Missouri Unemployment Benefits Calculator
In Missouri, if you’ve lost your job through no fault of your own, you may qualify for unemployment benefits. This money can help you pay bills while you’re looking for a new job.
The Missouri unemployment calculator is a handy tool that lets you estimate how much money you can get each week. This helps you stay on top of your finances since you know what to expect.
How is Missouri unemployment calculated?
Your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) is calculated by taking the average of your two highest earning quarters during the base period, and then multiplying that by 4%.
In Missouri, the most you can get per week is $320. The minimum amount you can receive is $35.
Your Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA) is the total amount of unemployment benefits you can get in a benefit year. It’s either 20 times your weekly benefit amount or one-third of your total earnings during the base period, whichever is less. There is a limit on how much you can earn each quarter. It can’t be more than 26 times your weekly benefit amount.
Once you’re eligible for Missouri unemployment benefits, Missouri’s regular unemployment insurance program lets you get benefits until your benefit year ends, which is 52 weeks, or until you’ve used up all of your MBA.
Here some examples that show what you can expect:
- If you make $100 per week in Missouri , your estimated weekly benefit is $104 for up to 20 weeks.
- If you make $200 per week in Missouri , your estimated weekly benefit is $208 for up to 20 weeks.
- If you make $300 per week in Missouri , your estimated weekly benefit is $312 for up to 20 weeks.
- If you make $500 per week in Missouri , your estimated weekly benefit is $320 for up to 20 weeks.
- If you make $1000 per week in Missouri , your estimated weekly benefit is $320 for up to 20 weeks.
How long do my benefits last?
In Missouri, you can receive benefits for up to 20 weeks. After that, your benefits will expire unless there is an unemployment benefits extension triggered by a high unemployment rate.
What is a base period?
A base period in the context of Missouri unemployment is a specific 12-month timeframe used to determine your eligibility for unemployment benefits and the amount you can receive. It’s typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the date you first filed your unemployment claim.
For example, if you applied for Missouri unemployment in May 2023, your base period would be from January to December of 2022. This period is important because the wages you earned during this time will be used to calculate how much you’ll receive in unemployment benefits.
The base period is also used to see if you’ve worked enough to be eligible for benefits in the first place.
For example, you must earn at least $2,250 during your base period to qualify for Missouri unemployment compensation. You must also have earned at least $1,500 during at least one of your calendar quarters. Your total base period earnings must be at least 1.5 times the wages in your highest earned quarter – or at least $19,500 during two quarters in your base period.
It gets complicated quickly, but fortunately, you can let the Missouri unemployment calculator do the heavy lifting.
Working Part Time
Depending on how much you earn, you may be able to work part time and still receive benefits. You still need to keep looking for work, fulfill your work search requirements, and be ready to work if you find a job.
To calculate how much you earned in a week, add up all the hours you worked from Sunday to Saturday for the week you’re requesting payment. Then, multiply the total hours you worked by how much you get paid per hour.
For example, if you worked 10 hours and you get paid $9.50 an hour, you would report that you earned $95 that week (10 hours x $9.50/hour = $95). Be sure to report your gross income.
You can earn up to $20 or 20% of your weekly benefit amount (whichever is more) before the money you earned gets taken out of your weekly benefit amount.
To calculate how much you’ll get in partial unemployment benefits, take your weekly benefit amount and multiply it by 20%. If that number is more than $20, use it. If not, use $20.
Subtract that number from the money you earned during the week. The result is the amount that will be taken away from your weekly benefit amount, rounded down to the nearest dollar.
Example:
Let’s say that your weekly benefit amount is $300 and you earned $150 during the week working part time.
Weekly Benefit Amount: $300
Allowed Wages: $300 x 20% = $60
Weekly wages: $150
Now, subtract your allowed wages from your weekly wages:
$150 – $60 = $90
Take your weekly benefit amount and subtract the wage deduction:
$300 – $90 = $210 final UI payment
So if you earned $150 during the week, you would receive $210 in unemployment benefits instead of your standard weekly benefit amount of $300.
Other Issues that can affect your weekly benefit amount
In certain circumstances, your benefits may be reduced.
Missouri Child Support
The Division of Child Support Enforcement can take up to 50% of a person’s weekly unemployment benefits if they are late on their child support payments.
The Missouri Unemployment Office can’t change, remove, or add to these child support deductions. If you have any questions about child support money being taken out of your unemployment benefits, you should contact Child Support Enforcement at 866-313-9960.
Pension and Vacation Pay
Any money you get from vacation pay and holiday pay can lower the amount of money you get every week from unemployment benefits, just like regular wages can.
Certain pensions might lower your benefits, including military retirement, union pensions, private employer pensions, federal civilian pensions, and state, county, or city pensions. If you’re getting a pension, be sure to report it on your claim to avoid any issues with overpayments and Missouri unemployment fraud.
On the other hand, money from severance pay, termination pay, or Social Security does not lower your weekly unemployment benefits.
Collecting Payment
You should receive payment about 2-3 days after filing your weekly claim. There are two ways you can receive your benefits: Direct Deposit or Debit Card.
Direct Deposit: The money is sent straight into your checking or savings account. To pick this method, log into UInteract, click on ‘Benefit Maintenance,’ and then ‘Update Claimant Profile.’
Money Network Debit Card: If you don’t pick direct deposit, your benefits will automatically be put onto a Money Network debit card. This card will be mailed to you within 10 days.
Paying taxes on your UI benefits
Unemployment benefits are considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the state of Missouri.
When it’s time to file your taxes, you will receive a Form 1099-G from Missouri’s unemployment agency, or you can log in to your UInteract account and print it out. The form shows how much you received in unemployment benefits during the year. Use this information when you prepare your federal and state tax returns.
You do have the option to have federal taxes withheld from your unemployment benefits. Tax withholding can be configured in your UInteract account.