EDD tax withholding checkbox confusion - weekly taxes on unemployment benefits

i think ur supposed to leave it UNCHECKED if u want taxes taken out. the box literally says 'do not withhold' so checking it means dont take taxes

The correct answer is: If you want federal taxes withheld from your weekly benefits, do NOT check the box. The checkbox specifically says "Do NOT withhold Federal Income Tax from my benefits payments." So: - If you check the box = NO taxes withheld (you'll pay later) - If you leave it unchecked = YES, 10% federal taxes will be withheld It's definitely confusing because it's phrased as a negative. If you've been checking the box for 3 weeks, no taxes have been withheld. You can change your preference on future certifications, but you can't change it retroactively for past payments.

The EDD website is so poorly designed! I made the exact same mistake my first time filing for unemployment back in January. The checkbox says "Do NOT withhold Federal Income Tax from my benefits payments" which means: ✓ Checked = NO tax withholding □ Unchecked = YES to tax withholding (10%) It's completely counterintuitive. I only realized my mistake when I got my first payment and noticed it was the full amount. Had to call EDD six times before getting through to fix it for future payments.

just save 10% of ur benefits on ur own, thats what i do. EDD system is trash anyway

If you're struggling to reach EDD about this or any other issues, I was in the same boat last month. After days of trying, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. The rep confirmed that unchecked = withhold taxes, checked = don't withhold. I was able to make sure my settings were correct going forward.

Its confusing bcause they use a double negative kind of language!! Same thing happened to me and i end up owing $2,345 when i filed my taxes!! so annoying!!!!!!

To clarify for everyone regarding tax withholding on EDD benefits: 1. The checkbox reads "Do NOT withhold Federal Income Tax from my benefits payments" 2. If you CHECK the box, you are telling EDD NOT to withhold taxes 3. If you leave it UNCHECKED, you are allowing EDD to withhold the standard 10% for federal taxes Unfortunately, you cannot change past certifications. For any future certifications, leave it unchecked if you want taxes withheld. If you're concerned about past certifications where taxes weren't withheld, consider making estimated tax payments directly to the IRS to avoid penalties next tax season.

@original poster - You can check your payment history in UI Online to see if taxes were withheld. Go to Payment History and look at the amounts. If the "Amount Paid" is 10% less than the "Weekly Benefit Amount" then taxes were withheld. If they're the same, then no taxes were taken out.