EDD reporting 1099 income and taking courses - will benefits get reduced permanently?

For your 1099 work: Your benefit amount doesn't get "used up" when you report earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount (WBA). Those funds stay in your claim balance and extend how long you can collect. When reporting income, EDD uses this formula: For earnings less than your WBA, they deduct 75% of what you earn from your weekly payment. So if your WBA is $450 and you earn $200 in gig work, they'll deduct $150 (75% of $200) and you'd receive $300 that week. Regarding courses - you should definitely report them, but non-credit courses for skill improvement generally don't affect your eligibility as long as you remain available for full-time work. When it asks who referred you, just select "Self-initiated" or "Other" and explain they're free community courses to improve employability.

the edd website says your not suppose to deduct taxes from your earnings when you report them for your certification. you gotta report the gross amount b4 taxes. i got in trouble for this last year because i was only reporting what i actually got paid after taxes.

I was in a similar situation last year. For the school question - when they ask who referred you, just select "Self" or "None". Make sure to answer "yes" to the question about being able to accept full-time work even while taking these courses. The EDD might schedule a phone interview to confirm that the classes won't interfere with your job search, but in my experience, they're fine with these skill-building courses as long as you're clear that you'd drop them for a job. For the 1099 work, remember you need to report GROSS earnings in the week you PERFORMED the work, not when you got paid. This messed me up at first!

don't forget if u report the gig income the week u do the work not when u get paid!!!! i messed that up and almost got in trouble for fraud. EDD sees income differently than we do lol

I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to EDD to ask these exact questions!!! The phone lines are always busy and when I finally got through, the rep gave me conflicting information about my 1099 work. So frustrating! One person told me I had to report net income, another said gross. The website is no help either. BTW for the school stuff, just make sure you're available for work during normal business hours. I got flagged for a phone interview because I mentioned taking online classes, but it was fine once I explained I could do them in the evenings.

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I've been stressing about this for days. So to summarize what I learned: 1) Report GROSS earnings in the week I do the work (not when paid) 2) My claim balance keeps the money from weeks I don't collect 3) For partial earnings, they deduct 75% of what I earn 4) For the courses, I should mark "Self" as who referred me and make it clear I'm available for full-time work It's ridiculous how unclear the EDD website is about all this basic stuff!

The formula for partial earnings is actually a bit different than what someone else said. If you earn wages in a week, EDD first subtracts $25 or 25% of your wages (whichever is greater). Then they subtract the remaining amount from your weekly benefit. So if your WBA is $450 and you earn $200, they subtract $50 (25% of $200), leaving $150. Then $450 - $150 = $300 payment. Source: I've been on and off unemployment for 3 years and this is how it's always calculated on my payments.

anybody kno if doordash counts as looking for work? i keep doing gigs but still have to do the work search stuff and its annoying

FYI - just so you're prepared - when you certify and report income, your payment can be delayed that week while they review it. Happened to me several times when I was doing Uber on the side. Sometimes got stuck in pending for 3-5 days instead of getting paid right away.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - keep detailed records of ALL your 1099 work! Save screenshots of your TaskRabbit earnings, dates you worked, and any communication with clients. EDD can audit your claim at any time, and having documentation makes everything much smoother if they have questions. Also, since you're doing gig work, you might want to set aside about 25-30% of those earnings for taxes. As a 1099 worker, you're responsible for paying self-employment tax on top of regular income tax. It's not related to your UI benefits, but it'll save you stress come tax time! One more tip - if any of your TaskRabbit gigs turn into regular recurring work with the same client, that could potentially be considered "suitable work" that you might be required to continue. Just something to keep in mind as you balance gig work with your job search.