NY unemployment self-employment income reporting - gross or net sales for claims?

u should report net income not gross. thats what i did with my side gig. if u report gross then ur basically saying u made more than u actually did

According to NYSDOL guidelines, you should report your net business income when certifying for benefits. This means your income after deducting business expenses like materials, fees, and shipping costs. Keep detailed records of all your expenses and income in case they request documentation later. The reason for reporting net income is that unemployment benefits are meant to supplement what you're actually earning, not your gross sales which don't reflect your true earnings.

I had the same issue with my freelance work! You definitely report NET income, not gross. For a business, this means what you actually pocket after all business expenses. This is similar to how taxes work - you wouldn't pay income tax on money that went straight to business expenses. If you've been reporting gross income, you've actually been receiving LESS benefits than you're entitled to. You can request a backdate adjustment by calling NYSDOL, but getting through can be nearly impossible.

I've worked in accounting for years and can confirm you should report net income for unemployment reporting. This means your profit after deducting legitimate business expenses from your gross sales. Keep detailed records of all business expenses including: - Platform fees (Etsy fees) - Materials costs - Shipping expenses - Packaging costs - Any other direct costs If you've been reporting gross instead of net, you've essentially been reducing your benefits unnecessarily. You can request an adjustment by contacting NYSDOL with documentation showing your actual net income for those weeks.

my brother had 2 report his doordash earnings and he just put whatever showed up in his bank account lol

I'm so confused about all of this too!!! What if some weeks I lose money on my business? Do I report NEGATIVE income?? Does that mean I get MORE unemployment that week??? The system doesn't let you enter negative numbers!! This is all so complicated I'm scared I'm going to get in trouble no matter what I do!!!

idk why everyone making this complicated, just report what you actually MAKE not what customers pay you. if a customer pays $20 but etsy takes $5 and shipping was $7 and your materials cost $3 then you made $5. thats what u report

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice! I'm going to start reporting my net income going forward, and I'm going to try to contact NYSDOL about getting an adjustment for the past 8 weeks where I overstated my income. I'll keep better records of all my expenses too.

i know someone who got in huge trouble for reporting wrong. they made him pay back like $8000! but that was cuz he didnt report ANY income not cuz he reported wrong type

As someone who's been dealing with self-employment income reporting for a while, I can confirm what others have said - definitely report NET income. I run a small online business and learned this the hard way after initially reporting gross sales. For your Etsy shop, calculate: (Total sales) - (Etsy fees + shipping costs + materials + any other direct business expenses) = Net income to report. Since you've been over-reporting for a while, you're likely owed money from previous weeks. I'd suggest documenting all your actual net income for those past weeks before calling NYSDOL. Having clear numbers will make the adjustment process smoother if you can actually get through to someone. The key is showing them you've been conservative and honest, just using the wrong calculation method. Keep detailed spreadsheets going forward - it'll save you headaches later!