Weekly benefit amount and weeks in Delaware

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$20–$450

Maximum: claims establishing a benefit year beginning on or after April 2, 2023

How it is figured

Add up your wages in the two quarters of your base period when you earned the most, and divide by 46. Cents are dropped. The weekly benefit is at least $20 and at most $450.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3313(t)

The wage test

You must have been paid at least 36 times your weekly benefit amount in your base period. If you are short by $180 or less, you can still qualify with a weekly benefit lowered by $1 for each $36 you are short, as long as your base-period wages are at least $720.

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim. If your wages in that period are too low, the four most recent completed quarters are used instead (alternate base period). You may need to give proof of wages, such as pay stubs or W-2s.

The state's wage tests

• Base-period wages at least 36 times your weekly benefit amount — If base-period wages are short of 36 x WBA by $180 or less, the WBA is reduced by $1 for each $36 (or major fraction) of the shortfall; base-period wages must be at least $720

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3315(6)

Official source: Source page

Estimate your weekly benefit

Enter the gross wages (before taxes) you were paid in each quarter of your base period. We apply the state's own formula to your numbers.

The state's formula: the total of your two highest quarters ÷ 46, rounded down; at least $20 and at most $450

How long it lasts

Up to 26 weeks.

The most you can get in your one-year benefit year is the lower of 26 times your weekly benefit amount or half of your total base-period wages. So most claims last up to 26 weeks; claims with lower total wages run out sooner. Partial payments can stretch over more weeks.

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3313(o)

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

Delaware has no unpaid waiting week. You request benefits for each week you are unemployed, starting with the first week after you file.

Official source: Source page

Working part time

You can work part time and still get a partial payment. You can earn up to half of your weekly benefit amount (at least $10) without any cut. Earnings above that are taken off dollar for dollar, and cents are dropped. Report all gross earnings for the week you earned them, even if you have not been paid yet.

Earnings not deducted (as the data states it)

The amount not deducted is the greater of $10 or 50% of your weekly benefit amount.

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3313(m)

Official source: Source page

What applies in every state

• You must have earned enough wages, or worked enough, during a period called the base period. In most states it is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file.
• It generally takes two to three weeks after you file to get your first payment. Some states require a one-week waiting period, so the second week you claim is the first week paid.
• Unemployment benefits count as income for federal income tax. You must report them on your federal tax return.

  Law: 26 U.S.C. 85(a)

Free help

Call 302-761-8446. Legal aid and other free help in Delaware → Official sources →