Massachusetts Unemployment Benefits 2026: $1,154 Max, How to File

The maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Massachusetts is $1,154 for benefit years that begin on or after October 4, 2026, according to the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Under M.G.L. c.151A, section 29, the maximum is reset every year on the first Sunday of October, so a claim whose benefit year began before October 4, 2026 keeps the previous cap of $1,105. Some DUA pages still show $1,105; the $1,154 figure comes from DUA's page on how benefits are determined and applies to new benefit years.

Your weekly amount is half of your base-period average weekly wage, plus $25 a week for each dependent child. Benefits last up to 30 weeks, and the first week you claim is an unpaid waiting week. DUA does not state a minimum weekly amount, but the U.S. Department of Labor lists the Massachusetts minimum as $60 a week, before any dependency allowance.

DUA runs the program for regular state claims. For how the federal-state system fits together, see our guide to unemployment benefits by state.

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers regular state unemployment insurance in Massachusetts under M.G.L. chapter 151A, administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance. It does not cover federal programs for federal civilian employees or ex-service members (UCFE/UCX), Disaster Unemployment Assistance, extended benefits, or claims against another state's program.

Massachusetts unemployment benefits at a glance

Who is eligible for unemployment in Massachusetts

Eligibility has two parts: enough past wages (the monetary test) and the right reason for being out of work, plus being able and available to work each week you claim.

Base period. Your standard base period is the last four completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts (M.G.L. c.151A s.1(a)). If you do not qualify on that period, or you can show in writing that it would raise your total benefit credit by 10% or more, DUA can use an alternate base period: the last three completed quarters plus the time between the last completed quarter and the effective date of your claim.

Earnings test. Section 24(a) requires base-period wages of at least 30 times your weekly benefit rate, and at least a dollar floor that is indexed each January. DUA states the current floor this way: you must have "earned at least $6,300 over the last 12 months."

Able, available and looking. You must be capable of, available for, and actively seeking work (s.24(b)) and register for work as DUA directs (s.24(c)). If you become ill or disabled after filing, the statute excuses you for three weeks per benefit year, provided no suitable work was offered. You cannot collect while traveling outside the United States, its territories or Canada, or while on personal travel that is not related to work.

How much unemployment pays in Massachusetts

Section 29(a) sets the weekly rate at "fifty percent of his average weekly wage in the base period, rounded to the next lower full dollar amount," capped at 57.5% of the statewide average weekly wage. That cap is the $1,154 maximum for benefit years beginning on or after October 4, 2026. Claimants with very low earnings (a base-period average weekly wage of $66 or less) get an amount from a statutory table keyed to their highest quarterly wages instead.

Illustration (hypothetical figures). If DUA computes your base-period average weekly wage as $1,000, half is $500, so your weekly rate would be $500. If your average weekly wage were $2,400, half would be $1,200, which is above the cap, so your rate would be $1,154 for a benefit year starting on or after October 4, 2026. DUA calculates your actual average weekly wage from your wage records.

Dependency allowance. DUA adds $25 a week for each dependent child you wholly or mainly support (s.29(c)). A child counts if they are under 18, 18 or older and unable to earn wages because of a mental or physical incapacity, or under 24 and a full-time student. Spouses are not included, and only one spouse can collect the allowance for the same child.

To estimate your amount, try our Massachusetts unemployment calculator. Only DUA's monetary determination sets your actual rate.

How long unemployment lasts in Massachusetts

DUA states that "the maximum duration of benefits is 30 weeks." Under section 30(a), your total benefits for the benefit year are the lesser of 36% of your base-period wages or 30 times your weekly benefit rate (plus any dependency allowance). Your number of weeks is your maximum benefit credit divided by your weekly rate.

For example, with hypothetical base-period wages of $30,000 and a $500 weekly rate, 36% of wages is $10,800 and 30 times the rate is $15,000. The lesser figure, $10,800, would cover about 21.6 weeks of full payments.

Section 30(a) also contains a trigger that lowers the multiplier from 30 to 26 when unemployment is at or below 5.1% in each of the state's 10 metropolitan areas, with exceptions. DUA's current guidance states the 30-week maximum and does not describe a 26-week tier in effect. Separately, section 30(c) allows up to 26 additional times your weekly rate while you attend retraining approved by DUA, paid only after you have used up your regular and any extended benefits. You generally must apply for the training no later than the 20th week of your claim.

Waiting week

Massachusetts has one unpaid waiting week (s.23(a)). DUA explains: "The first week that you file a weekly claim for benefits is a waiting week. You will not get paid for that week. Your first payment will be for the second week you claim benefits."

Quitting and being fired

Quitting. Under section 25(e), leaving voluntarily disqualifies you unless you show, by substantial and credible evidence, "good cause for leaving attributable to the employing unit or its agent." The statute also protects people who leave for these reasons:

• Domestic violence, including a reasonable fear of future violence at or on the way to work, a need to relocate, or a need to address its physical, psychological or legal effects.
• Urgent, compelling and necessitous reasons that make the separation involuntary.
• Sexual, racial or other unreasonable harassment that the employer knew or should have known about.
• Leaving to accept new permanent full-time work that then ended for good cause attributable to the new employer.
• Leaving under a mandatory pension or retirement program.
• Leaving to enter Trade Act-approved training.
• Commercial fishing crew idled by federal fisheries restrictions.

Being fired. A discharge disqualifies you only if DUA finds, by substantial and credible evidence, that it was for "deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employing unit's interest," or for "a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of the employer," and not the result of incompetence. A discharge because of a felony or misdemeanor conviction also disqualifies. A discharge caused by circumstances resulting from domestic violence does not.

How long the disqualification lasts. For a quit without good cause or a misconduct discharge, you are disqualified until you have had at least 8 weeks of work and earned at least 8 times your weekly benefit rate after the separation. For the employment rules behind a firing, see Massachusetts at-will employment laws.

Work search requirements

DUA says: "you need to report at least 3 work search activities each week when you file your claim for benefits. If you don't complete 3 work search activities, you won't be eligible for benefits that week." You report the activities online with your weekly claim; DUA does not use a paper log. The requirement does not apply while you are in a DUA-approved training program.

Some claimants are randomly selected for mandatory reemployment services (RESEA). If DUA selects you, take part as directed.

Working part-time while collecting

You can work reduced hours and still collect a partial benefit. Under section 29(b), earnings up to one-third of your weekly benefit rate are disregarded. DUA puts it this way: "income that exceeds 1/3 of your weekly benefit amount will be taken out of your payment for that week."

For example, with a hypothetical $600 weekly rate, the first $200 you earn in a week is disregarded. If you earn $300, the $100 above the disregard comes off, so you would be paid $500. Report all earnings for the week you worked them. DUA says you cannot collect once you start full-time work.

How to file for unemployment in Massachusetts

1. Apply as soon as you lose your job or your hours are cut, online through DUA's unemployment portal or by phone. DUA's application page walks through the steps.
2. Call if you need help: the DUA Call Center is at (877) 626-6800, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. DUA stopped answering calls on Fridays in August 2025 to focus on processing applications. Voice Relay users can dial 711.
3. Start filing weekly claims right away. DUA says to file "a claim each week that you need benefits, starting the week after you apply for benefits." DUA processes most applications in about 4 weeks, so keep filing while you wait.
4. Certify every week, online or through TeleCert at (617) 626-6338, available 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. You file for the previous week starting Sunday. A missed week can be filed up to 21 days after its Saturday, and if you go 3 weeks in a row without filing, your claim closes.

When you separate from a job, your employer also owes your final wages on a set schedule; see Massachusetts final paycheck laws.

Denials and appeals

If DUA denies your claim, you can request a hearing "within ten days after delivery in hand by the commissioner's authorized representative, or mailing of said notice" (s.39(b)). DUA's appeal page says: "Appeals must be filed within 10 days of the mailing date on the determination letter."

A late request can be accepted for good cause, but the statute says good cause is never considered if you file more than 30 days after the notice. DUA's guidance mentions approving later appeals only in very limited circumstances, which does not match the statute's text. Do not count on either: file within 10 days.

The appeal levels are:

1. DUA Hearings Department. An impartial hearing officer holds a hearing by phone, video or in person.
2. Board of Review. You can apply for review within 30 days after the hearing decision is mailed (s.40). The Board grants or denies review within 21 days; if it does not act, the application is treated as denied on day 21 (s.41).
3. District Court. You can file a civil action within 30 days of the mailing of the Board's decision (s.42). If the Board denies review, the 30 days run from the mailing of the denial (s.41(c)); if the Board does not act, they run from the day review is deemed denied, with no letter (s.42). Further appeal goes to the Appeals Court.

DUA's FAQ tells claimants to keep filing weekly claims while an application is pending or under review.

Overpayments

If you were paid benefits you were not entitled to, DUA can recover them by deducting from future benefits (DUA says by up to 50% of a payment) or through a civil action within six years (s.69). If you were not at fault and repaying would defeat the purpose of benefits or be against equity and good conscience, you can ask DUA to waive recovery; a denial of a waiver can be appealed.

If you misrepresented or failed to disclose a material fact, section 69 adds a penalty of 15% of the overpayment that generally cannot be waived, and overdue amounts carry interest, which DUA puts at 12% a year starting 30 days after the overpayment notice, capped at 50% of the amount due (s.69(a)). DUA also says you may have to serve penalty weeks for each week you were at fault. Knowingly false statements are also a crime under section 47, punishable by up to 5 years in state prison, or 6 months to 2.5 years in jail, and/or a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, with each statement a separate offense.

Is unemployment taxed in Massachusetts?

Yes. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue says to "include this compensation in both federal and Massachusetts gross income in the year you received it." DUA does not withhold tax automatically, but you can choose withholding of 10% for federal income tax and 5% for Massachusetts income tax. DUA mails Form 1099-G in January. For federal tax rules, see our unemployment benefits by state hub.

Recent changes

• New maximum from October 4, 2026. The maximum weekly benefit rose from $1,105 to $1,154 for benefit years beginning on or after October 4, 2026, under the annual recalculation in section 29. The next recalculation applies to benefit years beginning on the first Sunday of October 2027.
• No Friday phone service. Since August 2025, the DUA Call Center does not answer calls on Fridays.

Common myths

• "The maximum is $1,105." That was the cap for benefit years that began before October 4, 2026. For newer benefit years, DUA lists $1,154.
• "You have 30 days to appeal." The deadline to request a hearing is 10 days from the mailing date. Thirty days is the statutory outer limit for a late request with good cause, and the deadline for later stages (Board of Review and District Court).
• "The first week is paid." It is an unpaid waiting week. Your first payment covers the second week you claim.

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about Massachusetts unemployment insurance, not legal advice or a benefit determination. Only the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance decides whether you are eligible and how much you receive. Information was verified on October 7, 2026, and figures change, including every October. If your claim was denied, consider talking to a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts or a legal aid office.

Related

• Unemployment benefits by state
• Massachusetts unemployment calculator
• Massachusetts at-will employment laws
• Massachusetts final paycheck laws

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the maximum unemployment benefit in Massachusetts?

$1,154 a week for benefit years beginning on or after October 4, 2026, according to DUA, plus $25 a week for each dependent child. Benefit years that began before that date keep the earlier $1,105 cap.

How is unemployment calculated in Massachusetts?

M.G.L. c.151A s.29 sets your weekly rate at 50% of your base-period average weekly wage, rounded down to the next full dollar, up to the maximum. DUA's monetary determination sets your actual amount.

How long can you collect unemployment in Massachusetts?

Up to 30 weeks, per DUA. Your total is the lesser of 36% of your base-period wages or 30 times your weekly rate, so lower base-period wages can mean fewer weeks (s.30).

How much do I need to earn to qualify for unemployment in Massachusetts?

Base-period wages of at least 30 times your weekly benefit rate (s.24(a)), and, per DUA, at least $6,300 over the last 12 months.

Is there a waiting week for unemployment in Massachusetts?

Yes. The first week you claim is unpaid under s.23, and your first payment is for the second week you claim.

How many job searches do I need per week in Massachusetts?

At least 3 work search activities each week, reported with your weekly claim. DUA says you are not eligible for a week in which you do not complete 3, unless you are in a DUA-approved training program.

Can I get unemployment in Massachusetts if I quit?

Only if you show good cause attributable to your employer, or another reason s.25(e) recognizes, such as domestic violence, harassment the employer knew about, or urgent, compelling and necessitous reasons. Otherwise you are disqualified until you work 8 weeks and earn 8 times your weekly rate.

How long do I have to appeal an unemployment denial in Massachusetts?

10 days from the mailing date on the determination letter (s.39(b)). A late request needs good cause and is never accepted under the statute after 30 days.

How much can I earn while on unemployment in Massachusetts?

Earnings up to one-third of your weekly benefit rate are disregarded (s.29(b)). Income above that third is taken out of your payment for that week.

Is unemployment taxable in Massachusetts?

Yes. The Department of Revenue includes unemployment compensation in Massachusetts gross income. You can ask DUA to withhold 5% for state tax and 10% for federal tax.

What is the Massachusetts unemployment phone number?

The DUA Call Center is (877) 626-6800, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For weekly claims by phone, TeleCert is (617) 626-6338, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.