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remember to also check if u qualify for earned income credit when u file especially if u had lower income for the year due to being unemployed part of it... my tax person said alot of people miss that after being on unemployment
Just want to add that if you're planning to set aside money for taxes, consider opening a separate savings account specifically for this. I made the mistake of just keeping the money in my regular checking and ended up spending some of it before tax time. Also, if you're worried about owing a big chunk at once, you can make estimated quarterly payments to the IRS throughout the year. For next year (if you ever need UC again), definitely elect the 10% federal withholding - it makes tax time so much less stressful!
That's such smart advice about the separate savings account! I wish I had thought of that earlier. I've already spent some of what I was planning to set aside without even realizing it. Do you know if there's a penalty for not making estimated payments when you haven't had taxes withheld from unemployment? I'm hoping since this is my first time dealing with this situation, maybe there's some leeway?
when this happened to me i just lied about my hours the next time so my claim wouldn't close again... probably not the best advice but it worked lol
I strongly advise against this approach. PA UC regularly crosschecks earnings with employer reporting. If they discover underreported earnings, you could face an overpayment determination, potential fraud penalties, and even be disqualified from future benefits. The penalties for intentional misreporting can be severe and follow you for years. It's not worth the risk for a short-term benefit.
I'm dealing with a similar situation right now, except I work part-time as a substitute teacher. My hours change every week depending on who needs coverage. It's such a headache having to potentially reopen my claim every other week! What I've started doing is calculating exactly how many hours I can work before hitting that 140% threshold, and then I try not to exceed it. Might be helpful for you too if your retail job will work with you on scheduling.
I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Just reopened my claim 4 days ago after being off UC for about 2 months due to temporary work, and my dashboard clearly shows "Status: Regular Active" but I keep getting that frustrating loop when trying to file my weekly certification. It's like the system knows my claim is active but then completely forgets when I try to certify! I was starting to panic thinking I'd somehow messed up the reopening process, but reading through everyone's experiences here has been such a huge relief. It's clearly a widespread system glitch from their recent update where those status flags get out of sync like others explained. Based on all the success stories here, I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning when the lines open. If that doesn't work, I might look into the Claimyr service too since it seemed to work well for several people. Really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences and solutions - it makes dealing with these PA UC system disasters so much less overwhelming when you know you're not alone and there are actual ways to fix it! Will definitely come back with an update once I hopefully get this resolved. Thanks for creating such a helpful thread!
I'm going through this exact same frustrating situation right now! Just reopened my claim yesterday and I'm stuck in that same maddening loop where my dashboard shows "Regular Active" but the weekly certification system acts like I never reopened at all. It's so reassuring to read through this whole thread and realize this is definitely a widespread system bug affecting tons of people, not something any of us did wrong during the reopening process. The 8 AM calling strategy seems to be the key based on everyone's success stories here. I'm planning to try that approach first thing tomorrow morning too - fingers crossed we can both get through and get this flag sync issue fixed quickly! Really appreciate you and everyone else sharing these detailed experiences. It makes navigating PA UC's constant glitches so much more manageable when you have a roadmap from people who've actually solved it.
I'm experiencing this exact same issue and it's so frustrating! Just reopened my claim 2 days ago and my dashboard shows "Regular Active" but I keep getting stuck in that endless loop when trying to file my weekly certification. It's like the system has amnesia about what I just completed! I was really starting to worry that I'd somehow botched the reopening process, but reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. It's clearly a widespread system glitch from their recent update where the claim status and weekly certification flags aren't syncing properly. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning when the lines open. The timing seems to make a huge difference for actually getting through to someone who can manually fix this flag issue. If that doesn't work, I might check out the Claimyr service too since several people had good results with it. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their real experiences and solutions - it makes dealing with these PA UC system glitches so much less stressful when you know you're not alone and there are actual ways to get it resolved! Will definitely come back with an update once I hopefully get this sorted out.
This thread has been absolutely fantastic! As someone who's been on PA UC for about 6 months now, I can confirm that the open issue with continued payments scenario is incredibly common. I've actually had it happen twice - once for employer verification (like Ezra and Andre experienced) and once for address confirmation when I moved. Both times payments continued normally and the issues resolved within 3-4 weeks. The Claimyr recommendation is spot on - I used it during my second open issue and got through in about 30 minutes after weeks of failed attempts on the regular lines. Worth every penny for the peace of mind alone. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here: if you do get through to an agent, ask them to email you a summary of what the open issue is about and what steps (if any) you need to take. I learned this the hard way after my first call when I forgot half of what they told me. Having it in writing helps if you need to reference it later or if there are any discrepancies down the road. Thanks to everyone who made this such an informative discussion - this is exactly the kind of real-world knowledge that makes this community so valuable!
This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding how common these open issue situations really are! As a newcomer to both this community and the PA UC system, I had no idea that continued payments during open issues were so typical. The success stories from Ezra and Andre where it turned out to be routine employer verification really show that the system does try to protect claimants when delays aren't their fault. The Claimyr recommendation seems like a game-changer - multiple people getting through in under an hour vs. impossible regular phone lines is amazing. I'm definitely saving all this advice about documentation and keeping up with weekly claims just in case I ever need it. It's pretty telling that we get better information from community discussions like this than from PA UC directly, but I'm really grateful for threads like these where people share real experiences and solutions!
Angelina Farar
Glad to hear it came through! For future reference, you can always check the status of your payments by going to the UC dashboard and looking under 'Payment History.' It will show whether a payment has been processed, the method (direct deposit or Money Network card), and the date it was issued. This can be helpful for tracking when to expect funds in the future.
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Jessica Nolan
•Thanks for the tip! I found the Payment History section and it's showing everything correctly now. Really appreciate everyone's help!
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Ethan Campbell
Great to see this worked out for you Jessica! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this - if you're ever worried about your payment status, you can also set up text alerts through the PA UC system. They'll send you notifications when payments are processed and when there are any issues with your claim. It's been super helpful for me to know exactly when to expect money without having to constantly check the website. Also, keep all your payment confirmations and screenshots just in case there are any discrepancies later!
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Daniel White
•This is such helpful advice! I had no idea about the text alerts - that sounds way better than refreshing the website constantly. How do you set those up? Is it somewhere in the account settings? Also really smart about keeping screenshots, I definitely should have done that from the beginning just in case.
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