Don't forget about state taxes too! New York State taxes unemployment benefits and if you're not having state taxes withheld you could owe a decent amount there as well. The withholding options cover both federal and state.

Just to add some specific numbers to help with planning - at $504/week for unemployment benefits, you're looking at about $26,208 annually if you were on benefits for a full year. If you're in the 22% federal bracket like you mentioned, that could mean around $5,766 in federal taxes alone, plus New York state taxes on top of that. Having the 10% federal and 3% state withheld automatically would take out about $65 per week from your $504 payment, leaving you with $439. It's definitely worth setting up the withholding rather than trying to come up with a lump sum at tax time.

Keep doing your weekly claims even if you haven't been approved yet! That's super important or you could lose benefits for those weeks. I made that mistake thinking I'd wait until approved and lost 3 weeks of payments.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - filed in late November and still waiting. The lack of communication is the worst part. I've been trying to get through to someone at DOL for weeks but like everyone else here, just get busy signals or disconnected after hours on hold. It's really helpful to know I'm not alone in this, though I wish none of us had to deal with these delays. Hang in there, and definitely keep doing those weekly certifications like others mentioned. Hopefully we'll all get through this backlog soon.

Did you answer all the certification questions the same way you always do? One wrong answer can put your whole claim on hold.

This is so frustrating but unfortunately super common right now. I went through the exact same thing in November - part-time hours at a coffee shop, reporting everything correctly, then BAM payments just stopped with zero explanation. Here's what I learned: when you work part-time consistently for several months, NY's system sometimes flags your account for what they call an "employment verification review." It's completely automated and happens even when you're doing everything right. Since your payments show as "pending" (which I saw you mentioned in another comment), that's actually good news - it means they haven't denied you, just put a temporary hold while they review something. The bad news is you HAVE to talk to someone to get it resolved. I know the phone lines are impossible, but keep trying. Ask specifically for a "claims examiner" or "Tier 2 representative" - regular customer service can't lift these holds. If you can't get through after a few more days, honestly consider using one of those callback services people mentioned. I was skeptical too but after missing 4 weeks of payments, paying $20 to actually talk to someone was worth it. Don't give up! This is fixable once you reach the right person. Keep certifying every week even without payments - you'll get backpay once it's resolved.

Try calling your state representative's office! I was in a similar situation and hitting walls with unemployment, but my assemblyman's office has staff that deal with unemployment issues. They helped expedite my case and got me answers within days instead of weeks.

I'm going through the exact same situation right now and it's so stressful! My benefits are ending in a few days and I've been searching for work for months with very little luck. From what I've learned reading through all these responses, it seems like the key things to do are: 1) File a new claim anyway even if you're not sure you qualify - sometimes people get approved when they don't expect to, 2) Keep certifying weekly no matter what to keep your claim active in the system, 3) Look into other assistance programs like SNAP and emergency rental assistance, and 4) Try to actually speak with someone at unemployment to understand all your options. The phone situation sounds impossible but several people mentioned that Claimyr service for getting through. I'm also going to try contacting my state rep's office like Elijah suggested. We shouldn't have to go through this much stress just to get basic help when we're actively looking for work. Hang in there - we'll figure this out!

One thing no one mentioned - if his company gives him an official letter/email stating his hours are being reduced due to lack of work or business needs, that will help his claim IMMENSELY. UI dept is much less likely to deny or delay claims with official documentation.

Just went through this exact situation last month! My hours got cut from 40 to 28 and I was panicking about bills. The key thing everyone's saying is right - it's about DAYS not hours in NY which is super confusing at first. I ended up working with my supervisor to compress my reduced hours into 3 days instead of spreading them across 5 days. This let me qualify for partial benefits for the other 4 days. Made a huge difference in my monthly income. Also yeah, definitely use something like Claimyr if the phone lines are jammed - saved me literally hours of hold time. Tell your friend to apply ASAP once the hours get cut because there's usually a waiting period before benefits start.