Florida unemployment calculator

Enter gross wages paid to you in each quarter, before deductions, from every employer combined. A paycheck counts in the quarter it was paid, not the quarter the work was done.

Which quarters count

Florida looks at your base period: the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your benefit year begins (s. 443.036(7)). The benefit year starts on the first day of the week you file, and Florida's week runs Sunday to Saturday. The quarter that has just ended is left out, which is why recent wages can be missing from a determination.

Some states let a claimant who falls short use the most recent quarters instead, an “alternative base period”. Florida's statute has no such provision; we searched sections 443.036, 443.091 and 443.111. Because the base period moves forward each quarter, the same work history can produce a different result depending on when the claim is filed.

The three monetary tests

To establish a claim, section 443.111(2) requires all three of these:

• Wages in at least two of the four base-period quarters.
• At least $3,400 in total base-period wages.
• Total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter.

The third test is the one that catches people. Someone paid $6,000 in one quarter and $2,500 in another has $8,500, well over $3,400, but needs $9,000 to clear 1.5 × $6,000, so the claim fails. Earnings concentrated in a single quarter, such as seasonal work or a large bonus, are the usual cause.

Why the weekly amount stops at $275

The weekly benefit amount is one twenty-sixth of your highest quarter, rounded down to the dollar, but never less than $32 or more than $275 (s. 443.111(3)). Any highest quarter of $7,150 or more therefore produces the same $275. Our weekly benefit amount page works through more examples.

How long it lasts

The most a claim can pay is the smallest of three figures: 25% of your total base-period wages, your weekly amount times the number of payable weeks, and $6,325 (s. 443.111(5)). The calculator shows all three and which one applies to you.

The number of weeks is set once a year from Florida's average unemployment rate for the previous July to September: 12 weeks when that rate is at or below 5%, one more week for each half point above it, up to 23 weeks at 10.5% or more. Claims filed in 2026 get 12 weeks. The figure for 2027 claims depends on the July to September 2026 rate published by the Department of Commerce, so the calculator lets you choose.

Working part-time during a claim

In a week you earn some wages, Florida ignores the first 8 times the federal minimum wage, which is $58 at $7.25 an hour, and takes every dollar above that off your weekly amount, rounding the result down (s. 443.111(4)(b)). Earn enough and the week pays nothing, but you still report the earnings when you request payment.

What a calculator cannot tell you

• Whether the wages count. The formula uses wages for insured work. Income from self-employment, for example, is not wages from an employer and does not build a Florida claim.
• Whether you qualify on the other rules. Why you left your job, being able and available to work, and the weekly work search are decided separately. This page covers only the money.
• Your official figures. They are on the monetary determination Florida sends after you apply. If its wages look wrong, you have 20 days from the date it was mailed or delivered to ask for reconsideration (s. 443.151(3)).