NYS Department of Labor - what is federal unemployment tax rate affecting my claim?
I'm trying to understand how the federal unemployment tax rate impacts my NYS Department of Labor benefits. My former employer mentioned something about FUTA when I asked about my unemployment claim status, but I'm confused about what this means for me as a claimant. Does the federal unemployment tax rate affect how much I receive in weekly benefits? I've been getting $405 per week and wondering if tax rates could change this amount. My claim has been active for 6 weeks now and everything seems normal, but I want to make sure I understand all the factors involved.
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Hunter Edmunds
The federal unemployment tax rate (FUTA) is paid by employers, not deducted from your benefits. It's currently 6% on the first $7,000 of wages, but employers get credits that reduce it to 0.6% in most cases. This funds the federal portion of the unemployment system but doesn't directly affect your weekly benefit amount from NYS Department of Labor.
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Jade O'Malley
•Oh that makes sense! So the $405 I'm getting weekly isn't affected by federal tax rates at all?
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Ella Lewis
Your weekly benefit amount is calculated based on your past wages reported to NYS Department of Labor, not federal tax rates. However, your unemployment benefits ARE subject to federal income tax. You can have taxes withheld by requesting it when you file your weekly claims, or you'll owe when you file your tax return.
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Andrew Pinnock
•this is important - i didn't have taxes withheld and owed like $800 when i filed my return last year
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Brianna Schmidt
I had the same confusion when I was on unemployment last year. The federal unemployment tax rate is something employers pay into the system - it's like 0.6% of payroll up to $7000 per employee. It helps fund the basic unemployment program structure, but your actual benefit calculation is based on NY state formulas using your wage history. If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions like this, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works.
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Alexis Renard
•How much does that service cost? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my adjudication.
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Brianna Schmidt
•It was worth it for me since I couldn't get through on my own. Much easier than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected.
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Camila Jordan
Wait so the employer pays the federal unemployment tax rate but we still have to pay taxes on the benefits we receive? That seems like double taxation to me. The whole system is designed to screw over working people.
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Hunter Edmunds
•It's not double taxation - the employer tax funds the program, but unemployment benefits are considered taxable income to you personally, just like wages would be.
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Tyler Lefleur
ya the federal rate doesnt change your weekly amount but like others said you def want to have taxes taken out. i learned that the hard way lol
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