How much is unemployment per month in NY - trying to budget while on benefits
I just got approved for unemployment benefits after losing my retail job last month and I'm trying to figure out my monthly budget. My weekly benefit amount shows $365 on my NYS Department of Labor account but I'm confused about how much that actually comes out to per month since some months have 4 weeks and others have 5. Has anyone else had to plan their finances around this? Also do they take taxes out automatically or do I need to set money aside? Really stressed about making rent next month.
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William Schwarz
Your monthly amount will vary depending on how many weeks fall in each month. With $365 per week, you're looking at roughly $1,460-$1,825 per month. Most months you'll get 4 payments but some months you might get 5. NYS Department of Labor doesn't automatically take out taxes - you need to request withholding when you file your weekly claims or set aside about 10-15% for taxes.
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Ella Knight
•Thank you! How do I request the tax withholding? I don't want to get hit with a huge bill next year.
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Lauren Johnson
yeah the monthly thing is confusing, i just multiply my weekly amount by 4.33 to get an average monthly estimate. so yours would be around $1,580 per month on average. make sure you keep filing your weekly claims on time or you'll lose payments!
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Jade Santiago
The tax withholding option is available when you file your weekly claim certification. Look for the checkbox that asks if you want federal taxes withheld. You can also change this setting in your my.ny.gov account under payment options. I'd recommend withholding - unemployment benefits are fully taxable income.
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Ella Knight
•Perfect, I'll look for that when I file this week. Better safe than sorry with taxes.
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Caleb Stone
Just wanted to add that your benefits might not always be the same amount each week if you do any part-time work. NYS Department of Labor will reduce your weekly benefit based on any earnings you report. The formula is a bit complicated but basically they subtract 25% of what you earn from your weekly benefit amount.
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Daniel Price
I was in a similar situation last year and had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my payment schedule. If you run into issues getting through to them, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals and dropped calls.
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Ella Knight
•Thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind if I need to call them about anything.
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Olivia Evans
Don't forget about the job search requirements too! You need to make at least 3 job contacts per week and keep a log or they can cut off your benefits. The NYS Department of Labor website has details about what counts as a valid job contact.
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