CARES Act Unemployment Benefit Calculator

Estimate net CARES-era unemployment pay with the $600 FPUC supplement and withholding.

Enter weekly state UI, weeks claimed, federal withholding, and optional state tax to estimate net CARES benefits.

Estimate net CARES-era unemployment pay with the $600 FPUC supplement and withholding.

Weekly State Benefit ($)

Number of Weeks

Tax Withholding Rate (%)

State Tax Rate (%) (Optional)

About CARES Act Unemployment Benefits

The CARES Act added a $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) supplement on top of regular state unemployment insurance from late March through July 2020. Claimants often want a net figure after optional tax withholding. The CARES Act unemployment benefit calculator estimates that net amount as the sum of the weekly state benefit plus $600, times the number of weeks, times one minus the combined withholding rates you enter. A $400 weekly state benefit for 12 weeks with 10% federal withholding and 0% state tax is ($400 + $600) × 12 × 0.90 = $10,800. A $250 state benefit for 4 weeks with no withholding is $850 × 4 = $3,400. A $500 state benefit for 10 weeks with 10% federal and 5% state withholding is $1,100 × 10 × 0.85 = $9,350. The $600 is hard-coded because that was the CARES FPUC amount; later programs used $300. Use the estimate for historical reconstruction, planning illustrations, or to understand how withholding changed take-home UI. It is not a claim form and it does not check eligibility, work-search rules, or whether a given week fell inside the FPUC window. States paid on different schedules, and some claimants received back-dated weeks in a lump sum. Unemployment benefits are taxable at the federal level. Many people elect 10% federal withholding; others owe at filing. State tax treatment varies. The calculator adds the two rate fields and applies them to gross (state + $600) × weeks, so 10% plus 5% is treated as 15% combined, not stacked on after-tax amounts. Leave state tax blank or zero if you are modeling federal withholding only. Recalculate if a week was not actually FPUC-eligible, and confirm historical amounts with state agency records rather than this estimate. If a claimant received mixed weeks, some with FPUC and some without, run the calculator only on the FPUC weeks and add regular state UI for the other weeks separately. Do not multiply $600 across weeks that a state never certified. Keep a note of the claim week-ending dates next to the estimate so a later 1099-G review can be reconciled.

CARES Act Benefit Worked Examples

Gross weekly pay is state UI plus $600; net pay applies the combined withholding rates.

Inputs	Result	Interpretation
$400 state UI, 12 weeks, 10% withholding, 0% state tax	10,800	Gross is $12,000; 10% withholding leaves $10,800.
$250 state UI, 4 weeks, 0% withholding, 0% state tax	3,400	Four weeks of $850 gross with no tax withheld.
$500 state UI, 10 weeks, 10% withholding, 5% state tax	9,350	Combined 15% withholding on $11,000 gross leaves $9,350.

How to Estimate CARES Act Benefits

Enter the weekly state unemployment amount for the weeks you are modeling.
Enter how many FPUC-eligible weeks to include.
Enter federal withholding and optional state tax as percents, using 0 if none.
Select Calculate to see estimated net benefits after those rates.

CARES Act Benefit Calculator FAQ

Is the $600 weekly supplement still being paid?

The CARES FPUC $600 amount applied to weeks ending on or before July 25, 2020 in most states. Later federal supplements used different amounts. This calculator is a historical $600 model.

Does every claimant get $600 plus full state UI?

FPUC was a flat $600 on top of the payable weekly benefit for eligible weeks. Eligibility, offsets, and overpayment recovery still followed state law.

How is tax withholding applied?

Federal and state percents are added, then multiplied against gross (state + $600) × weeks. The model does not use IRS wage-bracket tables.

Should I include Pandemic Unemployment Assistance?

Only the weekly dollar amount that actually paid. PUA replaced regular UI for some people; still add $600 only for weeks that received FPUC.

Why might this differ from my 1099-G?

Agencies report gross benefits and may handle back pay, offsets, and overpayments differently. Use the 1099-G and state payment history as the official record.