How this calculator works
Lost Wages Assistance was a temporary US unemployment supplement created by a presidential memorandum on 8 August 2020, after the $600 federal pandemic supplement expired. It paid $300 a week in federal money from the Disaster Relief Fund, administered by FEMA with guidance from the Department of Labor. States could add $100 a week from their own funds or from CARES Act money, making $400 in total, but only Kentucky and Montana did so. To qualify, a claimant had to be receiving at least $100 a week in underlying unemployment benefits and had to self-certify that unemployment was caused by the pandemic. The programme covered weeks of unemployment ending on or after 1 August 2020, and in practice FEMA funded six weeks, through the week ending 5 September 2020, for a maximum of $1,800 in federal money. Some states paid fewer weeks because their allocation ran out. The supplement has ended and is not available today; this calculator estimates what a claimant in that period would have received.
Formula
Weekly supplement = $300 federal + $100 if the state added its share. Total paid = weekly supplement x number of weeks. Federal share = $300 x weeks. State share = $100 x weeks when the state contribution applied. The maximum was six weeks and $1,800 of federal money.
Worked example
A claimant with a $350 weekly state benefit in a state that paid only the federal $300, for six weeks, received $1,800. In Kentucky or Montana, which added $100, the same claimant received $400 a week and $2,400 in total, of which $600 came from the state.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Lost Wages Assistance still available?
No. The programme ended in 2020 when its funding ran out. This calculator is a historical estimate.
Why was a $100 weekly benefit minimum required?
The programme was limited to people who were genuinely attached to the labour market through unemployment insurance. The $100 floor excluded about 900,000 low-wage claimants, roughly 6% of recipients, though some states raised their minimum benefit so those claimants qualified.
How many weeks did the programme pay?
FEMA funded six weeks in total: a guaranteed three weeks plus up to three more retroactive weeks, ending with the week ending 5 September 2020. Some states ran out of allocation before six weeks.
Was the supplement taxable?
It was treated as unemployment compensation, which is generally taxable income in the United States. Some or all of it could be excluded depending on the year and income, so the tax treatment is not simply zero.