If you have not earned enough wages to meet the minimum eligibility, then you will not be eligible.
This is determined by how much money you earned while working during your base period. Your base
period includes the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week you file an
initial claim application for UI benefits.
- If you file your initial claim application for UI between January 5, 2020, and April 4, 2020, your
base period will be Q4 2018, Q1 2019, Q2 2019, and Q3 2019, which covers the dates October 1,
2018, through September 30, 2019. - If you file your initial claim application for UI benefits between April 5, 2020, and July 4, 2020,
your base period will be Q1 2019, Q2 2019, Q3 2019, and Q4 2019, which covers the dates from
January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019.
The wages you earned during your base period are used to determine if you qualify for benefits and also
to calculate how much you can be paid. The last quarter you worked is called the lag quarter, and no
wages from that quarter count in your base period.
To meet the minimum eligibility for UI, your total wages during your base period must be equal to at
least one and one-half (1.5) multiplied by your wages in the highest quarter of your base period. Your
base period wages must also total at least $4,200, with at least $2,500 of those wages earned in the last
six (6) months of the base period. For an example of this calculation, review pages 7-8 of the Claimant
Handbook, found at https://www.in.gov/dwd/files/Claimant_Handbook.pdf
We understand this is a complicated calculation, so the easiest way to find out if you meet the minimum
eligibility is to file your claim immediately upon being laid-off and we will complete a wage calculation as
part of your application process and notify you whether you met the minimum amount.