How to check unemployment tax refund status from NYS Department of Labor benefits?

The unemployment tax refunds you're thinking of were federal refunds for 2020 tax year only, not something from NYS Department of Labor directly. If you paid taxes on unemployment benefits in 2020, the IRS automatically issued refunds for the first $10,200 that was supposed to be tax-free. You can check your refund status on the IRS website using their 'Where's My Refund' tool with your SSN and refund amount.

ya i got mine last summer, it was automatic if you already filed your 2020 taxes. check the irs website or your bank account from around july-august 2021. if you didnt get it by now you probably dont qualify or need to amend your return

I had trouble tracking mine down too. The IRS refund was specifically for people who received unemployment compensation in 2020 and paid federal income tax on it before the American Rescue Plan made the first $10,200 tax-free. If you're still trying to reach someone about this, I actually found a service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helped me get through to the IRS phone lines - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.

THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!! I've been calling the IRS for months and can never get through. My NYS Department of Labor account doesn't show anything about tax refunds which makes sense now that I know it's federal. But seriously how are we supposed to get help when no one answers the phone?

Just to clarify for anyone reading this - the unemployment tax refund was a one-time thing for 2020 tax year only. If you received unemployment benefits in 2021 or later, those are still fully taxable at the federal level. The $10,200 exclusion was only for 2020. You can still check if you got your 2020 refund by looking at IRS account transcripts online.