How do I pay unemployment taxes on NYS Department of Labor benefits I received?
I received unemployment benefits throughout 2024 and now I'm trying to figure out how to handle the taxes. I know unemployment is taxable income but I'm confused about the process. Did NYS Department of Labor automatically withhold taxes or do I need to pay them myself? I don't remember seeing an option to have taxes taken out when I was filing my weekly claims. Tax season is coming up and I'm worried I'm going to owe a huge amount. Can someone explain how this works?
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Dmitry Volkov
NYS Department of Labor doesn't automatically withhold federal taxes from your unemployment benefits unless you specifically request it. You should have received a 1099-G form showing the total amount you received in 2024. That gets reported as income on your tax return. You can request tax withholding for future claims through your my.ny.gov account if you're still receiving benefits.
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Sofia Martinez
•I never got a 1099-G form yet. When do those usually come out? And where in my.ny.gov do I find the tax withholding option?
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Ava Thompson
oh no I never thought about this either... I got like $8000 in unemployment last year and didn't pay any taxes on it. Am I screwed??
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CyberSiren
•You're not screwed but you'll need to pay the taxes when you file your return. Set aside about 22% of what you received to cover federal and state taxes. You might owe penalties if it's a large amount, but you can set up a payment plan with the IRS if needed.
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Miguel Alvarez
The 1099-G forms are usually mailed by January 31st. You can also access it online through your my.ny.gov account under the tax documents section. For tax withholding, log into your unemployment account and look for 'Tax Withholding' under account settings. You can choose to have 10% withheld for federal taxes. There's no option for state tax withholding through NYS Department of Labor though.
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Zainab Yusuf
•Wait there's no state tax withholding? So I have to pay NY state taxes separately on my unemployment?
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Miguel Alvarez
•Correct, you'll owe NY state income tax on your unemployment benefits. It's treated the same as regular income for state tax purposes. Plan accordingly when filing your return.
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Connor O'Reilly
I had such a nightmare trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor about my tax forms last year. Spent hours on hold just to get basic information. This year I used claimyr.com to get connected to an actual agent when I had questions about my 1099-G. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process so much easier than trying to call directly.
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Sofia Martinez
•That sounds helpful! I'll check that out if I can't find my 1099-G online. Thanks for the tip.
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Yara Khoury
Just a heads up - if you received a large amount in unemployment benefits and didn't have taxes withheld, you might want to consider making estimated tax payments for 2025 if you're still receiving benefits. The IRS can charge penalties if you owe too much at filing time.
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GalacticGuru
I'm in a similar situation and just wanted to share what I learned from my tax preparer. If you didn't have taxes withheld, you'll likely need to pay quarterly estimated taxes going forward to avoid underpayment penalties. The safe harbor rule is to pay at least 90% of this year's tax liability or 100% of last year's (110% if your AGI was over $150K). Also, don't forget that unemployment benefits might push you into a higher tax bracket, so the effective rate could be more than the 22% someone mentioned earlier. I ended up owing about $2,400 on $10,000 in benefits between federal and NY state taxes.
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