California Unemployment
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Can I use unemployment income to qualify for a mortgage while on California EDD?
So I've been on California EDD unemployment for about four months after getting laid off from my project management job, and I'm in this weird limbo situation. My weekly benefit amount is $410 and I've been pretty disciplined about saving during all this. Here's the thing — a house I've been eyeing for two years just dropped in price and my realtor is telling me now is the moment to move. The mortgage broker asked for proof of income and I sent over my UI Online payment history and my DE 429Z, and now I'm hearing mixed signals about whether unemployment benefits actually count as qualifying income for a loan. Some lenders apparently say yes, others say no. Has anyone here actually gotten a mortgage approved while actively collecting California EDD unemployment? I want to know what real people experienced, not just what a lender's website says.
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Do you get paid weekly for unemployment in California EDD?
Okay so I just got laid off from my warehouse job last Friday and I filed my California EDD claim over the weekend. Everything went through fine on myEDD but I'm totally confused about the payment schedule. My buddy told me I'd be getting paid every week but someone else said it's every two weeks. I can't find a straight answer anywhere. Do you get paid weekly for unemployment or is it something else? Also how long does the first payment even take because I have rent due in like three weeks and I'm stressing. Any help appreciated.
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CalFresh is worth looking into while you're waiting for payments to start. You can apply even while on unemployment, and your UI benefit counts as income they factor in. Eligibility depends on your household and what you're receiving, but it's worth applying through BenefitsCal if grocery money is tight in that first month gap. Applying doesn't affect your EDD claim at all.
Hadn't thought about CalFresh. I'll look into it, that first month gap is definitely going to be tight.
The application through BenefitsCal is straightforward and your county processes it. Worth trying especially while you're in that first few weeks waiting for EDD payments to begin.
Eight weeks in and still job searching, so just chiming in that the work search part is real. You have to be actively looking for work every week you certify — that's part of staying eligible. EDD doesn't require a specific number of contacts but keeping notes on where you applied is a smart habit. If EDD ever audits a claim, having records of your search activity is protection.
A simple spreadsheet or even notes on your phone works fine. Company name, date, position, how you applied. Nothing fancy needed.
CalJOBS also has job listings and tools through caljobs.ca.gov if you want to look for work and have your activity in one organized place, though keeping your own records separately is never a bad idea.
Can you get unemployment when you get fired? California EDD rules explained
Got let go from my warehouse job last Friday and I'm honestly in a panic trying to figure out what happens next. My manager said I was fired for 'performance issues' but I genuinely think they were looking for any excuse to cut costs because three other people on my shift got let go the same week. Anyway I went on EDD's website and I'm confused because some things I read say you can't get unemployment if you're fired but other things say you can? Like which is it? I filed my claim already through myEDD but now I'm just sitting here not knowing if I'm going to get denied or what. Does anyone actually know how EDD handles this when someone gets fired? Do I have any chance of getting benefits?
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Taxes come into play once payments start — unemployment benefits count as federal income, so you'll owe federal tax on whatever EDD pays you. California doesn't tax it at the state level though. When you certify you can choose to have 10 percent withheld for federal, which saves you a headache at tax time. EDD also mails a Form 1099G in January showing what you received, and it's available in UI Online under Payments.
You choose it during the certification process. Worth doing so the tax bill at filing time isn't a surprise.
I didn't withhold anything my first claim and it was an annoying surprise in April. Take the 10 percent, it's not worth the stress later.
The phone line is 1-800-300-5616 if you need to reach EDD directly — weekdays 8 to 5. Live chat is also available through the Help button in UI Online, Monday through Friday 9 to 2. Used Claimyr to get through when I was stuck in an endless hold loop trying to ask about my adjudication status after a termination. Ended up talking to an agent who confirmed my interview was scheduled and what week my pending claim went to.
No exact timeline EDD publishes — in my case the pending weeks updated within a couple weeks after the interview. But it varies. If it stretches past a month with no movement, that's when calling to check makes sense.
My situation was stuck way longer than expected. Ended up reaching an EDD agent through Claimyr after weeks of silence — the agent told me there was a second eligibility question EDD had opened that I didn't even know about, and what I needed to do next.
Can you make money while on unemployment? California EDD rules explained
So I got laid off from my warehouse job about a month ago and finally got my claim going through UI Online. My weekly benefit amount on the DE 429Z came out to $390. Here's my situation though - my neighbor asked if I want to pick up some weekend landscaping work for him, maybe $150-200 a week, and I genuinely don't know if taking that would wreck my claim or get me in trouble with EDD. I don't want to lose my benefits but I also can't just sit around doing nothing if there's work available. Does California EDD let you earn anything while you're collecting? Do I have to report it? What actually happens to my weekly payment if I do?
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Work search requirement doesn't pause because you picked up part-time landscaping. Every week you certify, EDD is asking whether you were able and available for full-time work and actively looking. The partial wage formula handles the money side, but the availability side is its own ongoing obligation throughout the claim.
Correct - the work search requirement is about looking for permanent full-time work, not about whether you have any income that week. Part-time work and work search are parallel obligations, not interchangeable.
CalJOBS registration is also part of the picture for most claimants - the notice DE 8405 gives the deadline, usually within 21 days of the date on that notice. Missing it can pause payments.
EDD's Benefit Determination Guide covers severance pretty specifically - it's not treated the same as regular wages for UI purposes when it's paid under a company plan or policy. Still gets reported on the certification, and EDD decides what it does to that week's payment. Someone earlier asked about a warehouse payout - that category usually falls under severance policy rules, not the partial wage formula.
Reporting it was the right call. EDD handles the calculation from there. If your payment looked different that first week than you expected, the adjustment was EDD applying the severance rules to your specific case.
In-lieu-of-notice pay and holiday pay have their own treatment too - another reason to report everything and let EDD sort out the reduction rather than trying to calculate it yourself in advance.
How long can I file for unemployment with California EDD?
Got laid off from my warehouse job about two weeks ago and I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the whole unemployment thing works. The biggest thing I keep wondering about is how long I actually have to file before it's too late, and also how long the benefits last once I do get approved. My buddy told me you can collect for like a year but that seems way too long. I looked around on edd.ca.gov but the information felt scattered. Filed my application online through myEDD yesterday so at least that part is done, but still have all these questions floating around. Anyone who's been through this recently have any insight?
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No new payments after 26 weeks — that message hit me hard at week 23 when I was still job hunting. For anyone running low on benefit weeks, CalFresh (California's food assistance program) is worth applying for. Unemployment benefits count as income when they check eligibility, but you can apply even while collecting UI. BenefitsCal is where you apply, or you can call 1-877-847-3663. Income limits are based on your whole household, so whether you'd qualify depends on your situation.
Planning ahead is the right move. CalFresh applications take a couple of weeks to process so better to look into it before you're desperate rather than after.
The 2-1-1 line is also worth saving — in a lot of counties it connects you to local assistance programs for food, rent help, utilities. Easy to forget that exists.
Around week 12 of my claim and I used Claimyr to get through to EDD — my Claim History showed a pending week that had been sitting there for ten days with no explanation and no notice in the mail. The agent found that one of my certified weeks had a wage reporting question flagged. She told me to use the Report Wages option in UI Online to review what I'd entered, and that if I'd reported something incorrectly I should contact EDD through a UI Online message since Report Wages only works for weeks not yet certified. That cleared the pending status within a week.
Exactly. For anything already certified and already in the system, a UI Online message to EDD is the way to flag a correction rather than trying to edit through Report Wages.
The instructions for Report Wages are a bit buried. Good that the agent explained the difference — a lot of people try to use it to fix past certifications and get confused when it doesn't work that way.
NebulaKnight
kinda want to know how this turns out, like whether the house stays available long enough. real estate timing with unemployment is brutal
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GalacticGuardian
AuthorMe too honestly. I'm trying not to get too attached to this specific property but it's hard after two years of watching it.
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NebulaKnight
fingers crossed the job interviews come through fast
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Sofia Ramirez
One thing that's been on my mind reading this thread — if you do land a job and want to reopen your EDD claim later if that job ends, you'd need your benefit year to still be open. Worth keeping in mind as you're timing everything. Once the benefit year ends you'd have to file a whole new claim.
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CosmicCadet
Reopening is the right move if the benefit year is still open — you'd do that through UI Online, it's the fastest way. A new claim from scratch takes about three weeks to process before the first payment, so having an open claim to reopen is a real advantage.
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Sofia Ramirez
yeah that three week processing time for a new claim is brutal when you need money immediately, the reopen option is way faster
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