highest weekly benefit by claim date
| Claim starting on or after | Lowest | Highest | Best quarter that pays the highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 4, 2026yours | $76.00 | $619.00 | $15,462.51 |
| October 5, 2025 | $75.00 | $605.00 | $15,112.51 |
| October 6, 2024 | $74.00 | $591.00 | $14,762.51 |
| October 2, 2023 | $73.00 | $577.00 | $14,412.51 |
| October 2, 2022 | $72.00 | $563.00 | $14,062.51 |
For a claim starting from October 4, 2026, the weekly amount runs from $76.00 to $619.00, $14.00 more at the top than a year before.
Your amounts rounded two ways
| Amount | To the nearest dollar, as TWC rounds | Up to the next dollar (section 207.006) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly benefit | $560.00 | $560.00 | $0.00 |
| 27% of base-period wages | $14,040.00 | $14,040.00 | $0.00 |
| Most in all | $14,040.00 | $14,040.00 | $0.00 |
| Part-time week | $500.00 | $500.00 | $0.00 |
Here the two readings give the same amounts, so the rounding question changes nothing for you.
Your benefit at other best quarters
| Best quarter | Weekly benefit | Without the cap | Share of the quarter's weekly pay | Base-period wages needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,912.50 | $76.00 | $76.00 | 51.7% | $2,812.00 |
| $1,912.51 | $77.00 | $77.00 | 52.3% | $2,849.00 |
| $5,000.00 | $200.00 | $200.00 | 52.0% | $7,400.00 |
| $10,000.00 | $400.00 | $400.00 | 52.0% | $14,800.00 |
| $13,000.00 | $520.00 | $520.00 | 52.0% | $19,240.00 |
| $14,000.00yours | $560.00 | $560.00 | 52.0% | $20,720.00 |
| $15,462.50 | $618.00 | $618.00 | 52.0% | $22,866.00 |
| $15,462.51 | $619.00 | $619.00 | 52.0% | $22,903.00 |
| $20,000.00 | $619.00 | $800.00 | 40.2% | $22,903.00 |
At your $14,000.00 quarter the weekly amount is 52.0% of the quarter's $1,076.92 a week; it is 51.7% at a $1,912.50 quarter and 40.2% at $20,000.00, where the $619.00 cap holds it down.
How often you were paid changes the quarter
| Paid | Paychecks in the best quarter | Best quarter | Weekly benefit | Most in all | Weeks it holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every week | 13 | $13,000.00 | $520.00 | $13,520.00 | 26.00 |
| Every week, 14 paydays in a quarter | 14 | $14,000.00 | $560.00 | $14,040.00 | 25.07 |
| Every two weeksyours | 7 | $14,000.00 | $560.00 | $14,040.00 | 25.07 |
| Twice a month | 6 | $13,000.02 | $520.00 | $13,520.00 | 26.00 |
| Once a month | 3 | $12,999.99 | $520.00 | $13,520.00 | 26.00 |
On $52,000.00 a year, a quarter with 7 paychecks pays $40.00 more a week and $520.00 more in all than the same pay twice a month. Paid every two weeks, 27% of the year's pay holds the total to 25.07 weeks.
A week with part-time pay
| Gross pay in the week | Pay that counts | Benefit paid | Benefit plus pay | Weeks the maximum lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00 | $0.00 | $560.00 | $560.00 | 25.07 |
| $140.00 | $0.00 | $560.00 | $700.00 | 25.07 |
| $141.00 | $1.00 | $559.00 | $700.00 | 25.12 |
| $200.00yours | $60.00 | $500.00 | $700.00 | 28.08 |
| $400.00 | $260.00 | $300.00 | $700.00 | 46.80 |
| $699.00 | $559.00 | $1.00 | $700.00 | over 52 |
| $700.00 | $560.00 | $0.00 | $700.00 | — |
The first $140.00 of pay in a week, 25% of your $560.00, does not count. Pay under $141.00 keeps the whole benefit, and $700.00 or more leaves nothing. After 52 weeks the benefit year is over, and any unpaid balance lapses.
How TWC works out your unemployment benefit
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) works out two amounts for you. The weekly benefit amount is what TWC pays for a week with no work. The maximum benefit amount is the most your claim can pay in its benefit year, the 52 weeks from the week you file. Both come from the wages paid to you in your base period, and the weekly amount from its best quarter.
Which four quarters count
Section 201.011(1)(A) of the Texas Labor Code takes four of the five completed calendar quarters before your claim. TWC's eligibility page says "Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the effective date of your initial claim." So a claim that starts in October, November or December 2026 counts July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
Section 201.011(1)(B) allows another base period if a medically verifiable illness or injury kept you from work for a major part of a quarter. TWC's page says it can apply if you were "out of work for at least seven weeks in one base-period quarter". You must file within 24 months and ask TWC for it by phone; this page does not work it out.
Why pay every two weeks puts 7 paychecks in one quarter
Section 207.002(a) counts the wages you received in each quarter, so the date on each paycheck decides where it falls. Paid every two weeks, you get 26 paychecks a year, and 26 cannot fit in four quarters of 6. So at least one quarter holds 7. None holds 8, since 8 paydays two weeks apart span 98 days and a quarter has at most 92.
So your best quarter holds 7/26 of your year's pay, not a fourth of it. On $52,000, 7 paychecks of $2,000 make a $14,000 quarter, which pays $560 a week. The same pay twice a month puts $13,000.02 in every quarter and pays $520, so the schedule alone is worth $40 a week.
Your best quarter divided by 25
Section 207.002(a) sets the weekly amount at "1/25 of the wages" of the base-period quarter "in which wages were highest". A quarter is 13 weeks, so steady pay gets 13/25 of a week's pay, which is 52%, until the cap.
Under section 207.002(a-2), the weekly amount cannot be less than the minimum or more than the maximum for your claim. Section 207.002(b) sets them at 7.6% and 47.6% of the state's average weekly wage, and TWC resets them each October. For claims from October 4, 2026, they are $76 and $619. The $619 cap starts at a best quarter of $15,462.51, which takes $57,432.05 a year paid every two weeks.
To the nearest dollar, or up?
The law and TWC disagree here. Section 207.006 says "If a benefit rate or benefit payable computed under this chapter is not a multiple of $1, the benefit rate or benefit payable is increased to the next multiple of $1." TWC's eligibility page says "we divide your base period quarter with the highest wages by 25 and round to the nearest dollar."
TWC's printed copy of the law, the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act, notes "See Illustration on Page 153" under section 207.006. That illustration rounds to the nearest dollar, "$216.20 lowered to $216 and $216.80 raised to $217". TWC's online Benefits Estimator rounds the same way, and it sends an exact half to the even dollar: a $5,412.50 quarter gives $216, and $5,437.50 gives $218.
This page follows TWC, since TWC pays the claims. Rounded up as section 207.006 reads, you could get up to $1 more a week and up to $26 more in all. A part-time week could pay up to $2 more. Rounding up can also turn a claim that barely passes the 37 times test into one that fails. No TWC page shows a part-time week of exactly 50 cents, so the page rounds that one up, as section 207.006 would. The table of your amounts rounded two ways shows both readings for your figures.
The two-quarter test and the 37 times test
Section 207.021(a)(6) asks for wages "in at least two calendar quarters" and "in an amount not less than 37 times the individual's benefit amount". A best quarter of $13,000 with no other wages fails the first test.
Add $6,240 in a second quarter, and your $19,240 of wages is exactly 37 times $520, so the claim pays. A cent less, $6,239.99, fails. TWC's Benefits Estimator gives the same two answers.
The most a claim pays: 26 weeks or 27% of your wages
Section 207.005 caps the claim at the lesser of "26 times the individual's benefit amount" and "27 percent of the individual's benefit wage credits". With four equal quarters of at least $1,912.51 each, 26 weekly amounts are the lower figure.
Pay every two weeks is different. Your year is 26 paychecks, and 27% of it is 7.02 paychecks, while 26 weekly amounts from a 7-paycheck quarter come to 7.28. So on $52,000 the claim stops at $14,040, which is 25.07 weeks of $560. A short work history cuts deeper: the $13,000 and $6,240 claim above pays $520 a week but stops at $5,195, or 9.99 weeks.
A week with part-time work
Under section 207.003(b), a week with wages pays your weekly amount plus the greater of $5 or 25% of it, less the wages. Under section 201.091(a), wages no higher than that $5 or 25% leave a week of total unemployment, which pays the whole amount. The $5 matters only for a weekly amount under $20, below every minimum in TWC's table.
TWC's page on reporting work gives an example: "if your weekly benefit amount is $400, you may earn up to $100 (which is 25%) without a reduction in your benefits." Above that, TWC subtracts your earnings from $500, and the page gets the same answers. On the default's $560, a week with $400 of pay pays $300.
The same TWC page says "Round down to report gross earnings in whole dollars." So $200.75 of pay counts as $200. If you work your usual full-time hours, section 201.091(e) says you are not unemployed that week, whatever you earn.
Video walkthrough
A 3½-minute walkthrough of how Texas works out your weekly unemployment benefit, the most a claim pays, a week of part-time work and the rounding.
Read the transcript
How much Texas pays
0:00 How much unemployment will you get in Texas?
0:03 On $52,000 a year, paid every other week, it's $560 a week, and at most about $14,000 in all.
0:13 That's 56% of your weekly pay.
0:16 Let's see where each amount comes from.
Your best quarter sets the amount
0:19 It all starts with your best quarter: the quarter of your base period with the most pay.
0:25 Paid every other week, 7 of your 26 paychecks land in it.
0:30 Your weekly amount comes from that one quarter's wages, and from nothing else.
0:35 Texas divides them by 25, as the page's sheet shows.
0:40 That seventh paycheck really counts.
0:42 Paid twice a month, the same salary spreads out evenly, and you'd get $40 less a week.
0:49 The weekly amount also has a floor and a ceiling, set by your claim date.
0:54 From October 4, 2026, they're $76 and $619.
1:01 On the page's chart, the amount climbs as your quarter grows, and then it stays flat at that ceiling.
The tests a claim must pass
1:08 Before it pays, your claim must pass a wage test.
1:12 You need wages in at least 2 quarters, and at least 37 times your weekly amount in all.
1:19 A short work history is where it bites.
1:21 Say your best quarter was $13,000, with $6,240 in one other.
1:28 That's exactly enough.
1:30 Any less, and it pays nothing.
The most a claim pays
1:33 There's a limit on the total, too.
1:36 It's the smaller of 26 weekly amounts, or 27% of your base-period wages.
1:42 Paid every other week, the 27% is the smaller one, so the claim runs out after about 25 weeks.
Part-time work while you claim
1:51 Working part-time while you claim?
1:53 Pay up to a quarter of your weekly amount doesn't count, and each dollar above it comes off.
1:59 So the more you earn, the less it pays.
2:02 Your $200 week pays $500, plus the pay you earned.
2:07 Earn enough, and that week pays nothing at all.
Nearest dollar, or up?
2:11 Now for the rounding, where the sources part ways.
2:14 TWC's eligibility page says that, after dividing, it rounds to the nearest dollar.
2:21 But the Texas Labor Code says an amount that isn't a whole dollar is increased to the next multiple of one dollar.
2:29 The page follows TWC, which pays the claims, but its table shows you both ways.
2:35 At a lower salary, that's $452 a week, or $453 rounded up.
2:43 Neither reading is settled, so plan on what the state sends you.
Check your statement
2:48 Once you file, TWC mails a Statement of Wages and Potential Benefit Amounts, listing your wages by quarter.
2:56 Choose My pay each quarter.
2:58 Then type the quarters from TWC's printed example.
3:02 The oldest one goes first.
3:04 The second one comes next.
3:06 Then type the third one.
3:08 And last of all, the newest.
3:10 The page gives the same weekly amount and the same total as TWC's example.
3:16 Your own statement should match it too.
3:19 If a wage is wrong or missing, TWC's page on your results says to call a Tele-Center right away.
3:27 So each week is your best quarter divided by 25, and the total is the smaller of 26 weeks or 27% of your wages.
3:36 Try yours at fastcalc.us.
The benefit formula
HQ = the wages paid to you in the best quarter of your base period weekly = HQ ÷ 25, to the nearest dollar, at least $76 and at most $619 for a claim from October 4, 2026 payable: wages in at least 2 quarters, and base-period wages of at least 37 × weekly most in all = the lesser of 26 × weekly and 27% of base-period wages, to the nearest dollar part-time week = weekly − (pay − the greater of $5 and 25% of weekly), to the nearest dollar, from $0 up to weekly pay in a week counts in whole dollars, rounded down
Worked examples
Four quarters of $703.00. Each divided by 25 is $28.12, so the $76 minimum applies. The wages, $2,812.00, are exactly 37 times $76, so the claim pays. 27% of them is $759.24, which rounds to $759, less than 26 weeks of $76, so $759 is the most in all.
A best quarter of $15,462.50. Divided by 25 it is $618.50, and TWC sends the half to the even dollar, $618. A cent more, $15,462.51, pays the $619 maximum. Rounded up as section 207.006 reads, the first quarter would pay $619 too.
A $522 weekly amount and a week with $131 of pay. The first $130.50 does not count, so $0.50 counts, and $522 less $0.50 is $521.50, which rounds to $522. With $132 of pay, the week pays $521.
Check it against your Statement of Wages and Potential Benefit Amounts
After you apply, TWC mails you a Statement of Wages and Potential Benefit Amounts. TWC's page on application results says it lists "The wages your employers reported paying you during each quarter of your base period." Choose My pay each quarter under How you know your wages, and enter those four figures.
The statement then says "Your weekly benefit amount is $___." and gives "The maximum amount you could receive during your benefit year". Those are this page's first two cards. With the four quarters of TWC's illustration, $5,420, $5,580, $5,670 and $5,775, the page shows $231 a week and $6,006 in all, as the illustration does. Its week with $70 of pay comes to $218.75, which both TWC and the page round to $219.
If wages are missing or wrong, TWC's page says to call a TWC Tele-Center "immediately if there are mistakes on the Statement of Wages and Potential Benefit Amounts." A missing employer can lower your best quarter or fail the 37 times test. Under section 208.023, you have 14 days from the mailing date to appeal TWC's decision on whether your claim is valid.
When your claim works differently
The first payable week is held back
Section 207.021(a)(8) requires a waiting period of at least seven days. TWC's page on payments says "Texas law requires us to hold the payment for the first payable week" until you are paid two times your weekly amount and go back to full-time work or use up your benefits. On $560 a week, that is after $1,120 of payments. Section 207.021(c) then pays the held week, so your total does not change.
If you got severance pay
Section 207.049(a) disqualifies you for any week "for which the individual is receiving or has received remuneration in the form of" severance pay or wages in lieu of notice. So a week your severance covers pays $0, not $560. Under section 207.049(b), pay from a written contract you made with your employer before you were let go is not severance.
If part-time work stretches your claim
A week of part-time pay uses less of your maximum, so the maximum lasts longer. On the default, $500 weeks would take 28.08 weeks to use up $14,040. Section 207.005 caps what is paid during a benefit year, and section 201.011(5) makes that year 52 weeks. So a balance left at its end is not paid.
Federal tax on your benefit
Section 207.101(a) lets you have federal income tax withheld. TWC's tax page says "If you ask us to withhold taxes, we will withhold 10 percent of the gross amount of each payment before sending it to you." On $560 a week that is $56, leaving $504. IRS Form W-4V is the federal form for this request, and for unemployment it says the payer "will withhold 10% from each payment."
Each January TWC mails Form 1099-G with the benefits it paid you and the tax it withheld. The same TWC page says to report benefits on your federal tax return, and "to the state in which they live if that state has an income tax."
If you are sick or hurt
Section 207.021(a)(3) and (4) pay only for a week you are able to work and available for work. Hurt on the job? The Texas workers' comp calculator works out what that pays from your usual weekly wage. If an illness kept you out for seven weeks of a quarter, ask TWC about the other base period above.
If you file again next year
Section 207.021(a)(7) asks for wages of at least six times your new weekly amount since your last benefit year began. With a new weekly amount of $560, that is $3,360 of wages. TWC's eligibility page says the same: "you must have earned six times your new weekly benefit amount since that time."
Assumptions and limits
- This page finds the amounts; it cannot say whether you qualify. TWC also checks why your job ended and that you can work, look for work and request payment.
- Entered as yearly pay, your pay is taken as the same all year, each paycheck the year's pay over the paychecks, to the cent. Uneven pay is better entered as four quarters.
- Paid every week, the page puts 13 paychecks in the best quarter; the schedule table shows a quarter with 14. Paid every two weeks, it counts 26 paychecks in the base period.
- Amounts follow TWC's rounding to the nearest dollar. An exact half goes to the even dollar in the weekly amount and in 27% of wages, and up in a part-time week. The rounding table shows section 207.006's reading beside them.
- With the best quarter and total entered, a total of 0 counts each quarter with wages like your best.
- Not covered: the alternate base period, wages from other states or federal work and extended benefits. Nor are pension deductions under section 207.050, overpayments and child support taken from benefits.
These figures are estimates for learning and planning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Terms of use.
What to do before you file and while you claim
Before you apply, add up each quarter's pay. Total the gross pay on the paychecks dated in each quarter; paid $52,000 every two weeks, a quarter with 7 paydays should show $14,000.00. The Texas paycheck calculator shows the gross pay on each check.
Plan for the gap. The default's $560 a week is $440 less than the $1,000.00 weekly pay it replaces. The emergency fund calculator shows how many weeks your savings can fill that gap, and the COBRA calculator prices health coverage after the job.
Time part-time work with the cut in mind. On the default pay, a $200 week pays $500, and $700 or more of pay leaves nothing that week. The take-home pay calculator shows a full paycheck to compare.
Choose withholding when you file your claim. If all $14,040 is paid, 10% withheld comes to $1,404, the tax your Form 1099-G would show. The federal income tax calculator shows what the year's income may owe.
Frequently asked questions
How much unemployment will I get in Texas if I make $1,000 a week?
Paid $1,000 every week, your best quarter is $13,000, and divided by 25 that is $520 a week, 52% of your pay. With four quarters like it, the most in all is 26 weeks of $520, or $13,520.
What is the maximum unemployment benefit in Texas?
$619 a week for a claim starting on or after October 4, 2026, and $16,094 over 26 weeks. Paid twice a month, it takes $61,850.04 a year to reach it.
How does TWC calculate the weekly benefit amount?
TWC divides your best base-period quarter by 25 and rounds to the nearest dollar, between $76 and $619 for a claim from October 4, 2026. In TWC's illustration, a $5,775 quarter pays $231.
How much can I earn while on unemployment in Texas?
Pay up to 25% of your weekly benefit amount takes nothing off, and pay above that comes off dollar for dollar, rounded to the nearest dollar. At the $619 maximum, pay under $156 keeps the whole benefit, and $774 or more pays nothing that week.
How long can you get unemployment in Texas?
Up to 26 weekly amounts in a 52-week benefit year, and fewer when 27% of your base-period wages is less. Paid $42,000 a year every two weeks, $452 a week stops at $11,340, or 25.09 weeks.
Can I get unemployment in Texas with wages in only one quarter?
No. Section 207.021(a)(6)(A) needs wages in at least two quarters, so a $25,000 quarter alone pays nothing. TWC's Benefits Estimator answers it with "you do not qualify for benefits."
Is Texas unemployment taxable?
Yes, for federal income tax. With 10% withheld at your request, the $619 maximum pays $557.10 a week.
When does TWC pay the waiting week?
After you have been paid two weekly amounts and have gone back to full-time work or used up your benefits. On $452 a week, that comes after $904 of payments.
Sources
- Texas Labor Code chapter 201, sections 201.011 and 201.091: definitions and total and partial unemployment (current version)
- Texas Labor Code chapter 207, benefits: sections 207.002 to 207.006, 207.021, 207.049, 207.050 and 207.101 (current version)
- Texas Labor Code chapter 208, sections 208.022 and 208.023: the determination of a claim and the claimant's appeal (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Eligibility & Benefit Amounts (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Report Your Work & Earnings (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Request Benefit Payments (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Learning the Result of Your Application for Benefits (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Federal Income Taxes (current version)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Computation of Unemployment Benefit Amounts (Unemployment Compensation Act, 2025) (page modified Sep 2, 2025)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Unemployment Benefits Estimator (current version)
- IRS, Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request (page modified Dec 17, 2025)
More on Texas from sister sites
FastWages publishes wage data and the minimum wage for Texas.
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