NYS Department of Labor unemployment tax break refund how much will i get from 2020 benefits?
I just heard about some kind of unemployment tax break refund and I'm trying to figure out if I qualify and how much I might get back. I collected unemployment from NYS Department of Labor for about 6 months in 2020 after getting laid off from my restaurant job. I remember paying taxes on those benefits when I filed my 2020 return but now people are saying there was some kind of tax relief? I made around $18,000 in unemployment that year and had taxes withheld. Does anyone know how this works or if NYS Department of Labor benefits qualify? My accountant moved and I can't reach them.
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AstroAce
Yes, you're talking about the American Rescue Plan Act unemployment tax relief from 2021. If you received unemployment compensation in 2020, up to $10,200 of those benefits became tax-free for people with adjusted gross income under $150,000. The IRS automatically issued refunds to eligible taxpayers who already filed their 2020 returns. Your NYS Department of Labor benefits definitely qualified for this relief.
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Andre Laurent
•Thank you! So if I had $18,000 in unemployment, only the first $10,200 would be tax-free? And they already sent refunds automatically?
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Zoe Kyriakidou
i got my refund last summer, it was like $1,400 or something. took forever though, like 4 months after they said they would send it
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Andre Laurent
•Did you have to do anything special or did it just show up? I'm wondering if I missed mine somehow.
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Jamal Brown
The refund amount depends on your tax bracket and how much you had withheld from your unemployment payments. Since you had taxes withheld from your NYS Department of Labor benefits, you should have gotten a refund. If you haven't received anything yet, you might want to check your IRS account online or call them. Some people had to amend their returns if they claimed dependents or had other complications.
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Andre Laurent
•I'll check my IRS account. I did have a dependent that year so maybe that affected it. Thanks for the tip about calling them.
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Mei Zhang
•Good luck getting through to the IRS on the phone! I've been trying for weeks about a different issue and can't reach anyone. If you need to contact NYS Department of Labor about anything related to your 2020 claim, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be worth checking out if you run into issues.
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Liam McConnell
Wait I thought this was only for people who didn't have taxes taken out? I'm so confused about all these tax changes
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AstroAce
•No, it applied to everyone who received unemployment in 2020, regardless of whether you had taxes withheld or not. If you had taxes withheld and were eligible, you got a refund. If you didn't have taxes withheld, it reduced your tax liability.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
THE IRS IS SO SLOW WITH EVERYTHING!!! I'm still waiting on my 2021 refund let alone this unemployment thing. They probably lost half the paperwork and we'll never see the money. At least NYS Department of Labor was faster with the actual unemployment payments than the feds are with refunds.
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