Free · official rates · checked September 25, 2026
Starting a business on unemployment in Texas
Here’s what Texas allows while you’re on unemployment, and how to build your plan alongside your job search.
Texas
No Self-Employment Assistance
Starting a business does not exempt you: 40 TAC §815.28 applies work search rules to people 'engaged in efforts to establish themselves in a self-employment venture'. You report net self-employment profit (and hours) each week. You are not unemployed in any week you work your customary full-time hours (Labor Code §201.091(e)). Source
Job search: State minimum of three work search contacts a week. Your Local Workforce Development Board can require more (or, in rural counties, fewer), and you are told your number in writing. You must keep a weekly work search log, may be asked to submit it, and must register for work in WorkInTexas.com.
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Self-Employment Assistance in Texas
No. Texas doesn’t run Self-Employment Assistance, so unemployment is for people looking for work.
How self-employment affects your benefit
Starting a business does not exempt you: 40 TAC §815.28 applies work search rules to people 'engaged in efforts to establish themselves in a self-employment venture'. You report net self-employment profit (and hours) each week. You are not unemployed in any week you work your customary full-time hours (Labor Code §201.091(e)).
Partial benefit = weekly benefit amount + the greater of $5 or 25% of it, minus that week's earnings (Labor Code §207.003); you get nothing once earnings exceed weekly benefit plus 25%.
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Your weekly job search
State minimum of three work search contacts a week. Your Local Workforce Development Board can require more (or, in rural counties, fewer), and you are told your number in writing. You must keep a weekly work search log, may be asked to submit it, and must register for work in WorkInTexas.com.
Pontia keeps your job-search record for you and links to WorkInTexas.com, so your plan and your search run side by side.
Other help in Texas
- Texas Workforce Commission – Vocational Rehabilitation Services: can fund a self-employment plan if you have a disability.
- Medicaid: Texas did not expand Medicaid, so the new federal work requirement for expansion adults does not apply here.
- SBA Microloans of up to $50,000, and free advice from your local SBDC and SCORE mentors.
- On SSI or SSDI: PASS and the SSDI trial work period let you test a business.
Questions
Can I collect unemployment while starting a business in Texas?+
No. Texas doesn’t run Self-Employment Assistance, so unemployment is for people looking for work. Starting a business does not exempt you: 40 TAC §815.28 applies work search rules to people 'engaged in efforts to establish themselves in a self-employment venture'. You report net self-employment profit (and hours) each week. You are not unemployed in any week you work your customary full-time hours (Labor Code §201.091(e)).
How many job contacts a week does Texas require?+
State minimum of three work search contacts a week. Your Local Workforce Development Board can require more (or, in rural counties, fewer), and you are told your number in writing. You must keep a weekly work search log, may be asked to submit it, and must register for work in WorkInTexas.com.
How much is unemployment in Texas?+
Between $75 and $605 a week in 2026, for up to 10-26 weeks. Your own amount is on your monetary determination.
What other help is there to start a business in Texas?+
Free advice from your local SBDC and SCORE mentors, SBA microloans of up to $50,000, and, if you have a disability, Texas Workforce Commission – Vocational Rehabilitation Services can fund a self-employment plan. On SSI or SSDI, PASS and the trial work period let you test a business.
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Cite this page
"Start a business on unemployment in Texas (2026)", Pontia, https://pontia.xyz/us/texas/ (updated September 25, 2026)
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