Weekly benefit amount and weeks in South Dakota

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$28–$575

Maximum: july 5, 2026 (the maximum is reset each fiscal year)

How it is figured

Your weekly benefit is 1/26 of the wages paid in the highest quarter of your base period, rounded down to the dollar. The maximum is half of South Dakota's average weekly wage for the year before and is reset each July. Since July 5, 2026, weekly benefits range from $28 to $575.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: SDCL 61-6-2

The wage test

You must have been paid at least $728 in the quarter of your base period with your highest wages. Your wages in the other three quarters together must be at least 20 times your weekly benefit amount. You must have wages in two or more quarters.

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. If you do not qualify that way, DLR can use the alternative base period: the last four completed quarters. There is also a special base period if you could not work because of a work injury, if you file within 24 months after the injury.

The state's wage tests

• $728 in your highest quarter, and wages outside that quarter of at least 20 times your weekly benefit — Wages paid in the quarters other than your highest quarter must equal at least 20 times your weekly benefit amount.

Law: SDCL 61-6-4

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 $28 and at most $575

How long it lasts

Up to 26 weeks.

The most you can get in your benefit year is one-third of your total base-period wages, but not more than 26 times your weekly benefit. So claims last up to 26 weeks; claims with lower total wages run out sooner.

Law: SDCL 61-6-8

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

The first week of your claim is an unpaid waiting week. You must still file a payment request for it and meet all the rules that week, including the work search. Everyone serves one waiting week per benefit year. Payments start the next week if you are eligible.

Law: SDCL 61-6-1, 61-6-6

Official source: Source page

Working part time

If you work less than full time and earn less than your weekly benefit amount, you may get partial benefits. Report your hours and gross earnings for the week and keep looking for work. DLR takes 75% of your earnings over $25 off your weekly benefit. You get nothing for a week if your earnings equal or exceed your weekly benefit, or if you work 40 hours or more.

Law: SDCL 61-6-5

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 605-626-3179. Legal aid and other free help in South Dakota → Official sources →