Are unemployment benefits taxable - confused about NYS Department of Labor tax forms
I've been receiving unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor since October and just realized I might need to pay taxes on them? Nobody told me this when I filed my claim. I got some kind of 1099-G form in the mail but I'm not sure what to do with it. Do I really have to pay taxes on unemployment money? This is going to mess up my whole tax situation since I wasn't expecting it. Has anyone else dealt with this?
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Zainab Ismail
Yes, unemployment benefits are considered taxable income by both federal and New York state. The 1099-G form you received shows the total amount of benefits you received in 2024. You'll need to report this on your tax return. NYS Department of Labor should have given you the option to have taxes withheld when you first filed, but many people don't realize this.
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Miguel Silva
•I don't remember them asking about tax withholding when I filed. Is there a way to have them take taxes out of my remaining weekly claims?
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Connor O'Neill
ugh same thing happened to me last year!! ended up owing like $800 in taxes because nobody warned me. you can change your withholding settings in your my.ny.gov account under the tax withholding section
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QuantumQuester
You can log into your my.ny.gov account and update your tax withholding preferences. NYS Department of Labor allows you to have 10% federal and 3.5% state taxes automatically deducted from your weekly benefits. It's better to do this now rather than get hit with a big tax bill in April. The 1099-G will have all the information your tax preparer needs.
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Yara Nassar
•Wait, can you do this even if you're already receiving benefits? I've been getting unemployment since November and never set up any tax withholding.
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QuantumQuester
•Yes, you can change it anytime while you're still claiming benefits. Just go to the tax withholding section in your online account.
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Keisha Williams
The whole system is designed to trip people up! They should make tax withholding automatic instead of making it an option that most people miss. I had to call NYS Department of Labor THREE TIMES just to get someone to explain how the 1099-G works. If you're having trouble reaching them by phone, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Miguel Silva
•Thanks for that info! I've been trying to call them for days about this tax thing and can never get through.
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Paolo Ricci
Just to add - if you received unemployment benefits in 2024, make sure you keep that 1099-G form safe. You'll definitely need it for filing your taxes. The amount on the form includes any federal unemployment compensation you might have received too.
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Amina Toure
my brother got unemployment last year and forgot about the taxes, ended up paying penalties and everything. definitely set up that withholding if you can
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