Need to return overpaid EDD benefits from unreported contract work - how to avoid penalties?

ur in a tough spot. my cousin didnt report some cash jobs last year and EDD hit him with fraud accusations. took him 6 months to sort it out. he had to payback everything plus like 25% extra and got penalty weeks too.not sure if coming clean helps or not but good luck!!

I've helped several people through this process. First, take a deep breath - you're doing the right thing by coming forward. This is what you need to do: 1. Calculate how much you were overpaid. For each week you had earnings, subtract what you should have reported from your weekly benefit amount (WBA). If you earned more than your WBA in a week, you shouldn't have received benefits for that week at all. 2. Contact EDD through your UI Online account. Use the "Ask EDD" feature to explain the situation. Be clear that you want to voluntarily report unreported income and return overpaid benefits. 3. They'll typically send you an official overpayment notice with instructions on how to repay. Don't send money until you get this notice. Yes, there's still a possibility of penalties, but voluntary disclosure usually results in just paying back what you owe without the 30% penalty. The most important thing is to be proactive before they identify it in an audit.

this happened 2 me last year!!! i reported wrong incums on 3 weeks and realised i messed up. i FREAKED OUT!!!! but actually edd was ok about it when i called. they just made me pay back what i shouldnt of got but no extra penalty becuz i told them myself. the lady said its differnt when people come forward vs when they catch u. but took 4EVER to get somone on the phone omg

Anyone else think the whole EDD system is RIGGED to trip people up?? The certification questions are so confusing - like what exactly counts as "looking for work" and what's the threshold for reporting income? I swear they make it complicated on purpose so they can hit people with penalties later. Sorry this happened to you OP but at least you're trying to fix it which is more than most people would do.

If you're having trouble getting through to EDD (which is likely), you might want to try Claimyr. I was in a similar situation where I needed to speak with an EDD rep urgently about an overpayment issue, and after days of calling with no luck, I used their service. They got me connected to an EDD representative in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. It was worth it to finally get a real person who could help with my specific situation.

To answer your follow-up questions: 1. Yes, continue certifying normally while this is being resolved. Be 100% accurate with any new certifications. 2. They do offer payment plans. Once you receive the official overpayment notice, it will include information about requesting a payment plan. They're generally reasonable about this. Also, make sure you have documentation of your contract work earnings ready - invoices, payment records, dates worked, etc. Being organized with this information will help the process go more smoothly.

One important distinction that hasn't been mentioned yet: EDD classifies overpayments as either "fraud" or "non-fraud" overpayments. Since you're coming forward voluntarily before being caught in an audit or cross-match with tax records, you have a good chance of this being classified as a non-fraud overpayment. Non-fraud overpayments typically don't include the 30% penalty and don't result in penalty weeks. You'll need to pay back the principal amount, but without those additional consequences. When you contact EDD, be very clear that you made an honest mistake in your reporting and that you're voluntarily disclosing the unreported income. Document everything, including the date/time of your call or copy of your written communication. If they later try to classify it as fraud, having documentation of your voluntary disclosure can help in the appeals process.

soooo after u fix this make sure u kno for future that any week u work u have to report even $1 of income!!! and its based on when u DID the work not when u got paid for it. thats what confused me cuz i got paid for my gigs weeks later but ur supposed to report when u did the actual work. its a whole thing lol