Washington unemployment in 2026: the highest ceiling in the country, at $1,208
Washington's ESD pays 3.85% of the average of your two best quarters, from $383 to $1,208 a week. Enter your pay to see the amount and the weeks.
Unemployment in Washington
$481
a week, for up to 26 weeks · $12,506 in all
| Weekly benefit | $481 |
| Weeks payable | 26 weeks |
| Total if you stay unemployed | $12,506 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $1,431 |
| 10% federal withholding, if you ask (W-4V) | $48 a week |
| State income tax on it | none: no state income tax |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $807 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 60 % before tax |
Washington: Lesser of 3.85% of avg of high 2 qtrs in BP or Individual Weekly Wage; $383 to $1,208 a week.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
Washington pays the most generous unemployment ceiling of any state in 2026. The Employment Security Department averages the wages of the two highest quarters of your base period and pays 3.85% of that average, with a minimum of $383 and a maximum of $1,208 a week, both reset from the state average wage. The maximum needs an average of about $31,377 a quarter in your two best quarters, roughly $125,508 a year of even pay, so middle incomes stay on the formula: $50,000 gives $481 a week, $90,000 gives $866, and $140,000 reaches $1,208. Benefits last up to 26 weeks, and the total cannot exceed a third of base-period wages, which only bites when pay was concentrated. Eligibility is counted in hours: 680 in the base period. Washington has no state income tax, so the only tax on benefits is federal.
Hours, not dollars, to qualify
Washington is the state where eligibility is measured in time worked. You need 680 hours of paid work in the base period or, failing that, in the alternate base period of the four most recent completed quarters. That is about 17 weeks of 40-hour work, or a full year of part-time work at around 13 hours a week. Pay level does not enter the test, which makes it easier for low-wage workers with steady hours and harder for highly paid people who worked a short stint.
The ESD announcement of 2026 benefit levels set the ceiling at $1,208 and the floor at $383, both tied to the state average annual wage. The Department of Labor table of July 2026 carries the same figures.
Your Washington benefit
Unemployment in Washington
$481
| Weekly benefit | $481 |
| Weeks payable | 26 weeks |
| Total if you stay unemployed | $12,506 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $1,431 |
A formula that keeps paying more as pay rises
Because the ceiling is high, most people never reach it, and every dollar of extra wages changes the benefit. With even pay, 3.85% of a quarter's average is about 50 % of weekly wages. A single filer on $90,000 who takes home about $1,373 a week after federal tax, payroll taxes and the paid leave premium receives $866, close to 63 % of take-home pay. There is also a second limit in the law: the weekly amount cannot be more than your individual weekly wage, which only matters for unusual wage patterns.
The one-third cap and uneven years
The total of a claim is the lesser of 26 weekly payments and one third of base-period wages. For steady pay the weeks run out first. When two quarters carry most of the year, the cap shortens the claim: $40,000 with $15,000 and $12,000 in the two best quarters gives $519 a week, but the total stops at $13,333, about 25.7 weeks.
Part-time work and the weekly claim
Claimants file weekly through ESD and report hours and gross pay. Washington keeps a quarter of what you earn above $5: put the other way, three quarters of earnings above $5 come off the check. With a benefit of $481 and $405 of earnings, the payment drops to $181. The partial unemployment guide explains how this compares.
Only the IRS taxes it
Washington has no individual income tax (Department of Revenue). Benefits are still federal income (IRS Topic 418), and ESD withholds 10% if you ask. A leave for your own illness or a new child goes through Paid Family and Medical Leave instead.
Washington unemployment rules in force in 2026
| Rule | Washington |
|---|---|
| Earnings needed in the base period | 680 hours; wages in BP or alternate BP |
| Weekly benefit formula | Lesser of 3.85% of avg of high 2 qtrs in BP or Individual Weekly Wage |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | $383 to $1,208 |
| Most you can draw in a benefit year | Lesser of 1/3 BPW or 26 x WBA |
| Weeks payable | 1 to 26 |
| Pay you can earn in a week without losing benefits | 1/4 of wages over $5 |