Weekly benefit amount and weeks in Mississippi

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$30–$235

Maximum: benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2009

How it is figured

Your weekly benefit amount is 1/26 of your wages in the highest-paid quarter of your base period, rounded down to the dollar. The minimum is $30 and the maximum is $235. If your amount would be less than $30, you cannot get benefits.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: Miss. Code Ann. sec. 71-5-503

The wage test

You must have wages in at least two quarters of your base period, at least $780 in your highest quarter (26 times the $30 minimum weekly benefit), and total base-period wages of at least 40 times your weekly benefit amount.

Your base period is the first four of the last five full calendar quarters before you file your claim.

The state's wage tests

• Wages in 2 quarters, at least $780 in your highest quarter, and total wages at least 40 times your weekly benefit

Law: Miss. Code Ann. sec. 71-5-511(e)

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 ÷ 26, rounded down; at least $30 and at most $235

How long it lasts

Up to 26 weeks.

The most you can get in your benefit year is the lower of 26 times your weekly benefit amount or one-third of your total base-period wages, rounded down to the dollar. So claims last up to 26 weeks; with lower wages they run out sooner.

Extra weeks and training

MDES may approve you for a training program while you get benefits; availability and work search rules are waived during it, for up to 12 weeks in a benefit year.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. secs. 71-5-507, 71-5-513(E)

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

The first eligible week you claim is an unpaid waiting week. You must still file a weekly certification for it. The waiting week is waived when the President declares a major disaster for individual assistance.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. secs. 71-5-505, 71-5-511(d)

Official source: Source page

Working part time

You can work part time and still get benefits if you earn less than your weekly benefit amount plus $40. Report your gross earnings for the week you did the work. Any earnings over $40 are subtracted from your weekly benefit amount, and the result is rounded down to the dollar.

Earnings not deducted (as the data states it)

The first $40 you earn in a week is not deducted.

Law: Miss. Code Ann. sec. 71-5-505(1)

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

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