NYS Department of Labor unemployment tax calculator - how much taxes do you pay on benefits?

Wait so I can have them take out federal taxes automatically? How do I set that up through the NYS Department of Labor system?

This is good advice but calling NYS Department of Labor to change tax withholding is impossible right now. I've been trying for weeks to get through to someone about updating my withholding elections. Has anyone had luck reaching them lately? The wait times are insane and I keep getting disconnected.

I had the same problem with reaching NYS Department of Labor agents until someone told me about Claimyr (claimyr.com). They basically get you connected to an actual person instead of waiting on hold forever. I used it last month to sort out my withholding issue and it actually worked. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration trying to get through on my own.

Thanks for sharing your experience Paloma! This is exactly what I was worried about - owing thousands at tax time. I'm definitely going to try to set up withholding ASAP. Quick question though - when you say you have 10% federal withheld, is that 10% of your total benefit amount or 10% of what your estimated tax liability would be? I want to make sure I'm withholding enough but not too much. Also really appreciate the Claimyr recommendation - seems like that's the only way to actually reach someone at NYS Department of Labor these days!

Hey Megan! When I set up the 10% federal withholding, that's 10% of my total weekly benefit amount - so if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. It's not 10% of your estimated tax liability, it's just a flat 10% of the benefit payment itself. The NYS Department of Labor system only gives you a few preset options (I think 10%, 15%, or 20% for federal). I chose 10% because I figured between that and the state withholding, plus setting aside a little extra on my own, I'd be covered. You can always adjust it later if needed, though good luck getting through to make changes! Definitely try Claimyr if the phone lines are still impossible.

Hey Megan! When I set up the 10% federal withholding, that's 10% of my total weekly benefit amount - so on a $504 payment, they take out about $50.40 for federal taxes. It's not 10% of my estimated tax liability, just a flat 10% of each payment. The NYS Department of Labor system only gives you the option to withhold 10% for federal - you can't customize it to a different percentage. Based on my tax bracket, the 10% plus the 2.5% state withholding should cover most of what I'll owe, though I might still need to pay a little extra at tax time. But it's way better than owing thousands! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was on hold for literally 4 hours one day before giving up, but with their service I was connected within 15 minutes.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You can always adjust it later if you find out it's not enough. I'd rather have a little extra withheld and get a refund than owe money! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - definitely worth trying if you can't get through to NYS Department of Labor directly.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504 per week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket. For me, the 10% federal plus 2.5% state withholding covers most of what I'll owe, but I still set aside a little extra each week just in case. You can always adjust the withholding percentage if you find it's too much or too little. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was on hold with NYS Department of Labor for literally 4+ hours multiple times before giving up!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504 per week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You might still owe a little or get a small refund, but it prevents those huge surprise tax bills. The 2.5% state withholding works the same way - it's 2.5% of your benefit amount. I'd definitely recommend starting with those standard percentages and then you can always adjust if needed!

Hey Megan! When I set up the 10% federal withholding, that's 10% of my total weekly benefit amount (so $50.40 per week in my case since I get $504/week). It's not 10% of my estimated tax liability - it's just a flat 10% of each payment. From what I understand, that's the only federal withholding option NYS Department of Labor offers - you can't customize it to a different percentage. The 10% usually covers most of what you'll owe in federal taxes, though depending on your tax bracket it might be a little under or over. I'd rather have it be slightly under and owe a small amount than not withhold anything at all! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - definitely worth trying if you can't get through the regular phone lines.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if needed. I actually started with 10% and then bumped it up to 15% federal withholding once I realized my tax situation was going to be more complex with some freelance income mixed in. The NYS Department of Labor system lets you change your withholding elections pretty easily once you get connected to someone - it's just the getting connected part that's the nightmare!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if you find you're withholding too much or too little. I'd definitely recommend starting with the 10% federal + 2.5% state withholding and then doing a mid-year check to see if you need to adjust. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I probably would have spent weeks trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor otherwise!

@Megan - the 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You might still owe a little at tax time or get a small refund, but it prevents those huge surprise bills. I'd rather have them withhold a bit extra and get money back than owe thousands again!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if needed. I'd definitely recommend starting with the 10% federal + 2.5% state withholding and then doing the math to see if you need to set aside additional money on your own. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was literally spending hours on hold with NYS Department of Labor before someone told me about it!

@Megan D'Acosta That's a great question! The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504 per week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket. For most people, 10% federal + 2.5% state withholding covers a good chunk of what you'll owe, but you might still need to pay a bit extra at tax time depending on your situation. I'd rather have them take out slightly more than I need and get a refund than owe money! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was literally spending hours on hold trying to reach NYS Department of Labor before someone told me about it.

Hey Megan! To answer your question - the 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if needed. I found that 10% federal + 2.5% state gets me pretty close to what I'll actually owe, though I still set aside a little extra just in case. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - definitely worth trying if you can't get through to NYS Department of Labor directly!

Hey Megan! To answer your question - the 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket for the year. For me, the 10% federal plus 2.5% state withholding covers most of what I'll owe, but I still set aside an extra $20-30 per week just in case. It's better to get a small refund than owe money! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was on hold with NYS Department of Labor for literally 4+ hours multiple times before giving up. With Claimyr I was connected within like 20 minutes.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You might still owe a little or get a small refund, but it prevents those huge surprise tax bills. I'd definitely recommend starting with 10% federal + 2.5% state and then you can always adjust if needed. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I think I waited on hold for literally 4 hours one day before giving up and trying their service instead!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You can always adjust it later if needed. I found that 10% federal + 2.5% state covers most situations, but if you have other income sources or are in a higher tax bracket, you might want to consider having a bit more withheld just to be safe.

Hey @Megan D'Acosta! Good question about the withholding percentage. When you select 10% federal withholding through NYS Department of Labor, that's 10% of your total weekly benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total annual income and tax bracket, but it's usually pretty close for most people. You might still owe a little or get a small refund, but it prevents those huge surprise tax bills. I'd recommend starting with the 10% federal + 2.5% state withholding and then adjusting if needed. You can always change it later if you find it's too much or too little!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it up or down later if needed. I found that 10% federal plus the 2.5% state covers most people pretty well, though if you're in a higher tax bracket you might want to bump the federal up to 15% or even 20%. The nice thing is you can change it anytime through the system once you get it set up initially.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504 per week like the original poster, that would be about $50 per week withheld for federal taxes. Whether that's enough really depends on your total income and tax bracket. For me it's been pretty close to what I actually owe, but everyone's situation is different. You might want to run the numbers through a tax calculator first to see what your estimated liability would be, then decide if 10% withholding will cover it. And yes, definitely try Claimyr if the regular NYS Department of Labor phone lines aren't working - it was a lifesaver for me!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like the original poster, they'd withhold about $50 per week for federal taxes. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if needed. I found that 10% federal + 2.5% state covers most situations pretty well, though some people do 15% federal to be extra safe. The nice thing is you can change your withholding elections anytime through the system once you get it set up initially.

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total weekly benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it later if needed. And yes, Claimyr seems to be the only reliable way to reach NYS Department of Labor right now - I tried calling directly for weeks with no luck before using their service.

Hey Megan! When I set up the 10% federal withholding, that's 10% of my total benefit amount - so if I get $400/week, they take out $40 for federal taxes. It's not calculated based on my actual tax liability, it's just a flat 10% of whatever my weekly benefit is. From what I understand, that's the only federal withholding option NYS Department of Labor offers - you can't customize it to a different percentage or have them calculate it based on your tax bracket. The 10% has been working pretty well for me though. Between that and the 2.5% state withholding, I should be close to even come tax time, maybe even get a small refund. And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I probably would have given up trying to reach DOL otherwise!

@Megan D'Acosta The 10% federal withholding is 10% of your total benefit amount, not 10% of your estimated tax liability. So if you're getting $504/week like Omar, they'd withhold about $50.40 for federal taxes each week. Whether that's enough depends on your total income and tax bracket, but it's usually a good starting point. You can always adjust it up or down later if needed. I found that 10% federal + 2.5% state covered most of what I owed, though I still had to pay a little extra at tax time since my total income put me in a higher bracket than expected. The key is just getting something set up so you're not hit with the full amount all at once in April!

Hey Megan! When I set up the 10% federal withholding, that's 10% of my total benefit amount, not 10% of my estimated tax liability. So on my $504 weekly payment, they take out about $50 for federal taxes plus the ~$13 for state taxes. Whether that covers your full tax liability depends on your overall income and tax bracket, but for me it gets pretty close. I'd rather have a small refund than owe money! And yes, Claimyr was a lifesaver - I was on hold with NYS Department of Labor for literally 3 hours one day before giving up. With Claimyr I was connected to an agent within like 15 minutes.