Tennessee Unemployment Calculator 2026
Tennessee pays $55–$325 per week for up to 12 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is a statutory benefit table (BENEFIT TABLE, Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-301(b), as substituted in full by Tennessee Public Chapter No. 560 (112th General Assembly, House Bill No. 1039), SECTION 1: 'Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-7-301(b), is amended by deleting the benefit table and substituting: BENEFIT TABLE (Effective for benefit years established on and after July 5, 1992) COLUMN A / COLUMN B / Average Wages Paid in Highest Two Quarters of Base Period / Weekly Benefit Amount'. All 246 printed rows transcribed programmatically from the published act at https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/112/pub/pc0560.pdf) applied to your highest-earning quarter. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Enter your gross wages for each quarter of the base period — roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. Your state's exact window is shown with the result.
Base period: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Do I Qualify?: 'The Base Period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the quarter in which your initial claim is filed. A calendar quarter is three months of either January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December.'.
File your claim with Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-08-01 against Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 'Apply for Benefits', 'Do I Qualify?', 'Certify Weekly' and 'What to Expect After You File' + Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-301 benefit table and maximum-benefits subsection as substituted by Tennessee Public Chapter No. 560 (112th General Assembly, HB 1039), published by the Tennessee Secretary of State (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Tennessee disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
- Disregard: greater of $50.00 or 0.25 × WBA = $100.00
- Countable earnings: $150.00 − $100.00 = $50.00
- Payable: WBA $400.00 − $50.00 = $350.00
How long benefits can last
Currently up to 12 weeks — this state ties duration to its unemployment rate: Tennessee Public Chapter No. 560, SECTION 2, substituting Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-301(d): '(2) Beginning with those benefit years established on December 1, 2023, a claimant is eligible during a benefit year to a total amount of benefits: (A) Equal to: (i) Twelve (12) weeks, if the state average unemployment rate is at or below five and five-tenths percent (5.5%); and (ii) An additional week in addition to the twelve (12) weeks described in subdivision (d)(2)(A)(i) for each five-tenths percent (0.5%) increment in the state's average unemployment rate above five and five-tenths percent (5.5%); and (B) Up to a maximum of twenty (20) weeks if the state's average unemployment rate exceeds nine percent (9%).' The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development publishes the current figure directly: 'Qualified applicants are only eligible for a maximum of 12 weeks of unemployment insurance in a year if the state average unemployment rate is at or below 5.5%' (Apply for Benefits) and 'The maximum number of weeks you can draw unemployment in Tennessee is 12 weeks' (What to Expect After You File).
Who qualifies for benefits in Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Do I Qualify?: 'You must have earned an average of $780.01 in each of 2 quarters of a time frame called the Base Period, and the wages outside of the highest quarter are greater than or equal to the lesser of either $900 or 6 times the weekly benefit amount. The total base period wages must be more than forty (40) times the weekly benefit amount.' Public Chapter 560, SECTION 2, adds the statutory form: '(B) A claimant is not entitled to benefits if the claimant's base period earnings are less than forty (40) times the claimant's weekly benefit amount. (C) A claimant is not entitled to benefits if the claimant's base period earnings, outside the claimant's highest calendar quarter of earnings, are less than the lesser of six (6) times the claimant's weekly benefit amount or nine hundred dollars ($900).'
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development ↗
Base period in Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Do I Qualify?: 'The Base Period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the quarter in which your initial claim is filed. A calendar quarter is three months of either January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December.'. No alternate base period is offered. No alternate base period is described on any tn.gov or lwdsupport.tn.gov page opened for this pack, nor in Public Chapter 560.
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
Tennessee Separation Notice instructions (form LB-0489), 'Wages in lieu of notice and severance pay affect UI': 'The Unemployment Insurance Accountability Act of 2012 denies unemployment insurance benefits to any claimant who is receiving or has received wages in lieu of notice equivalent to the wages he could have earned in that week had he been permitted to work during the period of notice... UI benefits will also be denied to any claimant for any week in which he received a severance package that includes an equivalent amount of salary the employee would have received if he were working during that week. Both the wages in lieu of notice and the severance provisions will not apply to claimants whose separating employer filed notice of a reduction in operations, in accordance with Tennessee Employment Security law, prior to July 1, 2012.'
Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 'Apply for Benefits', 'Do I Qualify?', 'Certify Weekly' and 'What to Expect After You File' + Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-301 benefit table and maximum-benefits subsection as substituted by Tennessee Public Chapter No. 560 (112th General Assembly, HB 1039), published by the Tennessee Secretary of State (verified 2026-08-01).
Tennessee unemployment: frequently asked questions
Tennessee pays between $55 and $325 per week in 2026. Your amount is a statutory benefit table (BENEFIT TABLE, Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-301(b), as substituted in full by Tennessee Public Chapter No. 560 (112th General Assembly, House Bill No. 1039), SECTION 1: 'Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-7-301(b), is amended by deleting the benefit table and substituting: BENEFIT TABLE (Effective for benefit years established on and after July 5, 1992) COLUMN A / COLUMN B / Average Wages Paid in Highest Two Quarters of Base Period / Weekly Benefit Amount'. All 246 printed rows transcribed programmatically from the published act at https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/112/pub/pc0560.pdf) applied to your highest-earning quarter, and only Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-08-01.
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