Got SBA email while on NY unemployment - confused how to report income from gig work

Don't include your unemployment as income on SBA forms. That's not business income or self-employment. Only include actual business revenue from when you were actively driving. If you didn't drive in 2020/2021, then your business income for those years would be zero. Your unemployment is completely separate.

After 8 weeks of trying to call NY unemployment about my SBA questions I finally found this service claimyr.com that got me connected with someone in 30 minutes. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast and they explained exactly how to fill out those forms. This was the only way I could talk to a live agent who actually knew what they were talking about! Here's a video about how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

I had the same situation being a DoorDash driver before covid then on unemployment. I put ZERO for the years I was on unemployment. For the SBA they only want your business income. You were not operating a business while on unemployment (that would be fraud lol), so you put zero.

I'm pretty sure unemployment isnt considered income for SBA purposes. You'll wanna separate your actual business earnings (rideshare) from any unemployment you received. The SBA only cares about the actual business activity.

Pro tip: when filling out any SBA forms, think of yourself as two separate entities - you as a business and you as an individual. Unemployment goes on the individual side, so for business forms you'd show zero income for periods you weren't actively operating. Just make sure you're consistent on all forms. And document EVERYTHING.

Remember that unemployment benefits are reported on your personal tax return, not on business forms. If SBA is asking for business revenue, that's only money earned from actual business activities. This confuses a lot of people!

The NY unemployment system makes these things way more complicated than they need to be 😡 I've been dealing with similar issues trying to properly report my rideshare income. Definitely don't include unemployment as business revenue - they're completely different things.

Why are you even filling out SBA forms? If you're on unemployment, you're not currently running a business. Are you applying for a loan or grant? You need to be super careful about this because they check everything and if you make mistakes it can come back to bite you.

Look, here's the detailed breakdown for anyone dealing with SBA forms while on NY unemployment: SBA applications are specifically looking for BUSINESS revenue and expenses. Unemployment benefits are PERSONAL income, not business income. This is a critical distinction that confuses many people. For the SBA form: - Only include income from when you were actively working as a rideshare driver (your 2018 income) - For 2020/2021, if you weren't operating as a business, you put ZERO - Do NOT include unemployment benefits as business revenue When I was struggling with this exact issue, I couldn't get clear answers from anyone at NY unemployment because it was impossible to reach them. I finally used claimyr.com to get through to an actual agent who confirmed this information. It saved me from potentially submitting incorrect information that could have disqualified me. Also be prepared to provide documentation of your past business income - keep those rideshare statements handy. The SBA will verify everything, so accuracy is critical. Good luck with your application!

i wouldn't report unemployment on an sba form. thats like reporting food stamps as business revenue lol 💯

On the SBA forms, they're looking for Schedule C income (the form you'd use to report self-employment income on your taxes). Unemployment benefits are reported on a 1099-G, not Schedule C, so they dont belong on SBA applications.

For what its worth, I was in literaly the same boat - Uber driver who got unemployment during the pandemic. I put zero for 2020 business income on my SBA form since I wasn't driving. They approved me with no issues. Just be honest about when you were and weren't operating.

I worked for the ny unemployment office briefly durin the pandemic. Unemployment benefits are NOT considered business income for SBA purposes. Only include income from when you were actively working as an independent contractor.

Be super careful with this. My friend got in trouble for putting unemployment as business income on an SBA form. They are totally different things and mixing them up can get u flagged for potential fraud even if its just an honest mistake.

lmao the fact that you even have to ask this shows how terrible these systems are designed. nobody can understand this stuff without a law degree 🤡