If you are unemployed and live in the state of Tennessee, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. You must have worked in a job covered by unemployment insurance and have enough wages to qualify during a specified base period. How much you will receive depends on your earnings in the base period. If you receive wages in lieu of notice, vacation or holiday pay at the time you become unemployed, that may also affect your benefits.As of 2015, Tennessee’s maximum allowable benefit was $275 per week.

What Affects Your Benefits

Unemployment benefits don't replace your previous salary, and you can work while receiving benefits. Depending on the amount you earn, your benefits may decrease, however. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development says you can earn $50 -- or up to 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount. If you earn more, it will reduce your benefit. If you receive holiday or vacation pay when you lose your job, the TDLWD may also deduct that from your weekly benefit amount. The decision depends on whether you were laid off and given a definite date to return to work. If you received wages in lieu of notice or a severance package, your benefits may also decrease.

Calculating Benefits

In Tennessee, claimants can receive up to 26 weeks of benefits. The minimum weekly benefit is $30, and the maximum is $275, according to the TDLWD. It calculates benefits based on a 12-month base period that occurred prior to the date you filed your claim. To receive benefits, a claimant must have sufficient wages in the base period, be out of work through no fault of his own, physically able to work, actively seeking work and ready to accept work. The TDLWD notes it may take six to eight weeks for a decision on whether you can receive benefits. Contact the TDLWD for further details on unemployment benefits in that state.