NYS Department of Labor unemployment tax deadlines - when are unemployment taxes due?
I'm trying to figure out when unemployment taxes are actually due for New York state. I received unemployment benefits last year totaling about $8,200 and I know I need to pay taxes on this income but I'm confused about the timing. My accountant mentioned something about quarterly payments but I thought unemployment taxes were just part of regular income tax filing in April. Can someone clarify when unemployment taxes are due? I don't want to get hit with penalties if I'm supposed to be making payments throughout the year.
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Giovanni Moretti
Unemployment benefits are treated as regular taxable income, so they follow the same tax deadlines as your other income. If you had taxes withheld from your unemployment payments through NYS Department of Labor, you'll settle up when you file your return by April 15th. However, if you didn't have taxes withheld and you received substantial benefits, you might need to make estimated quarterly payments to avoid underpayment penalties.
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AstroExplorer
•I didn't have any taxes withheld from my unemployment payments. Does that mean I should have been making quarterly payments all year?
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Fatima Al-Farsi
yeah i had the same confusion last year... turns out if you get a decent amount in unemployment and dont have withholding you're supposed to make estimated payments. the deadlines are jan 15, april 15, june 15, and sept 15 for the previous quarter
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Dylan Cooper
•Actually, I think you have the dates slightly off. For 2025, the estimated tax payment deadlines are January 15, April 15, June 16, and September 15. The June date moves because June 15 falls on a Sunday this year.
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Sofia Perez
If you're behind on estimated payments, don't panic. You can still file your return on time and pay the full amount owed by April 15th. There might be a small underpayment penalty, but it's usually not huge if this is your first time dealing with unemployment income. I had a similar situation when I was on unemployment in 2023 and the penalty was only about $45 on $6,000 in benefits.
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AstroExplorer
•That's reassuring to hear. I was worried I'd owe thousands in penalties. Do you know if there's a threshold where you definitely need to make estimated payments?
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Dmitry Smirnov
I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact issue but their phone lines are impossible. Been calling for weeks about my tax documents and can never get through to an actual person. The automated system just hangs up on me after 20 minutes on hold.
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Giovanni Moretti
•I had the same problem reaching NYS Department of Labor until someone told me about Claimyr (claimyr.com). They actually get you connected to a real agent instead of waiting forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it to get my 1099-G corrected and it saved me hours of frustration.
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ElectricDreamer
Generally speaking, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes when you file your return, you should be making estimated quarterly payments. This applies to all income sources, including unemployment benefits. The safe harbor rule is that if you pay at least 90% of the current year's tax liability or 100% of last year's tax liability (whichever is smaller), you can avoid penalties.
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AstroExplorer
•This is really helpful information. I think I probably should have been making estimated payments. Better late than never I guess.
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