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Layoff Calculator

Severance in Illinois

Illinois severance & layoff calculator

State law shapes how much of your severance you keep, when you can collect unemployment, and whether your employer owed you advance notice. Here’s what applies in Illinois.

Estimate my Illinois severance
Top marginal tax
4.95%

Severance is taxed at your state's top marginal rate when it pushes you into that bracket.

WARN Act
State mini-WARN: 75+ employees

Illinois layers its own WARN-style protections on top of federal law. Illinois WARN Act covers employers with ≥75 full-time employees (lower threshold than federal).

Unemployment max
$628 / week

Up to 26 weeks. Severance is treated as wages here, which delays unemployment insurance eligibility until your severance period ends.

PTO payout
Required by law

Illinois requires accrued, unused PTO to be paid out at separation regardless of your employment agreement.

Right to work
No

Non-right-to-work; union representation may be relevant to severance and grievance procedures.

Notes for Illinois
Worth knowing

Earned vacation is wages under the IL Wage Payment & Collection Act. UI individual max is $628 (IDES EA-50 2026).

Sources: state department of labor, state department of revenue, and the U.S. Department of Labor ETA. Last verified: 2026-05.High confidence

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Step 1 of 3

Tell us about your income.

We use this to estimate your severance and what taxes will take.

Which one am I?
W-2 employee
You receive a W-2 from your employer at year-end. Taxes are withheld from your paycheck. You’re an “employee” under federal and state employment law — protected by FLSA, FMLA, Title VII, your state’s WARN if applicable. Severance, when offered, works the way this calculator measures it.
Independent contractor (1099) / freelancer
You receive a 1099-NEC at year-end (or self-report income). You pay your own taxes (estimated quarterly). You’re NOT an “employee” under employment law — your rights live in your contract, not in statute. There is generally no severance entitlement for 1099 contractors; this calculator’s framework doesn’t apply to you. We’ll redirect you to resources that do.

Your gross pre-tax salary, not including bonus or equity.

$/ year

Time at your current employer. Decimals OK (e.g. 4.5).

Estimates based on public data and industry benchmarks. Not legal advice.