Has anyone actually received their NY unemployment tax refund yet?

Yep, in the exact same boat. They owe me about $690 and I've been waiting since March. Every time I call it's either busy signals or being put on hold for 2+ hours only to get disconnected. The system is completely broken 🤬

I was in a similar situation but finally got my refund! Used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent on the phone - they kept calling for me and then connected me when they got someone. Talking to a real person made all the difference! The agent put a note on my account and my direct deposit hit a week later. Definitely worth checking out: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

I got mine but it took FOREVER. Almost 5 months from when they said I'd get it to when it actually showed up. The key was finding someone's direct email (not the general inbox) and sending a very detailed message with all my info. Don't give up!

The ny unemployment tax refund system is completely overwhelmed right now. My sister works in the department (not saying which one for privacy) and she says they're understaffed by like 40% with thousands of backlogged cases. If it helps, they're processing them in batches by the month you filed, so depending on when you submitted you might be in an upcoming batch.

LOL welcome to NY unemployment hell. Been waiting on mine since FEBRUARY. Called 42 times (yes I counted). Sent 8 messages through their portal. Even had my state rep contact them on my behalf. NOTHING. I'm convinced they're hoping we'll just give up and go away.

Listen, here's what worked for me after 4 months of waiting. You need to be SUPER specific when you contact them. Don't just ask "where's my refund" - that gets ignored. You need to reference specific sections of the tax code, mention the exact dates your taxes were withheld, and cite the exact amount. I created a detailed document with all this info, uploaded it to their portal, AND mailed a hard copy. Got my refund 10 days later. They respond to people who sound like they know the system and their rights. Hope this helps!

I FINALLY got my refund yesterday after waiting since March. $432 that I honestly had given up on. No rhyme or reason to it - never got through on the phone, never got a response to messages. It just randomly appeared in my account. So I guess there's hope? The system is just completely unpredictable.

Try calling at exactly 7:58am. That's when the lines open and you have the best chance of getting through. I've managed to speak to someone 2 out of 3 times using this method. The agents seem more helpful in the morning too before they get beaten down by a day of angry callers 😅

For those struggling to get through on the phone, i used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it was a game changer. Got connected to an agent in about 40 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own with no luck. The agent actually created a case ticket for my refund and gave me a confirmation number to reference in future calls. My refund hit my account 8 days later. Best money I've ever spent!

After dealing with this EXACT same issue since May, I've learned something important - they prioritize certain types of claims over others. Tax refund claims are literally at the bottom of their priority list because they're considered "non-essential" compared to people waiting on weekly benefits. The only way to get movement is to escalate to a supervisor (which means you need to actually reach someone first). If you can get to a supervisor, request a "manual intervention" on your refund claim. That's the magic phrase that got mine processed.

I'm a CPA and have multiple clients dealing with this same issue. The NY unemployment system is overwhelmed because of a software upgrade they did this year that was supposed to make things more efficient but instead caused massive backlogs. From what I can tell, refunds from tax withholdings are being processed in batches, but there's no transparency about the schedule. The most effective approach I've found is having clients submit form TC-83Z (Request for Expedited Review) rather than just calling. About 60% of clients who submitted this form received their refunds within 3 weeks.

Here's what nobody tells you: they have a completely separate department handling tax refunds vs. regular unemployment claims. You NEED to specifically ask for the "Tax Resolution Unit" when you call. Otherwise you're just talking to regular agents who can't actually help with this issue no matter how nice they are. Took me 3 months to figure this out 🤦‍♂️

I went through this whole nightmare with NY unemployment tax refunds last year. The system is designed to be frustrating so people give up. Here's what I learned from spending way too many hours on this: 1. The online messaging system is basically a black hole - messages go in, nothing comes out 2. Regular phone lines are almost impossible to get through 3. Showing up in person doesn't work for tax issues 4. Regular agents often don't have the authority to help with tax refunds What ACTUALLY worked was using Claimyr.com to reach an agent, then specifically asking for a supervisor in the tax department. The supervisor was able to see my refund was approved but stuck in their system. They manually released it and I had the money 3 days later. Don't give up - the money is yours and they're required by law to return it. It's just a matter of getting to the right person who can actually help. Good luck everyone dealing with this mess!

maybe its time we all show up at the unemployment office together lol. power in numbers! whos with me? 😤

Contacted my state senator's office about this last week. Their constituent services person said they're getting FLOODED with these exact complaints. Apparently there's some kind of system-wide issue with the tax refund processing software. They took my info and said they'd escalate it, but warned me there are thousands of people in the same situation. Not very encouraging but at least confirms it's a known issue.