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Fact Sheet 158 - What is a Dependent?

Fact Sheet 158 - What is a Dependent?

What is a Dependent?

An explanation of who can be claimed as a dependent on an unemployment claim.

What is a dependent?

For Unemployment Insurance purposes, a dependent is a person who receives more than half of their financial support from the individual claimant for at least 90 consecutive days immediately before the first week of the benefit year or for the duration of the marital or parental relationship.

Who could be considered dependent:

Child

  • Biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild under 18 years of age.
  • Biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild 18 years of age and over; with a disability resulting in them being unable to engage in a gainful occupation.
  • Biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild under the age of 22 who is a full-time student.

Spouse

  • Legal spouse who receives more than half of the cost of living from the claimant.

Parents

  • Legal father or mother, including adoptive parent, if that parent is more than 65 years of age.
  • Legal father or mother, including adoptive parent, with a disability resulting in them being unable to engage in a gainful occupation.

Siblings

  • Orphaned sibling under 18 years of age.
  • Sibling under 18 years of age and the living parents meet the criteria to be claimed as dependents (as indicated in Parent section).
  • Sibling 18 years of age and over with a disability resulting in them being unable to engage in a gainful occupation.
  • Sibling under the age of 22 who is a full-time student.
You cannot claim yourself as a dependent on your unemployment benefits claim.

How do dependents affect unemployment benefits?

If you support dependents, you may be eligible for an additional dollar amount for each dependent up to the maximum weekly benefit amount for up to 5 dependents.

Dependents are established when a claimant files a new claim. The number of dependents established for a claimant at the beginning of the benefit year will remain in effect during the entire benefit year.

Additional information

When calculating the percentage of support for a dependent, you cannot include the following types of funds:

  • Public welfare assistance, regardless of the title of the program, unless there is a repayment agreement. If there is a repayment agreement, the assistance can be considered as support furnished by the claimant.
  • Court ordered child support paid by someone other than the claimant.
  • Social Security benefits based on a deceased parent.
  • Armed Forces allotments for support of the child.

What if I need to change my dependents?

You have the right to request a change to the number of dependents listed on your unemployment claim.

Notify the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) and the change request will be reviewed for approval or denial.

 

Fact Sheet 158: What is a Dependent?

Updated July 2026