How much unemployment will I get in Texas, and how do I apply?

How much unemployment you get in Texas

Your weekly benefit amount is 1/25 of the wages you were paid in the quarter of your base period in which your wages were highest. That is 4% of that quarter's wages, or about 52% of steady weekly pay, since a quarter has 13 weeks. An amount that isn't a whole dollar is raised to the next dollar. Lab. Code §§ 207.002(a), 207.006

• Between a minimum and a maximum. The maximum is 47.6 percent and the minimum 7.6 percent of the average weekly wage in Texas, set by TWC each year. For claims filed from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, the range is $75 to $605 a week.Lab. Code § 207.002(b) · TWC · DOL July 2026
• Reset every October 1. The new minimum and maximum take effect October 1, and the law caps each yearly increase at $14 for the maximum and $1 for the minimum. So for a claim filed on or after October 1, 2026, the maximum is at most $619 and the minimum at most $76. TWC's exact new figures are on its website, which refused this machine; we could not confirm them.Lab. Code § 207.002(c), (c-1), (d)
• Locked in for your benefit year. The maximum in force on the effective date of your claim stays your maximum until you start a new benefit year.Lab. Code § 207.002(e)

The base period and the 37 times wage test

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts. A claim filed in November 2026 uses July 2025 through June 2026. Your claim's effective date is the Sunday on or before the day you apply. Lab. Code § 201.011(1)(A) · TWC

• Wages in at least 2 quarters of the base period, and
• total base-period wages of at least 37 times your weekly benefit. With a $400 weekly benefit, that is $14,800. Lab. Code § 207.021(a)(6)
• A second claim after a benefit year also needs wages of at least six times the weekly benefit earned since the last benefit year began. Lab. Code § 207.021(a)(7)

An alternate base period exists only for illness or injury. If a medically verifiable injury or illness kept you from working for most of a quarter, the base period is the first four of the five quarters before the quarter it began, if you file within 24 months. Texas has no other alternate base period. Lab. Code § 201.011(1)(B)

How long Texas unemployment lasts

In a benefit year you can receive no more than the lesser of 26 times your weekly benefit, or 27 percent of your base-period wages. That works out to 10 to 26 weeks. The benefit year is the 52 consecutive weeks starting with the week of your valid claim; unused benefits can't be claimed after it ends. Lab. Code §§ 207.005, 201.011(5) · DOL July 2026

Example. A $400 weekly benefit with $30,000 in base-period wages: 26 × $400 is $10,400, and 27% of $30,000 is $8,100, so the most for the year is $8,100, a little over 20 weeks.

The waiting week. The first 7 consecutive days of unemployment are an unpaid waiting week. TWC pays it later, once you have been paid benefits equal to two times your weekly benefit in the benefit year and you have either returned to full-time work or used up your regular benefits. Lab. Code § 207.021(a)(8), (c) · TWC

The weekly conditions: able, available and searching

For each week you claim, you must: Lab. Code § 207.021(a)

• have registered for work and keep reporting as TWC's rules require;
• have made a claim for that week;
• be able to work and available for work: TWC says ready, willing and able to accept full-time suitable work, with transportation, child care if you have children, time for interviews, and willingness to take the usual pay;
• be actively seeking work, full-time work in fields you are qualified for by experience or training; searching only for part-time work is not enough;
• take part in reemployment services, such as job search help, if TWC refers you.

The number of work search activities you need each week is set by TWC's rules. We could not read the current rule from this machine, so check your claim notice for your number, and keep a record of every search. Lab. Code § 207.021(a)(5) · TWC

Why the job ended: quitting, being fired, refusing work

If you quit, you must show good cause connected with the work; if you were fired, your employer must show misconduct connected with the work. TWC says inability by itself is not misconduct. TWC

• Fired for misconduct. Misconduct means mismanaging a job by action or inaction, neglect that endangers people or property, intentional wrongdoing, intentionally breaking a law, or violating a policy meant for orderly work and safety. It doesn't include a response to an unconscionable act of the employer. A misconduct finding disqualifies you until you work again for six weeks or earn six times your weekly benefit.Lab. Code §§ 201.012, 207.044
• Quit without good cause. Leaving your last work voluntarily without good cause connected with the work disqualifies you the same way. Quitting to move with your spouse brings a disqualification of 6 to 25 benefit periods.Lab. Code § 207.045(a), (c)
• Quits that don't disqualify. If you are available to work: a medically verified illness of you or your minor child, injury, disability or pregnancy; moving with a military spouse on a permanent change of station of more than 120 days; leaving to escape family violence or stalking, with a protective order, police or medical record or a crisis center's documentation; caring for a terminally ill spouse; or being called to military service.Lab. Code §§ 207.045(d), 207.046
• Refusing suitable work. Failing without good cause to apply for or accept suitable work disqualifies you for the same six weeks. Work is not suitable if the pay, hours or conditions are substantially less favorable than those for similar work in your area, or the job is open because of a strike.Lab. Code §§ 207.047, 207.008

To end a disqualification, TWC says you must take a job, earn six times your weekly benefit or work at least 30 hours a week for six weeks, lose that work through no fault of your own, and send TWC proof of the work or earnings. TWC

Part-time work, severance and pensions

You can get a partial benefit in a week when you work less than full time and earn less than your weekly benefit plus 25 percent of it (or $5, if that is more). The benefit is your weekly benefit plus that 25 percent, minus what you earned. Lab. Code §§ 201.091, 207.003(b)

Example. With a $400 weekly benefit, the line is $500. If you earn $350 in a week, you get $500 − $350 = $150 that week. A week in which you work your usual full-time hours doesn't count as unemployment, whatever the pay. Report your gross earnings for the week you earned them, not when you are paid. TWC

• Severance and pay in lieu of notice under an employer policy disqualify you for the weeks they cover. Payments to resign, retire, sign a release or settle a claim, and severance owed under a contract negotiated before you left, don't. Lab. Code § 207.049 · TWC
• Pensions reduce benefits dollar for dollar; Social Security does not. Lab. Code § 207.050 · TWC
• Vacation pay during a temporary layoff counts as earnings. TWC
• After a temporary assignment through a staffing firm, you aren't unemployed until three business days have passed since it ended. TWC

How to apply for unemployment in Texas

1. 1Apply online or by phone. Use TWC's Unemployment Benefit Services online; if you used it before, sign in with the same User ID instead of creating a new one. TWC's 2024 guidebook gives the Tele-Center as 1-800-939-6631.
2. 2Tell TWC about your work and pay. Your recent employers, why the job ended, and whether you get severance or a pension. You must also say whether you owe child support; TWC withholds it from your benefits.
3. 3Your employer is asked too. Your last employer has 14 days after TWC mails notice of the claim to respond.
4. 4Read your notices. TWC mails a determination of your benefit amount and of any eligibility issue. If you disagree, appeal within 14 days.
5. 5Request payment. Online at almost any hour, by the automated Tele-Serv line, or by mail; TWC mails a paper form every two weeks to people who request by mail, and mailed requests take at least 4 business days.
6. 6Get paid. By direct deposit or a TWC debit card, within two business days of processing. You can ask TWC to withhold 10 percent for federal income tax.

Lab. Code §§ 207.092, 207.093, 208.001, 208.004 · TWC Unemployment Benefit Services

Texas unemployment appeals: 14 days at every step

1. 1A TWC determination. It becomes final unless you appeal no later than the 14th calendar day after it is mailed to your last known address. The same 14 days apply to a redetermination and to a notice about your claim's validity.
2. 2The Appeal Tribunal hearing. A salaried hearing officer holds a hearing, most often by telephone, with notice usually 10 to 14 days ahead. If you miss it, ask to reopen within 14 calendar days of the decision (Commission Rule 16).
3. 3The Commission. Any party can appeal the hearing officer's decision to the three-member Commission within 14 days after it is mailed. A Commission decision becomes final 14 days after it is mailed unless a party files a motion for rehearing first.
4. 4Court. You can then sue in a county court at law or district court in the county where you live, on or after the day the decision is final and no later than 14 days after: TWC says the window opens 15 days after the last Commission decision is mailed and closes 28 days after. There is no jury.

Benefits are paid by the latest decision while appeals are pending, and if a later ruling reverses an award, you may have to repay an overpayment. Lab. Code §§ 208.023, 212.053, 212.054, 212.101, 212.104, 212.153, 212.201, 212.004 · TWC For the general guide to appeals, see unemployment appeal.

Free help in Texas

Common questions about unemployment in Texas

Official sources

1. Texas Labor Code chapter 201: definitions (base period, benefit year, misconduct, partial unemployment) tcss.legis.texas.gov
2. Texas Labor Code chapter 207: benefit amounts, eligibility and disqualification tcss.legis.texas.gov
3. Texas Labor Code chapter 208: claims tcss.legis.texas.gov
4. Texas Labor Code chapter 212: appeals and judicial review tcss.legis.texas.gov
5. Texas Workforce Commission: unemployment insurance law, eligibility issues (2025-2026 benefit range, partial benefits, severance) efte.twc.texas.gov
6. Texas Workforce Commission: unemployment insurance law, qualification issues (quits and discharges) efte.twc.texas.gov
7. Texas Workforce Commission: the claim and appeal process efte.twc.texas.gov
8. Texas Workforce Commission: Unemployment Benefit Services glossary apps.twc.texas.gov
9. Texas Workforce Commission: Texas Guidebook for Employers, 2024 (Tele-Center number) (PDF) efte.twc.texas.gov
10. U.S. Department of Labor: Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, effective July 2026 (PDF) oui.doleta.gov

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