How to calculate unemployment benefits - Washington ESD weekly benefit amount help

Washington ESD uses your highest earning quarter from your base period to calculate your weekly benefit amount. They take that quarter's earnings and divide by 26 to get your weekly amount, but it can't exceed the state maximum which is currently around $999 per week. Your base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file.

So if my highest quarter was like $8,500, that would be about $327 per week? That seems reasonable.

Yes, that math looks right. Just remember you also need to meet the minimum earnings requirement in your base period to qualify.

wait I thought they looked at all your wages not just one quarter?? this is confusing

They look at all quarters to see if you qualify, but only your highest quarter determines your weekly benefit amount. Two different calculations.

oh ok that makes more sense now thanks

I've been calling Washington ESD for weeks trying to get someone to explain my benefit calculation because my claim shows a different amount than I expected. The phone system is absolutely horrible - I either get disconnected after waiting an hour or get a busy signal. Has anyone found a way to actually reach a human there?

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you get through to Washington ESD agents by calling for you. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration trying to get my benefit amount explained.

Really? That actually works? I'm desperate at this point because I need to understand why my weekly amount is so low.

Yeah it really does work. They call Washington ESD for you and connect you when they get an agent on the line. Much better than sitting on hold for hours.

The calculation also depends on whether you have any dependents. If you have qualifying dependents, Washington ESD adds a dependency allowance to your weekly benefit amount. I think it's like $25 per dependent up to 5 dependents max.

I don't have any kids so that doesn't apply to me, but good to know for others reading this.

Wait, what counts as a qualifying dependent? My elderly mom lives with me.

It's usually minor children or disabled adult children. I don't think elderly parents qualify but you'd need to check with Washington ESD to be sure.

Don't forget that Washington ESD also has to verify your wages with your employers before they finalize your benefit amount. Sometimes there are discrepancies between what you report and what your employers reported to the state, which can affect your calculation.

How long does that verification usually take? I want to file my claim soon.

Usually a few days to a week if everything matches up. Longer if there are issues or missing wage records.

I'm so confused by all this base period stuff. I started my current job in January and got laid off in November. What quarters would they look at for me?

If you're filing now in 2025, your base period would be October 2023 through September 2024. So they wouldn't count your 2025 earnings at all.

That doesn't make sense though because I made way more money in 2024 than 2023!

That's the standard base period. You might qualify for the alternate base period which uses more recent quarters, but you'd need to ask Washington ESD about that when you file.

THE WASHINGTON ESD SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I've been trying to get my benefit amount recalculated for MONTHS because they're missing wages from one of my jobs. Every time I call they say they'll look into it and nothing happens. This is ridiculous!

Have you tried submitting wage information through your online account? Sometimes that works faster than calling.

Yes I've uploaded everything multiple times and they just ignore it. I'm about to lose my mind.

This is exactly why I ended up using that Claimyr service. At least with them I could actually talk to someone at Washington ESD about my wage issue.

Quick question - do tips count toward your benefit calculation? I worked as a server and made decent tip money but I'm not sure if that gets included in the wage calculation.

Only reported tips that your employer included in your W-2 count. Cash tips you didn't report won't be included in Washington ESD's calculation.

Ugh, that's going to hurt my benefit amount then. I probably should have reported more of my cash tips.

I work in HR and deal with unemployment claims regularly. One thing people often miss is that bonuses and commissions count toward your quarterly earnings too, not just regular wages. So if you got a big bonus in one quarter, that could significantly increase your weekly benefit amount.

Oh interesting! I did get a decent bonus last spring, so maybe my benefit amount will be higher than I thought.

What about overtime pay? Does that count differently?

Overtime pay is just regular wages as far as Washington ESD is concerned. It all gets lumped together in your quarterly earnings.

Does anyone know if there's a minimum weekly benefit amount in Washington? I'm worried my part-time wages might be too low to get a decent unemployment payment.

Yes, there's a minimum weekly benefit amount in Washington. I believe it's around $188 per week currently, but you should verify that with Washington ESD since it can change.

That's actually better than I expected. Thanks for the info!

Been unemployed for 6 months and still fighting with Washington ESD over my benefit calculation. They keep saying I don't have enough wages in my base period but I know I do because I have all my pay stubs. Anyone else dealt with this?

You might need to request an alternate base period if your recent wages aren't showing up. That uses different quarters for the calculation.

I've asked about that but they keep giving me the runaround. It's so frustrating.

This is another situation where Claimyr really helped me. I was able to get connected to an actual Washington ESD specialist who explained the alternate base period process and helped me get it set up properly.

Just wanted to share that I finally got my benefit amount calculated correctly! Turns out Washington ESD was missing wages from my second job. Once they added those in, my weekly amount went from $245 to $380. Don't give up if your calculation seems wrong!

That's a huge difference! How did you get them to add the missing wages?

I had to provide W-2s and pay stubs, then follow up multiple times. It took about 6 weeks total but worth the effort.

6 weeks?? That's insane. The system really needs to be fixed.

For anyone still confused about the calculation, Washington ESD has a benefit calculator on their website that gives you an estimate. It's not perfect but gives you a ballpark figure to expect.

I tried that but it asked for information I don't have handy. I'll have to gather my old pay stubs first.

The online calculator is pretty basic. It doesn't account for all the special situations that can affect your benefits.

dont forget you have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits too so whatever amount you calculate, remember that's before taxes

Good point! You can have taxes withheld from your weekly payments or pay them when you file your tax return.

I didn't even think about taxes. Thanks for mentioning that.

I calculated my benefits and thought I had it figured out, but then Washington ESD reduced my weekly amount because of some 'wage adjustment' they made. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't understand what they adjusted.

Sometimes employers report wages differently than what shows on your pay stub, especially with things like pre-tax deductions. Washington ESD uses the employer-reported amounts.

That could be it. My employer offers a lot of pre-tax benefits that I participate in.

You should be able to get an explanation of the adjustment by calling Washington ESD, though good luck getting through to someone.

Quick tip for everyone - make sure to keep all your employment records for at least 2 years. Washington ESD might need them to verify your wages, and it's much easier if you have everything organized.

That's good advice. I should probably start keeping better records of my pay stubs.

I learned this the hard way when I couldn't find my W-2 from a job two years ago. Took forever to get a replacement from the employer.

This whole thread has been super helpful! I feel like I understand the calculation process much better now. Going to gather my wage info and file my claim this week.

Same here! Thanks everyone for all the explanations and advice.

Good luck with your claim! Hope it goes smoothly for both of you.

One last thing to mention - if you disagree with Washington ESD's benefit calculation, you have the right to appeal their decision. There's a specific time limit for appeals though, so don't wait too long if you think there's an error.

How long do you have to file an appeal?

I believe it's 30 days from the date of the determination letter, but you should verify that timeframe with Washington ESD.

Appeals can take a while to process too, so file as soon as possible if you need to dispute something.