SC Unemployment Benefits 2026: $42 to $350 a Week

Unemployment insurance in South Carolina is paid from taxes on employers, not workers, so it's insurance you earned through covered work, not a grant or a handout. Filing costs nothing on the MyBenefits portal, and DEW's toll-free line is 1-866-831-1724 (Relay 711). DEW can't pay for weeks before your claim's effective date, so file the week you lose work. If food is tight while you wait, our South Carolina SNAP benefits guide explains how unemployment checks count as income there.

South Carolina Unemployment Benefits at a Glance (2026)

South Carolina's weekly benefit runs from $42 to $350 in 2026, and every claimant shares the same cap because the state has no dependents' allowance. Here's the full set of DEW rules in one place:

Sources: DEW Weekly Benefit Amount page, Benefits Eligibility Requirements page and Claimant Handbook (September 3, 2025), all checked November 13, 2026; DOL July 2026 state UI law summary for the 13 to 20 week range.

According to DOL's July 2026 state UI law summary, South Carolina's benefit range is $42 to $350, its earnings disregard is one-fourth of the weekly amount, and its benefit weeks run from 13 to 20, which matches DEW's own pages.

How DEW Figures Your Weekly Benefit Amount

Your South Carolina check starts from 1 number: the wages in your highest-paid base period quarter. DEW's handbook says the weekly amount is 50% of your average weekly wage in that quarter, and Section 41-35-40 of the state code says fractions of a dollar drop to the next lower dollar. A quarter has 13 weeks, so half the average weekly wage is the same as the quarter's wages divided by 26.

Worked example (an illustration, not a real case): a Greenville warehouse lead earned $7,400, $7,800, $7,100 and $7,700 in the four base period quarters.

1. High quarter: $7,800.
2. Weekly amount: $7,800 ÷ 26 = $300, under the $350 cap.
3. Base period total: $30,000, so one-third is $10,000.
4. Twenty weeks: 20 × $300 = $6,000.
5. Maximum benefit amount: the lesser figure, $6,000, paid as 20 checks of $300.

To hit the $350 cap, Grantsights calculated that you need high quarter wages of at least $9,100 ($350 × 26). Anyone above that line gets the same $350, so a $14,000 quarter and a $9,100 quarter pay identically.

Source: Grantsights calculation from the DEW Claimant Handbook formula and the $42 to $350 range on DEW's Weekly Benefit Amount page, checked November 13, 2026. The 20-week column assumes one-third of base period wages is larger.

Dependents. South Carolina doesn't add anything for a spouse or children. DOL's 2023 Comparison of State UI Laws (Table 3-10) lists the states with dependents' allowances, and South Carolina isn't one of them.

How Long South Carolina Unemployment Lasts

South Carolina caps regular benefits at 20 weeks in a benefit year, while DEW's own explainer notes that most states pay up to 26. Section 41-35-50 sets your total as the lesser of 20 times your weekly amount or one-third of your base period wages, and the claim runs for one year from its effective date.

The one-third rule is what shortens some claims. Grantsights analysis of the two tests shows that because base period wages must be at least 1.5 times the high quarter, one-third of base period wages is always at least 13 weeks of benefits. That's why DOL lists South Carolina's range as 13 to 20 weeks.

Source: Grantsights calculation from South Carolina Code 41-35-40 and 41-35-50, checked November 13, 2026.

South Carolina's maximum isn't indexed to the jobless rate, so it stays at 20 weeks in good years and bad ones. If you use up your benefits before the year ends, DEW says you must wait for the benefit year to close before filing again, and a second benefit year needs fresh wages of at least 8 times your old weekly amount.

Working Part Time on South Carolina Unemployment

DEW ignores earnings up to 25% of your weekly benefit amount and deducts everything above that. The handbook adds that if your gross pay in a week reaches your weekly amount, you aren't unemployed for that week and get nothing.

Example (an illustration, not a real case): a Myrtle Beach cook with a $300 weekly amount picks up a Saturday shift paying $140.

• Ignored: 25% × $300 = $75
• Deducted: $140 − $75 = $65
• Paid for the week: $300 − $65 = $235

Per the DEW Claimant Handbook, partial claims are for weeks of fewer than full-time hours (29 hours or less) because your employer didn't have enough work, while its How Unemployment Insurance Works page describes full time as 30 hours. Report gross pay, before taxes, in the week you did the work, even if the paycheck comes later. Separation payments must be reported too; DEW decides case by case whether they're deductible. Pensions from a base period employer can be deducted at the share your employer paid in, and military pensions are deductible at 100%.

Who Qualifies for South Carolina Unemployment

South Carolina has 3 wage tests for 2026 claims, all from the Benefits Eligibility Requirements page:

• At least $1,092 in covered wages in your highest base period quarter.
• At least $4,455 in covered wages across the whole base period.
• Total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter.

Base period. The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim's effective date. If that fails, DEW tries the alternate base period, the four most recent completed quarters, but only when no federal, military or out-of-state wages are missing. DEW picks the base period; you don't.

Why you left matters more in South Carolina than in most states. Section 41-35-120 sets these penalties:

Source: South Carolina Code 41-35-120, checked November 13, 2026.

Every week. You must be able to work, available for work and actively searching. DEW counts work as suitable if it pays at least 90% of your prior wage during your first 8 paid weeks and 75% after that, so turning down an offer gets riskier the longer your claim runs.

How to Apply and Certify Through MyBenefits

DEW says a Monetary Determination arrives by mail within about a week of filing, and it also shows up in the MyBenefits documents tab. It lists your base period wages and potential benefits; it isn't a finding that you meet every rule.

1. Gather your Social Security number, 18 months of work history (employer names, addresses, phone numbers and pay), your alien registration number if you're not a U.S. citizen, a DD-214 Member 4 copy if you left the military in the past 18 months, and an SF-50 or SF-8 if you were a federal civilian worker.
2. Create a MyBenefits account and verify your identity through ID.me, then file the new claim online. DEW's toll-free line, 1-866-831-1724, helps if you get stuck.
3. Register in SC Works Online Services (SCWOS) at jobs.scworks.org and do 2 electronically verifiable job searches in the week you file and every week after.
4. Certify weekly in MyBenefits. A claim week runs Sunday to Saturday, and DEW pays nothing for a week certified more than 14 days after that Saturday.
5. Serve the waiting week. Your first eligible week is unpaid, so the first deposit covers week two at the earliest.
6. Get paid by prepaid debit card or direct deposit. DEW says processing can take up to 3 business days after you certify, and the handbook says money then takes about 2 to 3 business days to clear your bank.

People who live outside South Carolina but worked for a South Carolina employer file an interstate claim in MyBenefits. DEW's page says lack-of-work interstate claims take 2 to 3 weeks to resolve and quit or discharge claims take 4 to 6 weeks.

How to Appeal a DEW Decision

South Carolina gives you just 10 calendar days from the mailing date on a determination to appeal, so a determination that sits unopened in the mailbox for a week leaves only a few days. If day 10 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

• Appeal Tribunal: use the "Request Appeal" button in MyBenefits, or mail or fax a signed APP-100 form or letter to the DEW Appeal Tribunal, P.O. Box 995, Columbia, SC 29202 (fax 803-737-0287). Most hearings are by phone, and DEW mails the notice at least 7 days ahead.
• Evidence: send documents to DEW and to the other side at least 24 hours before the hearing, or the hearing officer may not consider them.
• Appellate Panel: if you lose, appeal again within 10 calendar days of the Appeal Tribunal decision. The panel reviews the hearing record only and won't take new evidence.
• Timing: DEW's appeals page says a decision can take 30 to 45 days from the date you appeal.

Keep certifying every week and doing both job searches while you wait. DEW's appeals page warns that skipping weekly claims can cost you those weeks even if you win.

Taxes and the 1099-G in South Carolina

South Carolina unemployment is taxed 2 ways: federal income tax and South Carolina income tax. According to IRS Topic 418, unemployment compensation is taxable income that belongs on your federal return, and DEW's handbook says benefits are subject to both state and federal income tax.

DEW doesn't withhold anything by default. You can choose 10% federal withholding, 7% state withholding, both or neither when you file, and change the choice any time in MyBenefits. DEW mails Form 1099-G the last week of January and posts it in MyBenefits. If the amount is wrong, file a dispute through the portal; if you got a 1099-G for a claim you never filed, DEW asks you to complete its identity theft fraud survey and file a police report.

What DEW Doesn't Tell You

Grantsights compared DEW's claimant pages with Chapter 35 of the South Carolina Code and found five points the portal and handbook don't spell out:

1. A misconduct finding usually ends the claim. The law pairs 20 weeks of ineligibility with a cut of 20 times your weekly amount, and 20 weeks is the whole South Carolina maximum. If your employer says "misconduct" and you disagree, the 10-day appeal is the only fix.
2. Seasonal workers often get fewer than 20 weeks. The one-third test can hold a claim to 13 weeks when pay was bunched into two quarters. Check the maximum benefit amount on your Monetary Determination, not just the weekly figure.
3. The $350 cap arrives early. Anyone with a high quarter of $9,100 or more gets the same check, so a $60,000 earner and a $36,400 earner usually draw the same $350.
4. Nothing is withheld unless you ask. A full 20-week claim at $350 is $7,000 of taxable income, and without withholding the bill comes due at tax time.
5. The second claim needs new wages. After a benefit year ends, you can't file again unless you earned 8 times your old weekly amount from a new employer, which DEW states only in its handbook.

Common Mistakes and Red Flags

A common mistake is certifying late. DEW won't pay for any week certified more than 14 days after the claim week ends, even if you were eligible.

Other mistakes that cost South Carolina claimants:

• Doing job searches outside SCWOS. DEW counts only searches made while logged into your SC Works Online Services account.
• Underestimating the part-time math. Earning $340 in a week with a $350 weekly amount leaves a payment of only about $97, and earning $350 leaves nothing.
• Reporting pay when it arrives instead of when it was earned. DEW compares your reports with employer wage records and recovers overpayments through wage withholding and state and federal tax refund intercepts.
• Missing the hearing call. Update your phone number before the hearing; an appellant who doesn't take part can have the appeal dismissed.
• Quitting before you're laid off. Avoid it if you can: a quit without good cause blocks benefits until you earn 8 times your weekly amount in new work.

Red flags for scams: DEW never charges to file, and only DEW's own MyBenefits portal takes claims. Treat texts or calls asking for your MyBenefits password, ID.me login or debit card PIN as fraud. If you knowingly misreport earnings, DEW can disqualify you for up to 52 weeks, and state law allows fines up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

Worked Examples: Three South Carolina Claims

These are illustrations built from DEW's 2026 figures, not real cases:

A small business receptionist in Columbia had four steady quarters of $5,200. Her weekly amount is $5,200 ÷ 26 = $200, and one-third of her $20,800 base period is $6,933, so she gets the full 20 weeks: $4,000 in all.

A beach rental cleaner near Hilton Head earned $6,500 and $3,250 in the only two quarters she worked. Her weekly amount is $250, but one-third of her $9,750 total is $3,250, so her claim ends after 13 weeks.

One applicant in Charleston, a port mechanic, had a $15,000 high quarter. Half his weekly wage would be $576, but the cap holds him to $350, or $7,000 across 20 weeks, before taxes.

Other Help in South Carolina While You Wait

Unemployment rarely covers a full household budget, and South Carolina's 20-week limit is short. Programs to check now:

• South Carolina Medicaid, including what happens to coverage when job-based insurance ends, and the South Carolina Medicaid income limits for your household size
• South Carolina food stamps for how DSS counts your weekly check
• LIHEAP in South Carolina for heating and cooling bills
• Rental assistance programs if rent is the gap

To see which other official programs your household might fit, Grantsights' free eligibility checker lists them in one pass; only DEW can approve or deny a South Carolina unemployment claim.

FAQ: South Carolina Unemployment Benefits

What is the maximum unemployment benefit in South Carolina in 2026?

$350 a week, with a $42 minimum and no dependents' allowance.

How is South Carolina unemployment calculated?

High quarter wages divided by 26, rounded down, up to $350.

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

Up to 20, and as few as 13 when one-third of base period wages is smaller.

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

$1,092 in the high quarter, $4,455 in the base period, and a base period total of 1.5 times the high quarter.

How much can I earn part time on South Carolina unemployment?

25% of your weekly amount is ignored; the rest is deducted.

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

10 calendar days from the mailing date.

Is unemployment taxable in South Carolina?

Yes, federally and by the state; withholding is 10% federal and 7% state if you choose it.

---

Sources

1. DEW: Weekly Benefit Amount (opens in a new tab) ($42 to $350 range, withholding rates)
2. DEW: Benefits Eligibility Requirements (opens in a new tab) and Applying for Benefits (opens in a new tab)
3. DEW: How Unemployment Insurance Works (opens in a new tab) and Manage Your Weekly Benefits (opens in a new tab)
4. DEW Claimant Handbook (opens in a new tab), as of September 3, 2025
5. DEW: Appeals (opens in a new tab) and Accessing Your 1099-G (opens in a new tab)
6. South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 41, Chapter 35 (opens in a new tab) (Sections 41-35-40, 41-35-50 and 41-35-120)
7. South Carolina row of the U.S. Department of Labor's Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, effective July 2026 (opens in a new tab)
8. U.S. Department of Labor, 2023 Comparison of State UI Laws, Chapter 3 (opens in a new tab) (Table 3-7 waiting periods, Table 3-10 dependents' allowances)
9. IRS Topic No. 418, Unemployment Compensation (opens in a new tab) and Form W-4V (opens in a new tab)