Reporting final payouts on EDD certification - laid off but paid through end of month

Yes, you absolutely need to report all income received during your certification weeks, including severance pay. EDD considers severance as wages when certifying, even though you weren't physically working. Report the amount you received for each specific week you're certifying for. Being transparent from the beginning will save you headaches later - trust me, I've been there!

theres a specific spot on the certification for severance pay, different from regular wages. dont mess it up or youll be waiting MONTHS to fix it!!!!

Severance pay is reportable income to EDD. When you certify, you'll see a question that asks if you received any type of payment other than regular wages - this is where you'll report severance. For your specific situation, you'll need to report the severance for each week it was allocated for, not when you received it. For example, if your severance covered Jan 16-31 but was paid as a lump sum on Jan 15, you would report the appropriate portion of severance for each certification week it covers. The EDD looks at when the money was for, not when you received it. If you're unsure how your employer allocated it, check your final pay stub or severance agreement, which should indicate the time period it covers.

It depends on how much your severance payment is compared to your weekly benefit amount. EDD uses a formula where they deduct 75% of your gross earnings from your weekly benefit amount. If your severance exceeds a certain threshold, you may receive reduced benefits or potentially no benefits for those weeks. But don't worry - even if you receive $0 for those weeks, your claim remains active and you'll start receiving full benefits once the severance period ends. Just keep certifying honestly each week.

Good luck getting through to EDD if you have ANY questions about this! I spent two weeks trying to reach someone about my severance reporting and kept getting the "we're experiencing high call volume" message. Finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km The EDD agent explained exactly how to report my severance and even went into my account to check that I'd done it correctly. Saved me from potentially having my payments delayed for weeks.

The EDD system is SO CONFUSING about this!! I got laid off in November and my company gave us a "transition payment" which is basically severance with a different name. I reported it wrong and ended up with an OVERPAYMENT NOTICE three months later!!! Now I have to pay back $2,300 because their instructions were unclear. Make sure you report EVERYTHING even if you think it doesn't count!!!

wait do u have to report vacation payout too?? i got paid for unused vacation when i got laid off

My brother in law works for EDD (not giving advice just sharing what he told me) and he said people get confused about this all the time. What matters is the week the money is FOR not when you actually get it. So if your last day was 12/22 but they paid you through 12/31, you need to report those extra days as income for that week even though you weren't working. Better to report it now than deal with overpayment notices later!

Just wanted to add that if you're still unsure about how to allocate your severance across the certification weeks, you can also call your former employer's HR department. They should be able to clarify exactly how the severance was calculated and what time period it covers. I had to do this when I got laid off last year because my severance letter wasn't super clear about the breakdown. HR was actually pretty helpful and gave me the daily breakdown which made reporting to EDD much easier. Also keep all your documentation - severance agreement, final pay stubs, etc. - in case EDD asks for proof later on!

I went through this exact same situation when my startup shut down in 2023! They paid us through the end of the month even though we were technically laid off mid-month. Here's what I learned: definitely report ALL of it during certification - severance, unused vacation, everything. The key thing everyone's mentioned is correct - it's about what period the money covers, not when you received it. One thing I'll add that helped me: I created a simple spreadsheet breaking down exactly what I received and which certification weeks it applied to. This made it super easy when filling out the forms and also gave me a record in case EDD had questions later. Also, don't stress too much about getting reduced benefits during those severance weeks - once that period ends, you'll get your full weekly benefit amount. The most important thing is being honest and thorough from the start!