Does EDD require reporting plasma donation money as income during certification?
I started donating plasma twice a week to make some extra cash while my unemployment claim is processing. The place pays me about $120-150 per week on a prepaid card. When I certify for my weekly benefits, do I need to report this as income? It's not exactly a job, and technically it feels more like compensation for my time than actual employment. I don't want to mess up my claim by reporting incorrectly, but also don't want to get hit with an overpayment situation later. Anyone know how EDD handles plasma donation money?
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Connor Richards
YES, you absolutely need to report that as income. EDD requires you to report ANY money earned during your certification period. It doesn't matter if it's from an employer, side gig, cash work, or plasma donation. If you're getting paid, you need to report it. In certification question #6, it asks if you received any income - that's where you'd report it, then select "Other" as the income type.
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Zoe Wang
•Thanks for the quick response. So I just put it under 'Other'? There's no special category for this type of thing? And do I report it for the day I actually donated or when they loaded the money onto my card?
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Grace Durand
I went through this EXACT situation last year! You defnitely need to report it, but it gets complicated. EDD considers it 'self-employment' income even though it feels weird to call it that. Report it on the day you RECEIVED the payment, not when you donated. And keep ALL your payment receipts in case EDD ever questions it during an eligibility interview.
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Steven Adams
•Is plasma donation really self-employment though?? I thought self-employment was like having your own business or freelancing. This is just selling a bodily fluid. I wonder if it should be under 'Other' instead???
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Alice Fleming
Important clarification: According to EDD guidelines, plasma donation payments are considered miscellaneous income, not wages or self-employment. You should report it under "Other" on your certification form, and report it for the week you RECEIVED the payment. Also keep in mind that EDD uses a partial unemployment formula - they don't deduct dollar-for-dollar from your benefits. They deduct 75% of what you earn over $25. So if you earn $120 in plasma money, they'll deduct $71.25 from your weekly benefit amount ((120-25)×0.75).
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Zoe Wang
•Thank you for breaking down the math! So I'll still get most of my benefits even if I report the plasma money. That's a relief. I was worried they'd cut me off completely if I reported any income at all.
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Hassan Khoury
my friend did plasma donation and didnt report it and got in HUGE trouble later. edd did some kinda audit and found out somehow. he had to payback all the benefits plus a 30% penalty!!! dont risk it man
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Zoe Wang
•Yikes, that's scary! Thanks for the warning. Definitely going to report everything correctly now.
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Victoria Stark
I hate to be that person BUT.... how would EDD even know you're donating plasma? These places pay in prepaid cards, not checks with your name on them. Not suggesting you lie, just wondering how they ever caught your friend??
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Hassan Khoury
•idk exactly how they caught him but he said something about the plasma place reporting the payments to the irs with his social security # once it hit over $600 and then somehow edd found out during an audit. not worth the risk IMO
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Alice Fleming
•This is correct. Plasma donation centers issue 1099s for payments over $600 in a year, and EDD has data-sharing agreements with the IRS and state tax agencies. It's not worth risking potential fraud penalties, which can include being disqualified from benefits for weeks or months, plus having to repay benefits with penalties.
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Benjamin Kim
I've been trying to contact EDD about income reporting questions like this for weeks with no luck! Always get the "we're experiencing high call volume" message and then they hang up. So frustrating when you're trying to do everything right but can't get answers!!
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Samantha Howard
•Try using Claimyr! I was in the same situation - couldn't get through for weeks. Claimyr got me connected to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes. It basically keeps dialing for you until it gets through. Totally worth it when you need questions answered quickly. Here's the site: claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km
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Benjamin Kim
•Oh wow, never heard of that! I'll check it out. I'm desperate at this point, been trying to reach someone for almost 3 weeks about my certification questions.
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Zoe Wang
Update for anyone finding this thread later: I called EDD (finally got through after trying at exactly 8:01 AM) and confirmed that plasma donation money DOES need to be reported as "Other" income. Report it for the week you RECEIVE payment, not when you donate. The rep also said to keep documentation of all payments in case they need to verify the income later. Thanks everyone for your help!
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Zoe Papadopoulos
Thanks for sharing the update! This is super helpful for anyone else in the same situation. I'm curious - when you called EDD, did they give you any guidance on how to handle the partial unemployment calculation? Like @Alice Fleming mentioned, they deduct 75% over $25, but I'm wondering if there are any other considerations when it comes to plasma donation specifically. Also, did they mention anything about how this affects your work search requirements?
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