What wages are subject to unemployment tax in California EDD?

That clears up so much, honestly. I always assumed CASDI covered everything EDD-related. So I was paying into disability but not unemployment — wild.

Same confusion here when I first filed. The paycheck deductions don't tell the whole story of what EDD actually covers.

Yep and nonprofits sometimes handle it differently — they can opt into a reimbursable method where they just pay EDD back for whatever benefits their ex-workers actually collect, instead of paying the standard UI tax. Doesn't change anything for the worker filing a claim though, you still file and get paid the same way.

Makes sense. So theoretically my employer was paying unemployment tax on every paycheck they cut me, I just never saw it.

right and that's why employers sometimes push back on claims — the benefits that get paid out can affect their tax situation on the backend

Hadn't thought about verifying the wage calculation itself, that's a good move. I'll check the DE 429Z when it comes and compare it to my pay stubs.

Did the agent break down the base period quarters for you? I'm trying to figure out if a raise I got partway through the year is going to affect my weekly amount.

The agent showed me which four quarters were in my standard base period — it's the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. If a raise landed in a later quarter that isn't in that window, it might not count. EDD's Benefit Calculator on their site can help you estimate before the DE 429Z arrives.

The person who told you that has it backwards. Working for a nonprofit does not disqualify you from unemployment. Nonprofits either pay the standard UI tax or use the reimbursable method where they pay EDD back directly — either way, EDD covers eligible workers the same. File your claim normally.

Oh thank god. I was genuinely worried I was going to get denied just because of the type of employer. Filing today.

Yeah that myth trips people up all the time. The nonprofit thing is an employer accounting choice, it has zero effect on whether you can collect.

EDD decides eligibility, not your employer. What your employer can do is respond to EDD's notice with their version of events, and if the reason for separation is in question EDD will schedule a phone interview to hear both sides. But your employer can't just deny your claim on their own — that's EDD's call entirely.

Ok so the interview is where they'd bring up whatever they want to call it? I need to be ready with my side of the story then.

Exactly. The interview notice — that's the DE 4800 — will show the date and time and what questions they're likely to ask. Keep your phone free at that time because the interviewer phones you then. Have your dates and details ready.

Your weekly amount comes from your highest-paid quarter in the base period — EDD runs their own formula on it and the result lands somewhere between $40 and $450 a week. So yes, higher wages in that quarter generally mean a higher weekly amount, but $450 is the ceiling regardless of how much you made.

450 a week is the max? That feels pretty low if you were making decent money.

Yeah it stings. The good news is the Benefit Calculator on edd.ca.gov at least lets you ballpark it before your DE 429Z shows up so you're not blindsided.

Eight years at a job and still only 26 weeks, that does feel rough. Good to know so I'm budgeting realistically from the start.

There is a California Training Benefits option that can add weeks if you get into EDD-approved school or training, but you have to request it before your 16th week of benefits. Not automatic and not available to everyone, but worth looking into if you're thinking about retraining.

Good add. I didn't even look into that when I was on claim and probably should have.

Vacation pay is on EDD's list of things to report when you certify — EDD decides how it affects your payment for those weeks. Worth reporting it accurately when you certify and letting EDD sort it out rather than guessing.

So I should still report those six weeks worth even though I already got the whole lump sum? I certify every two weeks so I wasn't sure how to split it up.

EDD's Report Wages screen in UI Online can help you work out how to report earnings before you certify, but once a week is already certified you'd need to contact EDD to fix it. When in doubt, report it and let EDD calculate the adjustment.

Severance paid under a company plan or policy isn't counted as wages for UI purposes by EDD — so it shouldn't delay or block your claim. You can file right away without waiting for it to run out. That said, you do still need to report it when you certify since EDD lists it as income to report, and EDD makes the final call on how it affects individual payments.

So I shouldn't have waited two months before filing thinking severance would disqualify me? Great, I'll get my application in now.

File right away going forward — your claim starts on the Sunday of the week you apply, so every week you wait is a week you can't go back and claim.

Did you ever actually get through? I've been getting stuck in hold loops every time I try to call.

Eventually yes. Spent way too long trying before I found Claimyr and got an agent on the line. They confirmed EDD had received wage reports from all my employers in the base period, which was what I needed to know before my DE 429Z was issued.

That's good to know. I need to ask about whether EDD got my wage records from my second part-time job. Might have to try that route.

Pretty common misconception and sometimes employers themselves don't fully understand it. Workers never pay the UI tax — only employers do. What you do pay into through your check is SDI, which is the CASDI deduction, and that covers Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave. Unemployment is a completely separate funding stream that comes entirely from the employer side.

My employer was definitely confusing the two then. Good to know I wasn't just missing something on my stubs.

Honestly so many people think they're paying unemployment tax when they're not. EDD's own site makes it clearer than most employers do.

Yes — when you apply, EDD asks about every employer in the last 18 months. All wages from all jobs during your base period go into the calculation. The weekly amount is based on your highest quarter across all earnings combined, not just the main job.

So my part-time income actually helped my weekly amount? That's better than I expected.

It can, depending on when you earned it and which quarter it lands in. EDD's Benefit Calculator on their site lets you plug in wages from multiple employers to get an estimate.

Yes — if you only worked in California in the last 18 months, you file a California claim even if you've moved. The claim follows where you worked, not where you live now. UI Online at myedd.edd.ca.gov handles it the same way.

What about CalJOBS registration — do I still have to do that if I'm not in California anymore?

EDD's notice — the DE 8405 — will tell you whether you need to register in CalJOBS. Most claimants do, and you'd have 21 days from that notice's date to register and post a resume at caljobs.ca.gov. Missing it can stop payments, so watch for that notice carefully.

I definitely would have made that mistake. I was going to treat the DE 429Z as an approval letter. Good to know it's really just the estimate of what the claim is worth.

Yeah I called it my approval letter to everyone I knew. Someone should put a big disclaimer on it.

The actual paid weeks showing up in UI Online under Payments is really the confirmation. Until you see that, you're still waiting.

Report everything — the first $25 or 25 percent of your gross earnings in a week, whichever is bigger, doesn't get counted against you. After that the rest comes off your weekly benefit amount. So if your weekly amount is $400 and you earn $100 in a week, you'd keep $25 of that before the formula kicks in. Full-time work in any week ends your eligibility for that week regardless of what it paid.

Ok so it's not all or nothing, partial work doesn't just kill your benefits?

Not for part-time work, no. The formula is designed so working a little doesn't cost you more than you earned. Full-time work is the cutoff.

Exactly right. UI benefits are federally taxable income but California exempts them from state income tax. You can opt to have 10 percent withheld for federal each time you certify, which a lot of people skip and then get surprised by a tax bill. The 1099G shows up in UI Online under Payments by January 31 if you want it electronically.

I skipped withholding my first claim and absolutely got hit at tax time. Definitely opting in now.

Reopen it — if you're still inside the 52-week benefit year on your original claim, you reopen the existing one through UI Online rather than starting a new application. The fastest way is through myEDD. You don't need to file all over again unless the benefit year has already ended.

That's way easier than I thought it would be. Good to know before I accept a short contract position.

And keep certifying through any appeal if you end up in a dispute — EDD can only pay back weeks that were actually certified, so you don't want a gap.

No — overpayments are either fraud or non-fraud. A non-fraud overpayment still has to be paid back but there's no penalty on top of it. If your sister reported everything correctly and it wasn't intentional, she can look into a waiver — there's a form called the DE 1446UI that asks EDD to forgive the repayment if paying it back would be an extraordinary hardship and the overpayment wasn't her fault. No guarantee, but it exists. She should also appeal within 30 days of the mailing date on the overpayment notice if she thinks the amount is wrong.

She was so scared it was going to be a felony charge. This actually helps a lot, I'll pass it along to her.

The notice itself should say whether EDD is calling it fraud or non-fraud. That distinction is spelled out on the document.

Exact same issue I had. Used Claimyr and ended up talking to an EDD agent who was able to pull up what wage records EDD had on file. The agent told me one of my employers had submitted but the numbers looked off, and to watch for the DE 429Z to see the final calculation.

Is that the kind of thing where I'd need to call before the DE 429Z comes, or after?

Before is better — if the wages on record are wrong before EDD issues the DE 429Z, it's easier to flag. Once it's issued you'd need to appeal in writing within 30 days if the number is wrong.

There's an alternate base period — EDD automatically runs it if the standard base period doesn't produce a valid claim. The alternate uses the last four completed quarters instead of the first four of the last five. If your low-earnings period was in the standard window but not the alternate, it might pull in higher quarters. EDD runs both and uses whichever one gives you a valid claim. It's not something you have to request.

So EDD does this automatically? I was afraid I'd have to argue for it.

Automatic — EDD checks both without you asking. If the standard base period can't make your claim valid, they switch to alternate on their own. What it won't do is boost your weekly amount on a claim that's already valid under the standard period.

That's actually reassuring. Medical leave tanking your base period wages is such a common situation, good that there's a built-in fallback.