Do I have to report 1099 income when certifying for EDD benefits?
I'm currently on unemployment and experiencing a slow period in my industry. My regular employer provides W-2 income, but I just picked up a one-week gig that paid me as an independent contractor (1099). The amount was about $620 before taxes. When I certify for benefits this weekend, am I required to report this 1099 income to EDD? I know we have to report W-2 wages, but I'm confused about contractor work since they don't withhold taxes. Will reporting this affect my weekly benefit amount? I don't want to do anything wrong, but also can't afford to lose benefits while work is so scarce. Thanks for any advice!
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Ryder Everingham
Yes, you absolutely must report ALL income when certifying, including 1099 work. EDD doesn't care whether taxes were withheld or not - they only care about gross earnings during the certification period. Report the full amount before taxes on the day you earned it (not when you got paid). If you don't report it and they find out later through tax records matching, you could face penalties for willful misrepresentation.
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Aisha Jackson
•Oh wow, thanks for the clear answer! So I need to report the full $620 even though I'll end up paying like 30% of that in taxes later? That seems tough since I'm not actually keeping all that money...
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Lilly Curtis
Just adding to what was already said - make sure you report it for the week you WORKED, not when you got paid. I made that mistake last year and it caused all kinds of problems. You'll need to calculate your gross earnings before any deductions. Your weekly benefit will be reduced according to their formula, but you might still get partial benefits depending on how much you earned compared to your weekly benefit amount.
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Leo Simmons
•this happened to my brother too he reported when he got PAID instead of when he WORKED and edd sent him this crazy overpayment notice for like $2400!!! took forever to fix
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Lindsey Fry
EVERYBODY LISTEN UP! The EDD system is DESIGNED to trip you up on this exact issue! They make it confusing on purpose! You MUST report ANY income earned during your certification period regardless of tax status or they WILL hit you with an overpayment notice down the road. They cross-check with tax records and WILL catch this. I learned the hard way and had to pay back $3800 plus a 30% penalty because they claimed I intentionally misreported!!!
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Aisha Jackson
•That's really scary. I definitely don't want to get hit with penalties. Do you know if there's a threshold? Like would they really care about a few hundred dollars?
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Lindsey Fry
•YES they care about EVERY DOLLAR! The system automatically cross-references with tax records. Even $50 unreported can trigger a fraud investigation. Don't risk it!
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Saleem Vaziri
When I had this same situation, I couldn't get a straight answer from the EDD website so I tried calling. Took me THREE DAYS of constant redialing to finally reach someone! So frustrating. When I finally got through, they confirmed what others are saying - you must report ALL income regardless of type. If you're having trouble getting through to EDD to ask questions like this, I recently discovered a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an EDD rep in under 30 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km and their website is claimyr.com - it was a lifesaver when I needed to ask about my mixed W2/1099 income situation.
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Kayla Morgan
•does that service actually work? i've been trying to get thru to edd for 2 weeks about my disqaulification notice
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Saleem Vaziri
•It worked for me! I was skeptical too but I was desperate after trying for days. Got connected to an actual EDD rep who fixed my issue. Way better than the auto-hangups I was getting before.
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James Maki
lol i did the same thing last yr & didnt report a small 1099 job cuz i thought it didnt count. big mistake!!! ended up with a notice saying i committed fraud & had to pay everything back plus penalties. dont be like me just report everything its not worth the headache
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Aisha Jackson
•Thanks for the warning! I'm definitely going to report it now. Did they make you pay back just the week you didn't report correctly, or did they take away more benefits?
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Kayla Morgan
wait im confused, i thought if your self employed you cant get unemployment at all?? isnt that why they had the pua thing during covid?
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Ryder Everingham
•You're mixing up two different situations. OP is primarily a W-2 employee who qualifies for regular UI, but took a one-time 1099 job. They're not primarily self-employed. But yes, you're right that typically self-employed people don't qualify for regular UI and needed PUA during COVID. That program ended in 2021.
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Aisha Jackson
Thanks everyone for the clear answers! I'm definitely going to report the 1099 income when I certify this weekend. I'll make sure to report it for the actual week I worked, not when I got paid. Better to get slightly reduced benefits than risk penalties later. Really appreciate all the advice!
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Leo Simmons
•good choice!! much better to just be honest with them. my cousin didnt report some side gig money and got caught 8 months later and had to pay back like $5k!!
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Lilly Curtis
One more thing to keep in mind - since this is 1099 income, you might be able to deduct business expenses when you file your taxes, but for EDD reporting purposes you still have to report the full gross amount. So if you had any expenses related to that gig, keep track of them for tax time, but they won't help with your UI reporting.
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Aisha Jackson
•That's a really good point about the business expenses. I did have to drive quite a bit for this gig, so I'll track those miles for tax purposes. Thanks for the tip!
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