Does EDD count bank interest as income when certifying? Worried about my savings

yes u have to report all income no matter what

OMG I've been on UI for 3 months and have never reported my bank interest!!! Am I going to get in trouble?? Will they make me pay everything back?? I didn't know interest counted as income!!! Has anyone been audited for this??

When certifying for unemployment benefits, you only need to report work income that was earned through services you performed. Bank interest is considered passive income and does NOT need to be reported when certifying for UI benefits. The EDD certification form specifically asks if you "worked or earned money" - bank interest isn't considered "work" because you didn't perform services to earn it. It's passive income from your assets. However, bank interest IS considered taxable income by the IRS, so you'll still need to report it when filing your taxes. But for EDD certification purposes, you don't need to include it.

I just had an eligibility interview with EDD last month and specifically asked this question! The interviewer told me that interest from savings accounts does NOT count as "work" income for UI certification. They're specifically looking for money earned from providing services (like a job, gig work, self-employment, etc.). But absolutely DO report any WORK income you earn, even small amounts. That's what they care about.

The EDD system is totally BROKEN when it comes to this stuff. They expect us to know all these tiny rules without explaining them clearly!!! I reported my stock dividends for 6 weeks and later found out I didn't need to. No one tells you these things and then they act like you're committing FRAUD if you make a mistake. I wasted like $450 in benefits because I over-reported!

Let me clarify some confusion I'm seeing in this thread. For EDD certification purposes, you only need to report income that came from WORK you performed. This includes: - Regular employment wages - Self-employment earnings - Gig work/1099 income - Side jobs, even if paid in cash - Consulting fees You do NOT need to report: - Bank interest - Investment dividends - Capital gains - Rental income (unless property management is your job) - Gifts from family/friends The key distinction is whether you performed work/services to earn the money. Interest accumulates without you doing work, so it's not reportable for UI certification.

When I was on unemployment last year I tried calling EDD to ask about this exact thing and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get through. After like 30+ calls over 3 days I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an EDD rep in like 20 minutes. They confirmed that interest income doesn't count for certification. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km saved me so much frustration!

I remember when I first started getting unemployment back in 2023 and I was worried about the same thing! I had some CDs maturing and wasn't sure if I needed to report it. Turns out interest is considered passive income, and when you certify, they're only asking about active income from work. But definitely report any side gigs or part-time hours - those count!

Okay so what about if someone sends you money through Venmo to pay you back for something? Does that count??? I'm now paranoid about ALL money coming into my accounts!!

To wrap this up clearly for anyone with similar questions: 1. Bank interest does NOT need to be reported when certifying for unemployment benefits 2. The certification question specifically asks about income from WORK you performed 3. Passive income (interest, dividends, etc.) isn't considered work income for UI purposes 4. You still need to report this interest on your taxes to the IRS - this is separate from EDD 5. Always report any actual work you perform, even small amounts or side gigs Hope this helps! The distinction is about whether you performed services to earn the money.

This thread has been super helpful! I was in the exact same situation and was losing sleep over whether to report my savings account interest. It's such a relief to know that passive income like bank interest doesn't need to be reported for EDD certification. The distinction between "work income" and "passive income" makes total sense now. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps to hear from people who have actually dealt with this situation before!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been on unemployment for about 2 months and have been reporting my $35/month interest from my savings account every time I certify. I had no idea I didn't need to do that! I've probably cost myself like $200+ in benefits by being overly cautious. The EDD website really needs to be clearer about what counts as "work income" vs other types of income. At least now I know for future certifications - thanks everyone for clearing this up!

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone else worried about this - I've been on UI for about 4 months and have a high-yield savings account that earns around $80-90 per month in interest. I was initially reporting it during certification because I thought "income is income" but after doing more research (and finding threads like this one), I learned that EDD only cares about income from work/services performed. I stopped reporting the interest about 6 weeks ago and haven't had any issues. The key thing to remember is that when they ask "did you work or earn money" during certification, they're specifically asking about active income from labor, not passive income from your assets. It's definitely confusing at first, but once you understand the distinction it makes sense!

Just joined this community and this thread is exactly what I needed! I've been on unemployment for 3 weeks and have been stressing about my money market account that earns about $45/month in interest. I was planning to report it during my next certification but after reading everyone's experiences, I'm relieved to know I don't have to. The way @Lara Woods and @Ian Armstrong explained the difference between work income vs passive income really cleared it up for me. It makes total sense that EDD only cares about money you earn from actually working or providing services. Thanks to everyone who shared their situations - it's so helpful to see real experiences from people who've dealt with this exact issue!

Just wanted to share my recent experience to help others who might be in the same situation! I was super anxious about this exact issue and ended up calling EDD through one of those callback services after reading about it in this thread. The representative I spoke with confirmed what everyone here has been saying - bank interest is NOT considered "work income" and doesn't need to be reported during certification. She explained that the certification questions are specifically designed to capture income from employment, self-employment, or any services you provided. Interest from savings accounts, CDs, or money market accounts is passive income that you didn't "work" for in the traditional sense. I've been certifying for 6 weeks now without reporting my ~$50/month in interest and everything has been fine. It's such a relief to finally have that official confirmation! Thanks to this community for helping me understand the distinction before I made any mistakes.

This has been such an informative thread! I'm about to start my first unemployment claim and was already worrying about every little detail like this. The way everyone explained the difference between "work income" (money earned from providing services) vs "passive income" (money that just accumulates from your assets) makes perfect sense. It's really helpful to see so many real experiences from people who've actually dealt with this situation. I have a high-yield savings that earns around $70/month, so I was definitely going to over-report out of caution. Now I know I can focus on just reporting any actual work I might do while on benefits. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and especially to those who got official confirmation from EDD - that really helps ease the anxiety of navigating this system for the first time!

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I've been on unemployment for about 2 weeks and have been losing sleep over whether to report the $55/month I earn from my high-yield savings account. Reading everyone's experiences and explanations about the difference between "work income" and "passive income" has completely cleared up my confusion. It's such a relief to understand that EDD only cares about money earned from actual work or services provided, not interest that just accumulates automatically. The fact that multiple people got official confirmation from EDD representatives really gives me confidence. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their situations - this community is amazing for helping newcomers navigate such a confusing system!

I just wanted to jump in and thank everyone for this amazing thread! I'm completely new to unemployment and have been absolutely panicking about my savings account that earns about $42 per month in interest. I was literally planning to report it during my first certification tomorrow because I was terrified of accidentally committing fraud or something. Reading through all of these real experiences and explanations has been such a huge relief! The way everyone explained the distinction between "work income" (money you earn by providing services) vs "passive income" (money that just accumulates from your assets) finally makes sense to me. It's crazy how much anxiety this was causing when the answer is actually pretty straightforward once you understand what EDD is actually looking for. Special thanks to those who got official confirmation from EDD reps - that really helps calm the nerves of us newcomers who are still learning the ropes. This community is incredible!

I'm brand new to this community and just filed my first unemployment claim yesterday! This entire thread has been absolutely incredible - I was literally googling "do I report savings account interest EDD" at 2am last night because I was so stressed about it. My high-yield savings earns about $38/month and I was completely torn between wanting to be honest and not wanting to accidentally reduce my benefits over something that might not even matter. Reading through everyone's real experiences and the clear explanations about "work income" vs "passive income" has been such a lifesaver! It makes total sense that EDD only cares about money you actively earn through work or services, not interest that just accumulates automatically from your assets. The fact that so many people got official confirmation from EDD reps really gives me confidence going into my first certification. Thank you all for sharing your situations and helping us newcomers understand this confusing system - this community is amazing!

I'm completely new to this community and unemployment benefits in general, and this thread has been such a lifesaver! I just started my claim last week and have been absolutely terrified about making any mistakes during certification. I have a money market account that earns around $52/month in interest, and I was planning to report it just to be on the safe side. But after reading through everyone's experiences and explanations about the difference between "work income" (money earned from actually working/providing services) vs "passive income" (money that accumulates automatically from your assets), it's so much clearer now! It's incredible how many people were dealing with the exact same worry - makes me feel less crazy for stressing about it. The fact that multiple community members got direct confirmation from EDD representatives that bank interest doesn't need to be reported is really reassuring for those of us who are new to this whole process. Thank you everyone for sharing your real experiences and helping newcomers like me navigate this confusing system with confidence!