EDD reporting rules for DoorDash/Uber income - how exactly does gig work affect my weekly benefit amount?
So I just got approved for unemployment after being laid off from my warehouse job, and I'm thinking of doing some DoorDash or Uber on the side while I look for permanent work. I know you have to report income when certifying, but I'm confused about how exactly it works with gig jobs. Does EDD consider gig work the same as regular part-time work? How do they calculate the deductions from my weekly benefit amount? I heard something about them taking a percentage but then someone else told me they subtract dollar for dollar after some threshold? I'm getting $450/week in benefits and don't want to mess it up. Also, when exactly do I report the income - when I work or when I actually get paid by the app? The whole thing seems complicated and I don't want to accidentally commit fraud. Has anyone done this successfully?
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StarGazer101
Yes, you can definitely do gig work while on unemployment, but you need to understand how it affects your benefits. Gig work is considered self-employment, and EDD handles it similarly to part-time work, but with some differences. The basic rule is that EDD uses the 75% formula for deductions. They'll subtract 75% of your gross earnings from your weekly benefit amount. So if you make $100 in a week doing DoorDash, they'll deduct $75 from your weekly benefit. Important: You must report your gig earnings in the week you WORKED, not when you got paid. This is different from regular employment. So if you do DoorDash on Saturday but don't get the deposit until Tuesday, you report it for the week you actually did the driving. Also, keep detailed records of all your earnings and expenses for tax purposes later. And don't forget to report ALL income - even cash tips.
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Yara Nassar
•Thanks for the clear explanation! So with my $450 benefit, if I made $200 in a week, they'd deduct $150 (75% of $200), leaving me with $300 in benefits plus my $200 in gig money for a total of $500. That's actually better than I thought. Do I need to save receipts for gas and stuff to prove my expenses?
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Keisha Jackson
thats NOT how it works!!! EDD takes dollar for dollar after the first $25 you earn each week. so if u make $100 they take $75 from ur benefits. ppl always get this wrong. look it up on the EDD website dont listen to random ppl on here
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StarGazer101
•You're partially right, but that's for W-2 employment. For self-employment (which is what gig work is classified as), they use the 75% formula. From the EDD website: "For self-employment, report 75 percent of your gross income." The $25 threshold + dollar-for-dollar reduction is for traditional employment. Gig work follows different rules because you're technically self-employed. That's why it's important to understand which category your work falls under.
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Paolo Romano
You know what's INSANE?? They expect us to somehow magically calculate all this correctly but then dont answer phones when u have questions!! I called EDD 32 times last month trying to get clarification on my gig earnings and NEVER got through. The whole system is designed to make us fail i swear
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Amina Diop
•I had the same issue trying to reach EDD about my gig earnings calculation. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes instead of calling repeatedly for days. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km The rep walked me through exactly how to report my Uber earnings correctly. Definitely worth it because I was about to give up on gig work altogether out of fear of messing up my claim.
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Oliver Schmidt
I did Instacart while on UI last year! The way I understood it (and plz someone correct me if I'm wrong), you report your GROSS earnings before they take out their fees. So if you made $100 in deliveries but the app only gives you $80 after their cut, you still report $100. And yeah track EVERYTHING for taxes. I kept all my mileage, gas receipts, car maintenance, even part of my phone bill since I used it for the app. You'll need all that for taxes since gig work doesn't withhold anything!!! Oh and don't forget that u have to do those quarterly tax payments if u make enough from gigs. That caught me by surprise!!
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Yara Nassar
•Wait, quarterly tax payments? I didn't know about that part. This is getting complicated fast. How much did you have to make before you needed to do those?
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Natasha Volkov
my cousin did doordash while on edd and they ended up saying he commited fraud and now he owes like $6000 back be careful man
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StarGazer101
•That usually happens when someone doesn't report their earnings properly. As long as you accurately report your gig income each week when you certify, you should be fine. Fraud cases typically happen when people work and don't report anything, or severely underreport what they earned.
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Javier Torres
I'm actually doing DoorDash while on unemployment right now and it's working out pretty well! I'm actually making more than when I was just getting UI alone. I try to keep my earnings below a certain amount each week so I still get some benefits. One thing I noticed is that I get a LOT of conflicting information from EDD reps when I call. One told me to report when I get paid, another said report when I work. I've been reporting when I work to be safe since that's what the certification question actually asks. Also - dont forget you can deduct mileage for taxes as a gig worker. Makes a big difference!
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Yara Nassar
•That's good to hear! Do you have a specific earnings target you try to stay under each week? I'm trying to figure out the optimal amount to work without losing too much of my benefits.
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Emma Wilson
This has nothing to do with gig work but my EDD payment has been stuck on pending for 3 weeks now and I can't get anyone on the phone. Anyone know how to fix this??
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StarGazer101
•That's a different issue - you should probably start your own thread about pending payments. This thread is specifically about gig work while on unemployment.
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StarGazer101
To address the specific calculation question: With a $450 weekly benefit amount (WBA): 1. If you earn $100 from gig work in a week: 75% of $100 = $75 deduction. You'd receive $375 in UI benefits plus your $100 in gig earnings = $475 total. 2. If you earn $200 from gig work: 75% of $200 = $150 deduction. You'd get $300 in UI plus $200 in gig money = $500 total. 3. If you earn $600 from gig work: 75% of $600 = $450. This equals your entire WBA, so you'd get $0 in UI that week but keep your $600 in gig earnings. The key is to report accurately and keep detailed records. As long as you're honest with your reporting, you won't have any issues with EDD.
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Yara Nassar
•This is incredibly helpful! So it sounds like no matter what, I'll always make more total money by working more hours, since they're only taking 75% of what I earn. I was worried there might be some weird threshold where I'd actually lose money by working more.
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