Do you get a W2 from California EDD unemployment benefits?

Oh thank goodness someone clarified this! So it's a 1099-G not a W2. Does this mean my unemployment income gets taxed differently than regular wages? Like is it a different tax rate?

Unemployment benefits are taxed as ordinary income at the federal level, same rates that apply to wages. California is actually one of the few states that does NOT tax unemployment benefits at the state level, so you won't owe California income tax on your EDD payments. Just federal. If you didn't elect voluntary withholding during your claim, you may owe taxes when you file depending on your total income situation.

wait so california doesnt tax unemployment?? i been worrying for nothing lol. still gotta deal with federal though right

Just logged in and found it! You're right it's right there in the Tax Information section. Shows my full benefit amount for the year. This is so much easier than waiting for mail.

same i found mine online too. honestly more reliable than waiting for USPS to not lose it lol

Oh interesting, I might need that if my 1099-G amount looks wrong. Did it actually work well for you?

Yeah it got me connected to a live EDD agent within a couple hours instead of me spending all day redialing. When you have a specific issue like a wrong amount on your tax form, you really do need to talk to a person and EDD's phone system is brutal otherwise.

gonna bookmark this for when i inevitably have a problem with my edd stuff. edd phone system is absolutely the worst

I've heard of Claimyr before. Does it work for all EDD related calls or just specific things?

Yikes that's a scary situation. I think I did not set up withholding either. Should I be putting money aside now to cover it?

If you already collected all your benefits and didn't withhold, yes absolutely set some money aside. A rough estimate is 10-12% of your total benefit amount for federal taxes. Obviously depends on your other income for the year too.

This is really important advice. The 10% voluntary withholding option is there when you certify or in your account settings. It doesn't cover everything necessarily but it gets you most of the way there for most income situations.

This could indicate a few things. First double check your UI Online payment history and add up all payments yourself to compare. Sometimes people forget about certain payment periods. If the 1099-G amount genuinely doesn't match what you received, this could be a data error on EDD's end and you need to contact them to get a corrected 1099-G issued. Do NOT just report the wrong amount - report what is accurate and get documentation to back it up.

I went through my payment history and definitely got less than what the form says. Like by over $600. Guess I need to call EDD but we all know how that goes...

For something like a corrected 1099-G you really do need to reach a live agent. I mentioned Claimyr earlier in this thread - that situation is exactly what it's designed for, getting through EDD phone lines when you have a specific issue that needs a human to fix. claimyr.com has the details.

ok so if I worked part of the year AND collected unemployment I'd have both forms? A W2 from my employer and a 1099-G from EDD?

Exactly right. If you had wages during the year you'll have a W2 from your employer(s) AND a 1099-G from EDD for the UI portion. Both need to be reported on your federal return. Most tax software handles this pretty seamlessly once you enter both forms.

This is my situation exactly - I worked January through May then collected EDD from June onward. So I'll have both. Good to know they're handled separately.

Oh wow I would have definitely messed this up. My form shows amounts in multiple boxes. Box 1 is the unemployment amount, got it.

turbo tax actually walks you through this pretty well if you just answer the questions. but good to know what to look for

There is no minimum threshold for reporting unemployment income federally. Even if you only received $200 in UI benefits, it's taxable income that should be reported. EDD is still required to send you a 1099-G if they paid you any amount. Report everything and let the math work itself out.

ugh okay. I mean it's probably not a huge tax hit but still annoying. thanks for the info

The good news is that for small amounts, the actual tax owed is usually minimal. If you're in the 12% federal bracket a few hundred dollars of additional income might only add $30-50 to your tax bill. Not nothing but not catastrophic either.

Your coworker is unfortunately incorrect. There was a temporary federal exclusion during COVID in 2020 that made some unemployment tax-free that year, but that was a one-time pandemic measure that has NOT been renewed. For 2024 and going forward, unemployment benefits are fully taxable at the federal level as ordinary income. California state taxes are still not applied to UI benefits but federal definitely applies.

oh nooooo. she was SO sure about this. okay time to figure out what I might owe. this is really stressful

This misinformation gets spread every single year because of that 2020 COVID thing. It was a one-time deal, done, over, not coming back. Please tell your coworker so she doesn't mess up her own taxes too.

yeah i heard this same rumor. glad i double checked before filing

This actually makes me feel a lot better. Federal I can handle, at least I'm not getting hit from both sides.

wait so does this mean california residents have an advantage over people in other states for collecting unemployment?

In a tax sense, yes somewhat. Some states do tax unemployment benefits at the state level which means residents there owe both federal and state tax on UI income. California residents only owe federal. It's one of the more taxpayer-friendly policies EDD has.

This is super helpful. I'm going through the discrepancy situation right now and just trying to figure out how to get EDD to issue a corrected form. Did you ever have to do that?

Yes once. I had to call EDD and specifically ask for the tax documents unit. The agent put in a request for a corrected 1099-G and it came within a few weeks. But getting through on the phone was the hard part - took multiple days of trying before I got through to anyone useful.

For anyone dealing with this phone problem, Claimyr (claimyr.com) is legitimately useful for this exact situation. I used it when I had my own 1099-G issue and it got me to an EDD agent without spending days redialing. There's a walkthrough video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 if you want to see how it works before trying it.

Box 2 on a 1099-G is for state or local income tax refunds, credits, or offsets. If EDD issued that 1099-G specifically for your unemployment, Box 2 probably shouldn't have an amount. However if the California Franchise Tax Board sends you a 1099-G separately for a state refund, that would be in Box 2 of THAT form. You may have received two separate 1099-G forms from different agencies. Check if you have two separate forms vs. just one.

ohhhh i think i have two different forms and got confused. one from EDD for unemployment and one from the franchise tax board. that makes way more sense now thank you

haha same. i refresh it like every day. they usually post them mid to late january in my experience

EDD is legally required to have 1099-G forms available by January 31st. If you're checking before that date and don't see it, just be patient - it'll appear. If February rolls around and you still have nothing online AND nothing in the mail, then it's time to contact EDD about a missing form.

okay good to know. will stop panicking until at least feb 1st lol

Box 4 on your 1099-G shows the federal income tax withheld. So yes, it will explicitly state how much EDD withheld on your behalf. When you enter your 1099-G into your tax return, both the gross benefits (Box 1) and the withholding (Box 4) get entered, and the withholding works as a credit toward what you owe - same as how W2 withholding works for regular wages.

perfect thank you! that's exactly what I needed to know. was worried I'd have to somehow prove the withholding separately

Yes, all UI benefits paid to you are included in your 1099-G total regardless of whether it was a partial claim, full claim, or any other claim type. The 1099-G shows total government payments - EDD doesn't distinguish between full unemployment and partial unemployment on the form. You report the total Box 1 amount.

Got it. Makes sense they'd just add it all up. My partial claim wasn't a ton of money but good to know it's all on there.

wait what even is a partial claim? is that different from regular unemployment?

This is such a good point. I'm using a tax preparer this year for the first time and I need to make sure I bring all my documents including the 1099-G. Good reminder.

yep getting a CP2000 is way worse than just filing correctly the first time. speaking from experience unfortunately...

Exactly. The IRS matching program catches missing 1099-G income pretty reliably. Just report everything correctly upfront and save yourself the hassle of dealing with an IRS notice.

this whole thread should be required reading for anyone who collected unemployment lol