Indiana unemployment in 2026: the whole year counts, up to $390 a week
Indiana averages all four quarters of your base period and pays 47% of that weekly average, between $37 and $390 a week in 2026.
Unemployment in Indiana
$361
a week, for up to 26 weeks · $9,386 in all
| Weekly benefit | $361 |
| Weeks payable | 26 weeks |
| Total if you stay unemployed | $9,386 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $956 |
| 10% federal withholding, if you ask (W-4V) | $36 a week |
| State income tax on it | check your state |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $660 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 55 % before tax |
Indiana: 47% of AWW in BP; $37 to $390 a week.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
Indiana's Department of Workforce Development does not single out your best quarter. It takes everything you earned in the base period, divides it by 52 and pays 47% of that average weekly wage, with a minimum of $37 and a maximum of $390 a week. The ceiling applies from about $43,149 of base-period wages, so many full-time workers reach it: $60,000 of pay gets $390, $40,000 gets $361 and $30,000 gets $271. A strong single quarter makes no difference, only the yearly total does. Benefits last up to 26 weeks, and the total is also capped at 28 % of base-period wages, a limit the formula itself keeps you under. At the maximum, a full claim pays $10,140. Eligibility hinges on $4,200 of base-period earnings, $2,500 of them in the final two quarters, plus a year's total worth one and a half times the top quarter.
Why your best quarter does not matter here
In the states around Indiana, a big quarter raises the check: Michigan uses only the highest quarter, Illinois the two highest. Indiana divides the year's wages by 52. Two workers who each earned $30,000 receive the same $271, even if one of them earned $15,000 of it in a single busy quarter; the calculator gives $271 in that case too. What changes the amount is the total, and missing months of work lower it directly. Someone who started a job halfway through the base period and earned $20,000 has an average built on 52 weeks anyway, and gets $180.
The rate of 47% and the range of $37 to $390 are those of the federal Significant Provisions table.
Your Indiana weekly benefit
Unemployment in Indiana
$361
| Weekly benefit | $361 |
| Weeks payable | 26 weeks |
| Total if you stay unemployed | $9,386 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $956 |
A ceiling that comes early
At $390, the Indiana maximum is the lowest in its region: Michigan tops out at $530, Ohio at $624, Illinois at $628 and Kentucky at $720. For anyone above about $43,149 a year the benefit stops rising. A single filer on $60,000 takes home about $969 a week after federal and payroll taxes; $390 replaces 40 % of it. Higher earners should plan around that number rather than around half of their pay.
The 28% cap you will not hit
The law limits a claim to the lesser of 26 weekly payments and 28 % of base-period wages. Since the weekly amount is 47% of a fifty-second of those wages, 26 payments come to 23.5 % of them, below the cap. Below the ceiling, everyone who qualifies therefore receives the full 26 weeks; above it, a fixed $390 for 26 weeks is an even smaller share. See the duration guide for states where such caps do bite.
Vouchers, work search and side income
Indiana claimants file a weekly voucher through the state's online system and record work search activities. Earnings during a week are deducted from the benefit after a disregard of $100. A claimant with a $361 benefit who earns $250 keeps $211 in benefits. The partial unemployment guide compares the states' rules.
Federal income tax applies to every payment (IRS Topic 418); the department withholds 10% only if you request it.
Indiana unemployment rules in force in 2026
| Rule | Indiana |
|---|---|
| Earnings needed in the base period | 1½ x HQW totaling at least $2,500 in last 2 qtrs; not less than $4,200 in BP |
| Weekly benefit formula | 47% of AWW in BP |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | $37 to $390 |
| Most you can draw in a benefit year | Lesser of 28% BPW or 26 x WBA |
| Weeks payable | 26 |
| Pay you can earn in a week without losing benefits | $100 |