Enter your base year wages to estimate your PA weekly benefit rate and total.
Base year: the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you apply.
| Part time earnings | Benefit paid | Total that week |
|---|
Estimate only, built to match the L&I Rate and Amount of Benefits chart ($68 to $605 a week); a result can differ by $1 from the chart. The part time table excludes the dependent allowance. The Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation makes the official decision.
This Pennsylvania unemployment calculator estimates the weekly benefit rate (WBR), maximum benefit amount and part time pay for anyone applying for unemployment compensation (UC) through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) in 2026. It can show each payment after federal tax on unemployment is withheld, and it follows the official Rate and Amount of Benefits chart, checks the 37% test and the 18 credit week rule and applies the 30% partial benefit credit. Figures checked October 2026.
Quick answer: Pennsylvania sets your weekly benefit rate from the single quarter of your base year with the highest wages, at roughly 3.9% of that quarter, between $68 and $605 a week. A $12,480 high quarter gives $490. The Pennsylvania unemployment calculator then multiplies by your credit weeks, up to 26.
In This Guide
What Is a Pennsylvania Unemployment Calculator?
A Pennsylvania unemployment calculator is a tool that estimates the UC benefit you could receive from your base year wages, using the same benefit chart L&I uses. Your base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you apply, and your high quarter is the one in which you were paid the most.
The formula in plain words: find your high quarter, look up the rate the chart gives for that wage band, and check that your base year total reaches the qualifying wages printed beside it. The chart moves in $25 steps of high quarter pay and pays about one half of a full time weekly wage, starting at $68 for a $1,688 high quarter and reaching the $605 maximum at $15,388. Your maximum benefit amount is the WBR multiplied by your credit weeks, capped at 26 times the WBR. A dependent spouse adds $5 a week and one dependent child adds $3, so the allowance never exceeds $8.
How to Use the Pennsylvania Unemployment Calculator
Step 1: Enter Your Quarterly Wages
Type your gross wages for each of the four base year quarters. The calculator finds the high quarter for you and adds up the total. If you are paid by the hour, the hourly to annual salary calculator converts your rate into a yearly figure, which you can divide by four as a starting point before checking your pay stubs.
Step 2: Add Credit Weeks and Dependants
A credit week is any Sunday to Saturday week in the base year in which you earned $116 or more. Someone in steady full time work all year has 52, so leave the field at 26 or more for the full entitlement. Tick the dependant boxes only if you wholly or chiefly supported that spouse or child when you applied.
Step 3: Add Earnings and Tax
If you work part time while claiming, enter your gross pay for the week, rounded up to the next dollar as L&I asks. Tick the tax box to see what is left after 10% federal withholding.
Step 4: Read Your Result
The headline is your weekly benefit rate plus any dependent allowance. Below it you see the maximum benefit amount, the number of weeks payable, your partial benefit credit and the payment for a week with your earnings. The box confirms whether you pass the qualifying wage and credit week tests, and the table shows pay and benefit together at five earnings levels.
How Much Unemployment Will I Get in PA?
You will get the chart rate for your high quarter, between $68 and $605 a week, for as many weeks as you have credit weeks, up to 26. The most anyone can receive on a regular Pennsylvania claim is $15,730, which is 26 weeks at $605, plus up to $8 a week for dependants.
Worked example: Keisha is a medical billing clerk in Allentown who lost her job in September 2026. Her base year quarters were $10,200, $11,300, $12,480 and $9,820, a total of $43,800. Her high quarter of $12,480 sits in the chart band of $12,463 to $12,487, which gives a weekly benefit rate of $490 and qualifying wages of $19,821. Her total of $43,800 clears that easily, and she worked every week of the year, so she has more than 26 credit weeks. Her maximum benefit amount is $490 x 26 = $12,740. With 10% federal tax withheld, each full payment is $441.
| High quarter wages | Weekly benefit rate | Qualifying wages needed | 26 weeks at that rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,688 to $1,712 | $68 (minimum) | $2,718 | $1,768 |
| $4,988 to $5,012 | $197 | $7,956 | $5,122 |
| $7,488 to $7,512 | $295 | $11,924 | $7,670 |
| $9,988 to $10,012 | $393 | $15,893 | $10,218 |
| $12,463 to $12,487 | $490 | $19,821 | $12,740 |
| $15,013 to $15,037 | $590 | $23,869 | $15,340 |
| $15,388 or more | $605 (maximum) | 37% of wages outside the high quarter | $15,730 |
All rows come from the L&I chart. The qualifying wages column works out at the top of each band divided by 0.63, which is the 37% rule in another form: at least 37% of your base year pay must come from quarters other than your high quarter.
How Much Can I Earn on Unemployment in PA?
You can earn up to 30% of your weekly benefit rate, your partial benefit credit, without losing any benefit. L&I adds your WBR and partial benefit credit together, subtracts your gross earnings and pays the difference, never more than your WBR. With a $490 rate, Keisha's credit is $147. If she earns $300 in a week, she is paid $490 + $147 - $300 = $337, so her income that week is $637. Once earnings reach $637 the payment falls to zero. The time card calculator totals shift hours in 12 or 24 hour time, so you report the right gross pay for the week you did the work.
Who Qualifies for Unemployment in Pennsylvania?
You qualify on wages if your high quarter is at least $1,688, your base year total reaches the qualifying wages for your rate, and you have at least 18 credit weeks. Pennsylvania counts one quarter where some states count two, so the Illinois unemployment calculator gives a different answer for the same pay history. Beyond wages, you must be unemployed through no fault of your own, able and available for suitable work and searching for work each week. Workers with a work related injury can ask L&I to use an alternate base year: the four completed quarters before the date of the injury.
Is Pennsylvania Unemployment Taxable?
Pennsylvania unemployment is taxable on your federal return but not by the Commonwealth or local governments. You can ask L&I to withhold 10% federal tax from each payment, which turns a $490 payment into $441, or submit Form W-4V for voluntary withholding on the same basis, then report the 1099-G total on your federal return.
After you apply, L&I sends a financial determination listing the wages it holds for each quarter. Check it against what you entered in the Pennsylvania unemployment calculator: if a quarter is missing or low, send pay stubs or a W-2 quickly, because one corrected quarter can move you into a higher chart band for the whole claim.
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How we checked this tool: the Tools Veria Editorial Team built this tool by hand, checked it against the official rules or published standards where they apply, and tested it against worked examples. Results are estimates for planning, not personal financial or tax advice. Read our editorial policy and disclaimer, or report an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is PA unemployment calculated?
L&I finds the base year quarter in which you earned the most and reads your weekly benefit rate from its Rate and Amount of Benefits chart. The rate is roughly 3.9% of that high quarter, so a $10,000 quarter gives $393 a week.
What is the maximum unemployment benefit in PA?
The highest rate in the current L&I chart is $605 a week, reached at a high quarter of $15,388 or more. A dependent spouse and child can add up to $8, and 26 weeks at $605 is $15,730.
How many weeks of unemployment can you get in Pennsylvania?
You get one week of benefits for each credit week in your base year, from a minimum of 18 to a maximum of 26. A credit week is any week in which you earned $116 or more, so most full time workers get 26.
How much can I make on unemployment in PA?
You can earn up to 30% of your weekly benefit rate without a reduction. Above that, each dollar is deducted, so on a $490 rate you keep the full benefit up to $147 of earnings and get nothing once earnings reach $637.
Does PA give extra unemployment for dependents?
Yes. You can receive $5 a week for a dependent spouse and $3 a week for one dependent child, a maximum of $8 a week. You must have wholly or chiefly supported the dependant when you applied.
Is unemployment taxed in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania unemployment compensation is not taxed by the Commonwealth or local governments, but it is taxable federal income. You can ask L&I to withhold 10% federal tax, which turns a $490 weekly payment into $441.