NYS Department of Labor says I owe money because of the federal unemployment tax act - confused about what this means
I got a letter from NYS Department of Labor last week saying something about the federal unemployment tax act and that my employer might not have paid their share correctly. Now they're asking me to provide documentation about my wages from 2024. I'm really confused because I thought unemployment taxes were automatically taken care of by employers. Has anyone else dealt with this? The letter mentions something about recalculating my benefit amount but I don't understand why the federal unemployment tax act would affect my weekly claims. I've been getting $387 per week since October and now I'm worried they're going to take money back.
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Jamal Washington
The federal unemployment tax act (FUTA) requires employers to pay taxes on wages to fund unemployment benefits. If your employer didn't report wages correctly or pay their FUTA taxes, it can affect your claim. NYS Department of Labor needs to verify your actual wages to calculate the correct benefit amount. You should provide the wage documentation they requested - usually your W-2 or pay stubs from 2024.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Thank you! So this isn't necessarily bad news? I was panicking thinking I did something wrong with my weekly claims.
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Mei Wong
happened to me too!! my old job apparently messed up their unemployment tax payments and NYS Department of Labor had to go back and fix everything. took like 6 weeks but they actually INCREASED my benefits because my wages were higher than what was originally reported
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•That's encouraging! Did you have to do anything besides send in the documentation?
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Mei Wong
•nope just sent my w2 and they handled the rest. the adjudication took forever though
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Liam Fitzgerald
I had a nightmare trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor about this exact issue. Kept getting hung up on after waiting 2+ hours. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an agent in like 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Definitely worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about the federal unemployment tax act situation.
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PixelWarrior
•How much did that cost? I'm already struggling financially and can't afford expensive services.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•It's actually pretty reasonable considering how much time and frustration it saves. Way better than spending entire days trying to get through on your own.
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Amara Adebayo
UGH the federal unemployment tax act is such a mess!! My employer went out of business and apparently never paid their unemployment taxes properly. Now I'm stuck dealing with NYS Department of Labor trying to figure out my benefits while I can barely pay rent. The whole system is broken!!!
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Giovanni Rossi
•That's really frustrating but NYS Department of Labor will still calculate your benefits based on your actual wages. Even if your employer didn't pay their FUTA taxes, you're still entitled to unemployment benefits.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
just send whatever docs they want and dont worry about it too much, these things usually work out fine
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