EDD certification confusion - how to report 3-day lump sum payment on UI?

You need to report the earnings when you EARN them, not when you get paid. So divide the total by 3 and report 1/3 of it for each day you work. That's what the EDD rep told me when I had a similar situation. But TBH the EDD system is terrible with this kind of thing and I still got a notice saying I reported wrong even though I did EXACTLY what they told me to do 🙄

For contract/invoice work, EDD wants you to report earnings in the week you perform the work, not when you receive payment. Take the total amount you'll be paid and divide it by the number of days worked. Report 1/3 of the payment for each day you work, even if you haven't been paid yet. When you certify, report the earnings for Saturday and Sunday during that certification period, then report Monday's portion on your next certification. Keep documentation of how you calculated this in case EDD questions it later. Also remember that you must report gross earnings (before any taxes or deductions).

I had the EXACT same situation last year. I split the pay evenly across days worked. BUT IMPORTANT - make sure you're calculating GROSS pay not net! EDD wants the amount before taxes. Also keep all documentation - contract, invoice, proof of payment when you get it. They randomly audited me 4 months later and I had to explain everything. Better to have too much proof than not enough.

u can just report it all on monday so it doesn't affect ur sunday certification lol thats what i did and nobody said anything

If you're having trouble getting clear answers from EDD about this situation, I'd recommend using Claimyr to connect with an EDD representative directly. I was stuck in a similar situation with contract work reporting and spent days trying to reach someone. Claimyr got me connected in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km that shows how it works. It was worth it to get a definitive answer directly from EDD rather than risking reporting wrong.

I'm going through something similar right now. The EDD instructions are so confusing when it comes to non-traditional employment! I've been doing gig work and reporting each job individually by day. When you certify, there should be a section where you can report different earnings for each day of the week. I think you just put 1/3 of the total for each day you work. Even though it's a set project fee, they want to know what you earned each day you worked. But what if the pay isn't equal effort each day? Like what if you work 2 hours Saturday, 8 hours Sunday, and 4 hours Monday? Should you divide it by hours instead of days? Anyone know???

One more thing - make sure you report you were looking for work during this period EVEN THOUGH you had this short gig. Since it's temporary, you're still available for full-time employment and should be continuing your work search efforts. I got tripped up on this and almost lost benefits because I didn't report my work search activities during a week I had a short contract job.

OMG the EDD system is THE WORST for self-employed and contract workers!! I had to deal with this for MONTHS during the pandemic. Sometimes I think they intentionally make it confusing so they can later say you did it wrong and make you pay everything back. It's like they don't understand that not everyone has a simple hourly job with regular paychecks!!