How do you know how much unemployment you get from NYS Department of Labor?
I just got approved for unemployment after waiting forever in adjudication and I'm trying to figure out how much I'll actually receive each week. The NYS Department of Labor website shows my monetary determination but I'm confused about the calculations. It shows my base period wages and benefit rate but I don't understand how they came up with the weekly amount. Is there a formula they use? Also does this amount change if I work part time while collecting? I've been out of work for 2 months now and really need to budget properly.
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Aurora St.Pierre
Your weekly benefit amount is calculated using your highest quarter earnings during your base period. NYS Department of Labor takes 1/26th of your highest quarter wages, up to the maximum benefit rate which is currently $504 per week. You can see this breakdown in your monetary determination letter. If you work part time while collecting, they'll reduce your benefits dollar for dollar after you earn more than $143 in a week (that's 25% of the max benefit rate).
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Christopher Morgan
•Thank you! So if my highest quarter was $15,600 that would be $600 but capped at $504? And the $143 is like a threshold before they start deducting from my weekly amount?
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Grace Johnson
yeah the formula is confusing af but basically they look at your best earning quarter and divide by 26. i think theres also some minimum you have to have earned or you dont qualify at all
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Jayden Reed
•The minimum is you need to have earned at least $2,900 in your base period with at least $1,800 in your highest quarter. There's also a requirement that your total base period wages must be at least 1.5 times your high quarter wages.
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Nora Brooks
I had the same confusion when I first filed! The monetary determination shows everything but it's not explained clearly. What helped me was calling the NYS Department of Labor but getting through was impossible - kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to an agent who walked me through the calculation. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Way easier than trying to call yourself.
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Eli Wang
•How much does that service cost? I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my benefit calculation.
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Nora Brooks
•It's worth it for getting actual answers instead of waiting forever on hold. The agent was able to explain exactly how my base period wages affected my weekly amount.
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Cassandra Moon
Just remember they also deduct taxes if you elect to have them taken out. I made the mistake of not having taxes withheld and owed a bunch at tax time. You can change this anytime though through your online account.
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Christopher Morgan
•Good point! I did elect to have the 10% federal tax withheld but wasn't sure about state taxes. Do they withhold NY state taxes automatically?
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Cassandra Moon
•No, NY doesn't automatically withhold state taxes from unemployment. You have to pay quarterly estimated taxes or set aside money for when you file your return.
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Zane Hernandez
The whole system is designed to confuse people I swear. They could make this so much clearer on the website instead of using all this bureaucratic language that nobody understands.
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Aurora St.Pierre
•I agree the presentation could be better, but the information is all there if you know where to look. The Unemployment Insurance Handbook on the NYS Department of Labor website has detailed explanations of all the calculations.
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