Does rental income affect unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
I've been receiving unemployment benefits for about 6 weeks now and just realized I never mentioned that I collect rent from a small apartment I own upstate. It's only about $850 a month but I'm worried this might affect my eligibility or weekly benefit amount. Do I need to report rental income to NYS Department of Labor? I've been filing my weekly claims normally but now I'm panicking that I should have disclosed this from the beginning.
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Ravi Patel
Rental income generally doesn't affect your unemployment benefits in NY since it's considered passive income, not earnings from work. However, you should still report it to be safe. The NYS Department of Labor mainly cares about income from employment or self-employment activities.
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Isabella Oliveira
•That's a relief! Should I call them to report it retroactively or just mention it on my next weekly claim?
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Freya Andersen
wait i thought ANY income had to be reported?? i've been reporting everything including like $20 from selling stuff online
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Omar Zaki
You're partially right - rental income typically won't reduce your benefits but you should still report it. The key distinction is between 'earned income' (wages, self-employment) and 'unearned income' (rental, investments). NYS Department of Labor has specific guidelines about this. You can update your claim information by calling or through the online portal.
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CosmicCrusader
•I had the same issue last year! Took me forever to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor to clarify. If you're having trouble reaching them by phone, I actually used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an agent quickly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Isabella Oliveira
•How does that service work exactly? I've been trying to call for days with no luck.
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Chloe Robinson
ugh the whole system is so confusing, why can't they just have clear guidelines posted somewhere instead of making us guess
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Diego Flores
I'm a landlord too and went through this exact situation. Rental income is considered 'unearned income' and won't affect your weekly benefit amount. However, if you're actively involved in property management (like doing repairs, showing units, etc.) that COULD be considered work activity. Since you didn't mention doing that kind of hands-on work, you should be fine.
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Isabella Oliveira
•I just collect rent checks, no maintenance or anything like that. The property management company handles everything else.
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Diego Flores
•Perfect, then you're definitely in the clear. Just report it for transparency but it shouldn't impact your benefits at all.
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Mei Liu
I went through something similar when I first started collecting unemployment. The key thing to remember is that rental income is passive income, not earned income from employment. NYS Department of Labor distinguishes between these types of income. You should definitely report it on your next weekly claim - there's usually a section for "other income" where you can include it. Don't panic about not reporting it initially - just be transparent going forward. The worst thing you can do is continue not reporting it now that you're aware of it.
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Skylar Neal
•Thanks for the reassurance! I've been so stressed about this. Should I mention in the "other income" section that I've been receiving this rental income for the past 6 weeks, or just start reporting it from this week forward? I don't want to cause any red flags by suddenly adding income that was there all along.
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Luca Ferrari
•I'd recommend being upfront about the timeline when you report it. You could add a note in the "other income" section something like "rental income $850/month - ongoing, reporting for transparency" or call the DOL to explain the situation. Being proactive about disclosing it shows good faith, and since rental income typically doesn't affect benefit amounts anyway, it shouldn't cause issues. The important thing is you're correcting it now rather than continuing to omit it.
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Ethan Scott
I'm dealing with a similar situation - I have a duplex and live in one unit while renting out the other. From what I've learned, as long as you're not actively managing the property (like doing maintenance, advertising, showing units), the rental income is considered passive and shouldn't affect your unemployment benefits. However, I'd still recommend calling NYS DOL to clarify your specific situation since every case can be different. The peace of mind is worth the wait time on hold. Also, when you do report it, make sure to specify that it's rental income from a property you own, not income from employment or self-employment activities.
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Sean Murphy
•This is really helpful advice! I'm in a similar boat and have been worried about how to handle reporting rental income. The distinction between passive income and active property management makes a lot of sense. One question though - when you called NYS DOL, were you able to get through easily? I've been trying for days and keep getting stuck in the phone queue. Did you have any tips for the best times to call or any shortcuts to actually reach a human?
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