US  Minnesota Unemployment Benefits — October 2026 Update

Minnesota Unemployment Benefits 2026: Two Formulas, Two Caps ($611 and $948), One-Third of Your Wages and the Part-Time Cliff

⚠️ Informational only — not legal or tax advice. RemoteLaws is not a law firm. This page compiles and synthesizes official government sources for informational purposes.

By The RemoteLaws Research Team
First published: January 30, 2026
Last updated: October 22, 2026 — rebuilt against Minnesota Statutes chapter 268 and DEED’s Unemployment Insurance Information Handbook

Minnesota Unemployment at a Glance (2026)

TL;DR: Minnesota pays the higher of two formulas: 50% of your average weekly wage over the whole base period (capped at $948) or 50% of your average weekly wage in your best quarter (capped at $611). Below $63,544 of base-period wages, the best-quarter formula always sets your amount; the $948 cap requires $98,592. Total benefits are limited to one-third of your wages, so concentrated earnings buy a higher rate but fewer weeks. In a part-time week, half your earnings are deducted — until earnings reach your weekly amount, when the payment drops to zero.

The October Reset: Your Maximum Is Fixed When Your Account Starts

Minnesota recalculates its maximums every year. On or before June 30, DEED computes the state average weekly wage, which applies for the year beginning the last Sunday in October (§ 268.035, subd. 23). The resulting maximum applies to benefit accounts effective on or after that Sunday, and once your account is established, later adjustments do not change your weekly amount (§ 268.07, subd. 2a(b)).

The $611 / $948 maximums on this page cover accounts effective October 26, 2025 through October 24, 2026 (DEED Handbook). Accounts effective on or after Sunday, October 25, 2026 use the new maximum; DEED had not published it on its applicant pages when we checked on October 22, 2026, and we will update this page when it does. An account is effective the Sunday of the week you apply, and you can ask for it to start the previous week if you were unemployed that week (DEED).

Two Formulas, Two Caps

Your weekly amount is the higher of 50% of your base-period wages divided by 52, up to 66⅔% of the state average weekly wage ($948), or 50% of your high-quarter wages divided by 13, up to 43% of it ($611) (§ 268.07, subd. 2a; DOL).

Because your best quarter is always at least a quarter of your yearly total, the high-quarter formula is always equal to or higher than the base-period formula before the caps apply. The base-period formula only matters once the high-quarter formula hits $611 — that is, when base-period wages exceed $63,544 (611 × 104) — and it reaches the $948 cap at $98,592 (948 × 104) (computed by RemoteLaws).

Computed by RemoteLaws from Minn. Stat. § 268.07, subd. 2a, rounded down to the dollar.

The result: two workers with $40,000 can receive $384 or $611 a week depending only on how their pay was spread across the year, while an evenly paid worker needs twice that income to pass $611. Above $98,592 of base-period wages, the $948 cap means benefits replace less than half of average weekly pay.

Estimate Your Benefit or a Part-Time Week

The calculator tests both base periods, both formulas and both caps, then applies the one-third limit. The second tab applies the 50% earnings deduction and shows where the payment stops.

Qualifying: $3,900 of Wage Credits

To establish a benefit account you need wage credits of at least 5.3% of the state’s average annual wage, rounded down to the next lower $100 (§ 268.07, subd. 2). With the state average weekly wage implied by the $948 maximum (about $1,422), that threshold is $3,900 (computed by RemoteLaws). There is no separate requirement to have wages in two quarters: $3,900 earned in a single quarter qualifies, and produces a $150 weekly amount for 8.7 weeks (computed by RemoteLaws).

The base period is the four most recently completed calendar quarters before your account’s effective date. If the first four of the last five completed quarters give more wage credits, that older period is used instead (§ 268.035, subd. 4). Wage credits used in a prior benefit account cannot be reused, and a new account after a prior one requires work and wages earned since the prior account began (§ 268.07, subd. 2(b)).

Weeks: One-Third of Your Wages

Your maximum benefit amount is the lesser of one-third of your wage credits or 26 times your weekly amount (§ 268.07, subd. 2a(c)). Full 26 weeks therefore require wage credits of at least 78 times your weekly amount. An evenly paid worker always clears that; a worker whose rate comes from one strong quarter often does not:

Computed by RemoteLaws from Minn. Stat. § 268.07, subd. 2a.

The last two rows show the trade-off: on the same $40,000, the uneven earner collects $611 for 21.8 weeks ($13,333) while the even earner collects $384 for 26 weeks ($9,984). Total benefits can never exceed one-third of wage credits, and the U.S. Department of Labor lists Minnesota’s duration as 9 to 26 weeks (DOL).

Part-Time Work and the Cliff

If your earnings for a week are less than your weekly amount, 50% of them are deducted; if they equal or exceed it, you are ineligible for that week. You are also ineligible for any week you perform services for 32 hours or more, whatever you earn (§ 268.085, subds. 2 and 5). Earnings can be reported at the next lower whole dollar.

Computed by RemoteLaws from Minn. Stat. § 268.085, subd. 5.

Up to the limit you keep 50 cents of every dollar you earn, but the last dollar costs half your weekly amount: at a $500 weekly amount, earning $500 instead of $499 lowers your week’s total by $249.50. At the $948 maximum, the drop is $473.50 (computed by RemoteLaws). If you control your hours, check where the limit sits before accepting extra shifts.

Nonpayable Week and Weekly Requests

Minnesota law requires one nonpayable week, in which you are otherwise eligible, before benefits are paid (§ 268.085, subd. 1); DEED’s handbook confirms you have only one nonpayable week in the 52 weeks after you apply (DEED Handbook). Each weekly request must be filed within four calendar weeks after the week for which you request payment (§ 268.0865).

Minnesota sets no fixed number of employer contacts. The statute requires “reasonable, diligent efforts” that someone genuinely interested in work would make, including contacting the employer that laid you off for lack of work when reasonable, and searching outside your usual occupation if prospects there do not exist (§ 268.085, subd. 16).

Quits, Misconduct and Refusals

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 268.095, § 268.085; $1,950 computed by RemoteLaws as half of $3,900.

Unlike states that set requalification as a multiple of your own weekly benefit, Minnesota’s amount is the same for everyone: a $948 claimant and a $150 claimant both need about $1,950 of new wages. The quit exceptions in § 268.095, subd. 1 include a good reason caused by the employer, taking other covered work with equal or better terms, quitting an unsuitable job within 30 days, quitting within 30 days of a scheduled layoff, serious illness or caring for an ill or disabled family member, loss of child care, domestic abuse, sexual assault, harassment or stalking, and following a spouse whose job was transferred or who is in the military.

How Minnesota Compares

Minnesota’s $948 maximum is the third-highest of 51 (the 50 states and DC) and the highest in its region (U.S. DOL, July 2026):

Source: U.S. DOL, Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026). Ranking and highest possible claim (maximum weekly benefit × maximum weeks, without dependents) computed by RemoteLaws.

The headline $948 is harder to reach than neighbors’ maximums: it requires $98,592 of base-period wages, while the high-quarter route stops at $611 — close to South Dakota’s $575 maximum.

Taxes and Deductions

Benefits are taxable income under federal and Minnesota law, and you can view or change income tax withholding in your online account or through DEED’s automated phone system (DEED). DEED also deducts child support when ordered, and recovers unpaid overpayments by deducting 50% or 100% of each weekly payment. An overpayment found to be due to fraud carries a 40% penalty plus interest (DEED Handbook). See our Minnesota income tax guide.

Appeals: 45 Days at Every Step

A determination becomes final unless you or the employer appeal within 45 calendar days after it is sent (§ 268.101). After the unemployment law judge decides, either party can request reconsideration within 45 calendar days, and the reconsideration decision can be taken to the Minnesota Court of Appeals by writ of certiorari within 45 calendar days of its sending (§ 268.105). Keep requesting weekly payments while you appeal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the maximum unemployment benefit in Minnesota?

$948 a week for benefit accounts effective October 26, 2025 through October 24, 2026, reached with $98,592 of base-period wages. Through the high-quarter formula the maximum is $611. A new maximum applies to accounts effective on or after October 25, 2026.

How is the Minnesota weekly benefit amount calculated?

It is the higher of 50% of base-period wages divided by 52 (up to $948) or 50% of high-quarter wages divided by 13 (up to $611).

How much do I need to earn to qualify in Minnesota?

Wage credits of at least 5.3% of the state average annual wage, rounded down to $100 — about $3,900 in your base period. They can all be in one quarter.

How many weeks of unemployment does Minnesota pay?

Up to 26 weeks. Your total is the lesser of one-third of your wage credits or 26 times your weekly amount, so uneven earnings can mean as few as about 9 weeks.

Can I work part-time and collect unemployment in Minnesota?

Yes. Half of your earnings are deducted from your weekly amount. You receive nothing for a week when earnings equal or exceed your weekly amount or you work 32 hours or more.

Does Minnesota have a waiting week?

Yes. Minnesota law requires one nonpayable week before benefits are paid, once in the 52 weeks after you apply.

How long do I have to appeal in Minnesota?

45 calendar days after the determination is sent. Reconsideration of a judge’s decision and review by the Court of Appeals each also have 45-day deadlines.

What We Verified & Correction Log

For this update, we reviewed Minnesota Statutes § 268.035, § 268.07, § 268.085, § 268.0865, § 268.095, § 268.101 and § 268.105; DEED’s Unemployment Insurance Information Handbook (effective October 26, 2025 through October 24, 2026) and applicant pages; and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Significant Provisions of State UI Laws (July 2026), all accessed October 22, 2026. DEED’s former “benefit amount” page no longer exists, and the maximum for accounts effective on or after October 25, 2026 was not yet published there. The $3,900 threshold, the $1,950 requalification amount, the wage levels at which each cap applies, the examples, durations, part-time payments and the national ranking were computed by RemoteLaws; weekly amounts are rounded down to the dollar, consistent with the $37 minimum listed by the Department of Labor.

Correction log. October 22, 2026: page rebuilt. Corrected the following statements from our January 2026 version: Minnesota has a nonpayable (waiting) week — it is not waived; the minimum weekly benefit listed by the Department of Labor is $37, not $40; the base period is the four most recent completed quarters, with the first four of the last five used only if it gives more wage credits (the earlier version had these reversed); requalification after a quit or misconduct is half the wage-credit threshold, not eight times the weekly benefit; refusing suitable work makes you ineligible for eight weeks, not four; part-time earnings reduce benefits by 50 cents per dollar from the first dollar, with no benefit once earnings reach the weekly amount, rather than a 50% disregard followed by a dollar-for-dollar reduction. Added the $611 high-quarter cap and its interaction with the $948 cap, the October reset, the one-third duration rule with examples, the part-time cliff, the 45-day reconsideration and certiorari deadlines and the four-week request deadline. Removed unsourced contact details and the average weekly benefit figure. January 30, 2026: page first published.

Related Pages

Minnesota: State income tax · Minimum wage · Overtime laws · Paid leave

Neighboring states: Wisconsin · Iowa · North Dakota · South Dakota · All 50 states

Federal guides: How to file for unemployment · WARN Act · Final paycheck laws by state