Confused about NY unemployment tax refund - how to check if I'm eligible?

same boat here! i think its automatic if u qualify but who knows with the DOL lol

The NY unemployment tax refund process can be confusing, but I can help clarify. If you had taxes withheld from your unemployment benefits, you may be eligible for a refund if you paid more than you owed based on your total annual income. Here's what you should know: 1. Check your Form 1099-G from NYSDOL (shows your total unemployment and taxes withheld) 2. The refund process is handled through your regular tax filing, not separately 3. Your accountant doesn't need to file anything additional, but you might want to verify they correctly reported your unemployment income If you've already filed your 2025 taxes and think you're owed a refund, you can log into your NY.gov account and check your refund status. There's also a dedicated tax refund status tool on the NY Department of Taxation website.

I just went through this exact situation. The unemployment tax refund isn't a separate thing - it's just part of your regular tax refund if you overpaid. Your accountant should have already factored this in when they did your taxes. Check your tax return - look at Schedule 1 where unemployment income is reported. If it's listed there and you had withholding, and your overall tax return shows a refund, part of that refund includes any over-withholding on unemployment. If your return is already filed, you don't need to do anything else. Just wait for your regular tax refund.

I was totally lost on this same issue last month! My accountant was useless and the DOL phone lines were impossible to get through. After trying for DAYS I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get connected to a real agent in about 20 minutes. They explained exactly how the tax refund works with unemployment and confirmed my status. If you need to actually talk to someone, check out their video demo: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE Basically saved me weeks of stress trying to figure this out on my own!

UGH the NY unemployment tax system is such a MESS!!!! I've been trying to figure this out for WEEKS!! Called them 36 times (yes I counted) and either got disconnected or was on hold until the office closed. Their website is USELESS and gives conflicting information. Based on what I've found after fighting with them, the tax refunds are NOT automatic in every case. Some people need to file an amended return depending on when they filed originally. The DOL rep finally told me this after I managed to get through last week. So frustrating!!!!

My brother had this same question! He just checked his refund status on the NY tax website and saw it was already included. No extra steps needed 👍

I was confused about this too last year. After my accountant explained it to me, it's actually pretty simple. The unemployment tax refund isn't separate from your regular tax refund. When your taxes are prepared, if you had taxes withheld from unemployment that exceed what you actually owed, that overpayment is included in your regular refund. So if you've already filed your 2025 taxes, you don't need to do anything else. Your accountant should have handled it all correctly during the regular filing. The overpayment would be included in whatever refund you're getting. If you want to double check though, look at your 1099-G form (which shows unemployment compensation) and your tax return. Box 4 on the 1099-G shows how much tax was withheld from your unemployment benefits.

i heard somthing about a special tax break for unemployment in 2025?? anybody know if thats real or just a rumor

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I checked my tax return and 1099-G and it looks like my accountant did handle everything correctly. The withholding from my unemployment was included in my regular tax calculations, and I'm getting a refund that was just approved yesterday. I was making this way more complicated than it needed to be! I'm relieved I don't need to file anything else or take any additional steps. I really appreciate all the clarification!