CARES Act Unemployment Calculator

Estimate your weekly unemployment benefit under the CARES Act, including the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) supplement, with this free CARES Act Unemployment Calculator.

934.6K uses Updated · 2026-05-14 Runs locally · zero upload
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How to Use CARES Act Unemployment Calculator

The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator estimates pandemic-era unemployment income in three quick steps.

  1. Enter your state weekly benefit — Type the weekly amount your state would normally pay based on your wages. If you do not know it, your state UI portal lists it.
  2. Choose the FPUC supplement — The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator defaults to the $600 weekly federal supplement, which was paid through July 31, 2020. You can override it.
  3. Set the number of weeks — Enter the number of qualifying weeks to estimate the total benefit paid over the period.
  4. Read the result — The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator shows the total weekly benefit, the FPUC portion, and the cumulative payout.

Formula & Theory - CARES Act Unemployment Calculator

The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator uses straightforward additive arithmetic:

WeeklyBenefit = StateWeeklyBenefit + FPUC
TotalBenefit  = WeeklyBenefit × Weeks

Where:

  • StateWeeklyBenefit is the regular unemployment amount your state computes from your prior wages.
  • FPUC is the $600 federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplement defined by the CARES Act.
  • Weeks is the number of qualifying weeks of unemployment.

The CARES Act also extended benefits via Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) by 13 weeks and authorized Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for self-employed and gig workers who would not otherwise qualify. Both extensions reuse the state weekly benefit value above, so the CARES Act Unemployment Calculator works as a single estimator across all three programs.

The $600 FPUC supplement was paid for each week of unemployment between the date a state signed its FPUC agreement and the week ending July 31, 2020. After that date, the CARES Act bonus was replaced by other programs (Lost Wages Assistance, then the HEROES/HEALS proposals).

Use Cases for CARES Act Unemployment Calculator

The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator is useful for:

  • Retrospective income planning — Reconcile unemployment income on tax returns or for benefit appeals.
  • Comparing CARES vs. Lost Wages Assistance vs. HEROES Act proposals — Use the CARES Act Unemployment Calculator to baseline FPUC against follow-on programs.
  • Self-employed worker estimates — Sole proprietors and gig workers can pair the calculator with state PUA tables.
  • Financial education — Teach how pandemic-era benefits stacked on state UI payments.
  • Mortgage and rent affordability — Estimate sustainable monthly income while on extended unemployment.
  • Household budgeting — Convert weekly totals into monthly cash flow.

The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator is a quick reference for anyone reviewing pandemic-era unemployment compensation in the United States.

Frequently asked questions about CARES Act Unemployment Calculator

What is the CARES Act Unemployment Calculator?

The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator estimates the combined weekly unemployment benefit available during the CARES Act period — your state weekly benefit plus the $600 federal FPUC supplement.

Does the CARES Act Unemployment Calculator include the $600 FPUC bonus?

Yes. The CARES Act Unemployment Calculator adds the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation on top of your state benefit for any week the supplement was active.

Can the CARES Act Unemployment Calculator estimate self-employed (PUA) benefits?

Yes — for self-employed or gig workers, enter the state's minimum PUA benefit or your DUA-based amount as the state weekly benefit, and the calculator will add the federal supplement.

Is my data stored?

No. All calculations happen in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.