Where do federal unemployment taxes go when filing NYS Department of Labor claims?
I'm trying to understand how the unemployment system works since I just filed my first claim with NYS Department of Labor. When I was working, I noticed federal unemployment taxes being taken from my paychecks along with state taxes. Where exactly do these federal unemployment taxes get sent to? Does it affect my weekly claim certification or benefit amount? I'm confused about how the federal vs state funding works for unemployment benefits in New York.
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Paolo Conti
Federal unemployment taxes (FUTA) go to the U.S. Department of Labor to fund the federal portion of the unemployment insurance system. This includes administrative costs and emergency programs. Your regular NYS Department of Labor benefits come from state unemployment taxes (SUTA) that employers pay. The federal taxes don't directly impact your weekly claim amount, which is calculated based on your past wages in New York.
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Keisha Robinson
•Thanks! So when I certify my weekly claims on my.ny.gov, that's all coming from the state fund then?
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Paolo Conti
•Exactly right. Your regular UI benefits are funded by New York state employer contributions. The federal system mainly kicks in during extended benefit periods or emergencies.
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Amina Sow
wait i thought unemployment was all federal?? im so confused about this whole system lol
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GalaxyGazer
•It's a joint federal-state system. Each state like New York runs its own program following federal guidelines. That's why you file through NYS Department of Labor, not a federal agency.
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Oliver Wagner
I had issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my claim funding. Spent hours on hold trying to understand how my benefits were calculated. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual agent who explained the whole state vs federal funding thing. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful than trying to call the regular number.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•Did that actually work for you? I've been trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my adjudication status.
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Oliver Wagner
•Yeah it worked great. Got connected within a few minutes instead of the usual runaround. The agent was able to look up my claim and explain everything clearly.
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Javier Mendoza
The whole system is such a mess honestly. Federal taxes, state taxes, who knows where any of it really goes. NYS Department of Labor could do a better job explaining this stuff to people when they file their first claim.
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Emma Thompson
•I agree, the information they give you is pretty confusing when you're already stressed about being unemployed.
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