Weekly benefit amount and weeks in Hawaii

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$5–$868

Maximum: calendar year 2026 (it was $835 in 2025); the maximum is set by law each year

How it is figured

DLIR divides the wages from the highest-paid quarter of your base period by 21 and rounds up to the next whole dollar. The minimum is $5 a week and the maximum is $868 a week for 2026. DLIR has an online estimator.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: HRS 383-22

The wage test

You must have been paid wages in at least two quarters of your base period, and your total base-period wages must be at least 26 times your weekly benefit amount.

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. If you do not qualify with it, DLIR uses the alternate base period: the last four completed calendar quarters.

The state's wage tests

• Wages in at least 2 quarters and total base-period wages of at least 26 times your weekly benefit amount

Law: HRS 383-29(a)(5)

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: your highest quarter ÷ 21, rounded up; at least $5 and at most $868

How long it lasts

Up to 26 weeks.

Your claim lasts one year (your benefit year). During that year you can be paid for up to 26 weeks of total unemployment. Your maximum benefit amount is 26 times your weekly benefit amount.

Law: HRS 383-24

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

Everyone must serve one unpaid waiting week, usually the first week of the benefit year. You must file a claim for it and meet all eligibility requirements, but you are not paid for it.

Law: HRS 383-29(a)(4)

Official source: Source page

Working part time

You can earn up to $150 a week and still get your full weekly benefit. If you earn more than $150 but less than your weekly benefit amount, you get the difference between your weekly benefit amount and your earnings over $150. Example from DLIR: you earn $200 and your weekly benefit is $300, so you get $250. If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you get nothing for that week. If you are still attached to your regular employer, your employer must send Form UC-348 and a weekly report of low earnings.

Earnings not deducted (as the data states it)

The first $150 you earn in a week is not deducted.

Law: HRS 383-23

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 1-833-901-2272. Legal aid and other free help in Hawaii → Official sources →