South Carolina Unemployment 2026: $350 Max, Eligibility, How to File

South Carolina pays a maximum of $350 a week in regular unemployment benefits and a minimum of $42, before taxes, according to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). DEW sets the maximum each year within a range the statute allows, and its page in force on October 7, 2026 lists $350. The legislature's fiscal impact statement for S.274 says the $350 maximum applies to new claims with an effective date on or after February 2, 2025. The $42 floor is written into S.C. Code 41-35-40.

Benefits last up to 20 weeks, and fewer for many claimants: your total is capped at the lesser of 20 times your weekly amount or one-third of your base-period wages. South Carolina adds no dependents' allowance.

DEW takes initial claims online through its MyBenefits portal. For how unemployment works across the country, including federal tax on benefits, 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 South Carolina under Title 41 of the South Carolina Code (chapters 27, 35 and 41). It does not cover federal programs for federal civilian employees or veterans (UCFE/UCX), Disaster Unemployment Assistance, extended benefits, or claims filed in other states.

Who is eligible for unemployment in South Carolina

Eligibility starts with your past wages. DEW looks at your base period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim begins (S.C. Code 41-27-150).

Under S.C. Code 41-27-310, you count as an "insured worker" only if all three of these are true:

• You were paid at least $4,455 in total base-period wages.
• You were paid at least $1,092 in your highest-paid base-period quarter.
• Your total base-period wages equal at least 1.5 times your highest-quarter wages.

The alternate base period

If the standard base period does not give you enough wages, South Carolina uses an alternate base period for benefit years after May 31, 2010. The statute then uses "the four calendar quarters completed most recently before the individual's benefit year if this period qualifies him for benefits, provided these quarters were not previously used to establish a prior valid benefit year." This helps people whose most recent wages are not yet in the standard base period.

Able, available and looking for work

Wages are only the first test. Under S.C. Code 41-35-110, you must register for work, report as DEW requires, and be able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work each week you claim. Losing your job for a reason that disqualifies you (covered below) can also block benefits even when your wages are enough.

How much unemployment pays in South Carolina

South Carolina's formula is set out in S.C. Code 41-35-40 and 41-27-140. Your "average weekly wage" is your highest base-period quarter's wages divided by 13. Your weekly benefit amount is 50% of that figure, rounded down to the next lower dollar.

S.C. Code 41-35-40: "An insured worker's weekly benefit amount is fifty percent of his weekly average wage, as defined in Section 41-27-140, and the weekly benefit amount, if not a multiple of one dollar, must be computed to the next lower multiple of one dollar."

The result cannot be less than $42 a week. The top is the maximum DEW sets, which the statute caps at 66 2/3% of the statewide average weekly wage. DEW must publish the maximum on its website, and that page currently says: "The weekly benefit amount in South Carolina ranges from a minimum of $42 a week to a maximum of $350 a week, before taxes."

There is no dependents' allowance in South Carolina's benefit chapter, so your weekly amount does not change with the number of children or other dependents you support.

Worked example

Say your highest base-period quarter paid $7,000. Divide by 13 to get an average weekly wage of about $538.46. Half of that is about $269.23, which rounds down to a weekly benefit of $269.

A quarter of $9,100 or more works out to the $350 maximum or above, so a claimant at that level receives $350. You can estimate your own amount with our South Carolina unemployment calculator, but only DEW decides your actual benefit.

How long unemployment lasts in South Carolina

The maximum is 20 weeks. S.C. Code 41-35-50 sets your total benefits for the benefit year at the lesser of:

1. 20 times your weekly benefit amount, or
2. one-third of your base-period wages.

That second limit cuts the duration for people whose wages were concentrated in one quarter or were low overall. For example, a claimant with $3,000 in the highest quarter and $6,000 in total base-period wages meets the earnings tests and gets a weekly amount of $115 ($3,000 divided by 13 is about $230.77, half is about $115.38, rounded down). Twenty weeks would be $2,300, but one-third of $6,000 is $2,000, so the total is capped at $2,000, a little over 17 weeks of full payments.

The number of weeks is not tied to the state's unemployment rate under current law. A bill to change that is pending but is not law (see recent and pending changes below). Your benefit year runs for one year from the effective date of your claim.

The waiting week

South Carolina has an unpaid waiting week. DEW states: "Before any benefits can be paid, an unpaid waiting period equivalent to one full week of unemployment benefits must be served." The requirement comes from S.C. Code 41-35-110(4), which requires that a claimant "has been unemployed for a waiting period of one week."

Quitting and getting fired

South Carolina disqualifies people who quit without good cause or are discharged for misconduct. The penalty depends on why you left. Being let go does not by itself mean you were fired for misconduct; for the rules on when an employer can end your job, see our page on South Carolina at-will employment laws.

If you quit

Under S.C. Code 41-35-120(1), if you left your most recent work voluntarily without good cause, you are ineligible from the effective date of your claim until you find new employment and earn wages equal to at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount. The statute does not define "good cause" in general terms, so DEW decides it case by case.

The statute does name specific situations that do not count against you:

• Domestic abuse (S.C. Code 41-35-125(A)). You may be eligible if you left or were discharged because of circumstances directly resulting from domestic abuse and you reasonably fear future abuse at or on the way to work, need to relocate to avoid it, or reasonably believe leaving is necessary for your safety. You must provide documentation, such as police or court records or a statement from a shelter worker, attorney, clergy member or medical professional, and DEW keeps it confidential.
• Compelling family circumstances (S.C. Code 41-35-125(B)). These cover your own illness or disability that makes it medically necessary to stop working or change occupations; an illness or disability of an immediate family member (spouse, parents or dependent children) who needs care for longer than your employer will grant leave; and following a spouse who was transferred or took a job in another city or state outside commuting distance.
• Military spouse relocation (S.C. Code 41-35-126). Leaving to relocate because your spouse was reassigned from one military assignment to another, if the separation happens within 15 days of the scheduled relocation date.

Voluntary retirement is a separate disqualification under S.C. Code 41-35-120(8), which also lasts until you earn 8 times your weekly benefit amount.

If you were fired

South Carolina has three tiers for discharges under S.C. Code 41-35-120:

• Misconduct. The statute defines misconduct as "wilful and wanton disregard of an employer's interests as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee," or carelessness or negligence of such degree or recurrence as to show equal culpability. A misconduct discharge makes you ineligible for the next 20 weeks in addition to the waiting period, and your benefits are reduced by 20 times your weekly benefit amount. Because no one can receive more than 20 times the weekly amount in a benefit year (S.C. Code 41-35-50), that reduction generally leaves nothing payable on the claim. No misconduct finding may rest on a discharge caused by extreme hardship, emergency, sickness or other extraordinary circumstance.
• Discharge for cause short of misconduct. DEW sets a disqualification of at least 5 and no more than 19 weeks, depending on how serious the reason was, with a matching reduction in benefits.
• Gross misconduct and illegal drug use. These include willful damage to property or theft over $50, alcohol on the premises in violation of a written policy, criminal assault or battery on a coworker or customer, criminal abuse of a patient or child, insubordination, willful neglect of a duty tied to a written job description, and federal Department of Transportation drug-test violations, as well as discharges for failing an illegal-drug test. These disqualify you until you are employed again and earn 8 times your weekly benefit amount.

Poor performance that comes from inefficiency, inability or incapacity is not a basis for a misconduct finding. Whatever the reason you left, your employer still owes your earned wages; see South Carolina final paycheck laws.

Work search requirements

DEW requires two job searches each week. In DEW's words: "Claimants are required to complete two weekly job searches to remain eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits."

You record those searches in your SC Works Online Services (SCWOS) account at jobs.scworks.org, which DEW links to your weekly certification in MyBenefits. DEW warns that skipping the work search "could affect their eligibility and their benefit payments could stop."

Exceptions and extra duties:

• Claimants in a DEW-approved training program, such as one under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, are not required to do the weekly searches, and S.C. Code 41-35-110(3)(a) bars denying benefits on availability or work-search grounds while you attend approved training.
• If DEW selects you for reemployment services, you must take part (S.C. Code 41-35-110(6)).
• If you work through a temporary staffing agency, you must report the end of each assignment to the agency and keep weekly contact with it (S.C. Code 41-35-110(3)(c)).

Working part-time while on unemployment

You can work part-time and still collect a reduced benefit. Under S.C. Code 41-35-60, your benefit for a week equals your weekly benefit amount minus the part of that week's wages that is more than one-fourth of your weekly benefit amount.

For example, with a $269 weekly benefit, the first $67.25 you earn is not counted. If you earn $200 in a week, $132.75 is subtracted, leaving a benefit of about $136. Once your countable earnings reach your full weekly amount, no benefit is paid for that week, and DEW says that if you earn more than your weekly benefit amount you must end your benefits. Report all earnings when you certify.

How to file for unemployment in South Carolina

DEW handles claims. File your initial claim online through the MyBenefits portal, linked from DEW's Applying for Benefits page. Identity verification through ID.me is part of setting up your account. If you need help, DEW's toll-free number is 1-866-831-1724 (Relay 711).

File as soon as you become unemployed. File with the state where your employer is located and your wages were earned, which is not necessarily where you live.

Have this ready:

• Your Social Security number
• Your work history for the past 18 months: employer names, addresses, phone numbers and pay
• Your alien registration number and documents if you are not a US citizen
• Your DD-214 if you served in the military in the past 18 months
• Your SF-50 or SF-8 if you were a federal civilian employee

Certifying every week

You request payment by certifying weekly online in MyBenefits. A claim week runs Sunday through Saturday. DEW states: "You must certify for a week within 14-days of the end of the week." Miss that window and you lose that week's benefits. Payment can take up to 3 business days after you certify.

Denials and appeals

If DEW denies your claim or reduces your benefits, act quickly. S.C. Code 41-35-660 allows an appeal "not later than ten days after the determination was mailed to his last known address." DEW puts it this way: "By law you must file your appeal within 10 calendar days of the mailing date listed on the determination. If the 10th day falls on a weekend or recognized holiday, the appeal period extends to the next business day." A request to reconsider an initial determination is also due within 10 days of mailing.

South Carolina has three levels of review:

1. Appeal Tribunal. File Form APP-100 or a signed letter by mail to DEW Appeal Tribunal, P.O. Box 995, Columbia, SC 29202, or by fax to 803-737-0287. The hearing is usually held by telephone, and the tribunal decides within 30 days of the hearing. Its decision is final unless someone appeals within 10 days of mailing.
2. DEW Appellate Panel. You have 10 calendar days from the mailing date of the Appeal Tribunal decision to appeal to the panel.
3. Administrative Law Court. Within 30 days of the mailing of the department's decision, you can file an action in the Administrative Law Court (S.C. Code 41-35-750). Review there is limited to questions of law. Further appeals follow the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules.

Keep filing your weekly claims while you appeal. DEW says: "It is important that you continue to file your claim for benefits while an appeal is pending." If you stop and later win, you may lose benefits for the weeks you did not claim.

Overpayments and fraud

If DEW pays you benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them (S.C. Code 41-41-40). You can repay in full or on a monthly plan. DEW can deduct the overpayment from future benefits, ask your employer to withhold 25% of your net wages each pay period, and intercept state and federal tax refunds and lottery winnings, including through South Carolina Department of Revenue setoff (with a collection fee of up to $50 per attempt) and the federal Treasury Offset Program. Collection can continue for 5 years from the final determination for non-fraud overpayments and 8 years for fraud.

Waiver. If the overpayment was not your fault and recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience, DEW may waive repayment of a non-fraud overpayment on a written request made within the appeal period (S.C. Code 41-41-40(B)). A denial of waiver can be appealed.

Fraud. Making a false statement or knowingly hiding a fact to get benefits carries a fine of $50 to $250 or up to 30 days in jail, with each statement a separate offense (S.C. Code 41-41-10). DEW can also disqualify you for 10 to 52 consecutive weeks (S.C. Code 41-41-20) and assess "a monetary penalty of thirty-three percent of the amount of the overpayment" (S.C. Code 41-41-45).

Is unemployment taxable in South Carolina?

Yes. Unemployment benefits are federally taxable, and the South Carolina individual income tax return (SC1040) begins with your federal taxable income, so the benefits flow into your state return. Confirm your own situation with the South Carolina Department of Revenue or a tax professional.

DEW does not withhold taxes automatically. You must choose withholding when you file your initial claim. Federal withholding is 10% of your benefit and state withholding is 7%. DEW says you can change your withholding option at any time in MyBenefits. For federal reporting, see our unemployment benefits by state guide.

Recent and pending changes

The South Carolina Code sections that set benefit amounts, duration and eligibility show no enacted 2025 or 2026 changes. Two bills in the 2025-2026 session would change the rules, but neither is law:

• H.3477 would tie the maximum number of weeks to the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, from 12 weeks when the rate is low up to 20 weeks when it is above 9.0%. The House passed it on February 19, 2026, and it was referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, where the legislature's bill page shows it residing as of October 7, 2026. As passed by the House, it would apply only to claims with an effective date on or after January 1, 2027. Until it is enacted, the maximum stays at 20 weeks.
• S.274 would write the $350 maximum weekly benefit into the statute. It was introduced on January 28, 2025, and referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, with no further action shown.

Common myths about South Carolina unemployment

• "South Carolina pays 26 weeks." The maximum is 20 weeks, and fewer if one-third of your base-period wages is less than 20 times your weekly amount.
• "The maximum rises with wages every year." DEW sets the maximum within a statutory ceiling; it is $350 now. A bill to fix it in statute is pending but is not law.
• "The job search is optional." Two weekly job searches recorded in SCWOS are required and are linked to your weekly certification.
• "You have a month to appeal." You have 10 calendar days from the mailing date, extended only to the next business day when the 10th day is a weekend or holiday.
• "South Carolina pays extra for dependents." It does not have a dependents' allowance.

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about South Carolina unemployment insurance, verified on October 7, 2026. It is not legal advice and not a benefit determination. Only the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce decides whether you are eligible and how much you receive. If your claim is denied or you are found overpaid, consult a lawyer licensed in South Carolina or a legal aid office.

Related

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

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the maximum unemployment benefit in South Carolina?

$350 a week before taxes, according to DEW's weekly benefit amount page as of October 7, 2026. The minimum is $42, a floor set in S.C. Code 41-35-40.

How is the South Carolina weekly benefit amount calculated?

DEW divides your highest base-period quarter's wages by 13 to get your average weekly wage, then pays 50% of that, rounded down to the dollar. The result cannot go below $42 or above the $350 maximum DEW currently publishes.

How many weeks of unemployment do you get in South Carolina?

Up to 20 weeks. Under S.C. Code 41-35-50, your total benefits are capped at the lesser of 20 times your weekly amount or one-third of your base-period wages, so some claimants get fewer weeks.

Does South Carolina have a waiting week for unemployment?

Yes. DEW requires an unpaid waiting period equal to one full week of benefits before any benefits are paid.

Can you get unemployment in South Carolina if you quit?

Only with good cause or under a statutory exception, such as domestic abuse, your own medically documented illness, caring for an ill immediate family member, or following a transferred spouse. Otherwise you are ineligible until you work again and earn 8 times your weekly benefit.

How many job searches does South Carolina require?

Two each week, recorded in your SC Works Online Services account. Claimants in a DEW-approved training program are not required to do them.

How much can I earn and still get unemployment in South Carolina?

Earnings up to one-fourth of your weekly benefit amount do not reduce your check. Anything above that is subtracted from your weekly benefit under S.C. Code 41-35-60.

How long do I have to appeal a South Carolina unemployment denial?

10 calendar days from the mailing date on the determination. If the 10th day is a weekend or recognized holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Is unemployment taxed in South Carolina?

Yes. Benefits are federally taxable and South Carolina's income tax return starts from federal taxable income. DEW withholds 10% federal and 7% state tax only if you elect it, which you can do when you file and change later in MyBenefits.