PA UC benefits amount $7 short every week - direct deposit fee or system error?

same thing happened 2 me!! i think its taxes maybe? did u select to have taxes taken out when u filed ur claim?

This is definitely about tax withholding. When PA UC gives you your weekly benefit amount (WBA), that's your gross amount. If you elected to have taxes withheld (which is usually a good idea so you don't get surprised at tax time), they take out federal income tax at 10%. The math doesn't quite add up to $7 exactly on $432, but the system sometimes rounds oddly. You can verify this by logging into your dashboard and looking at your payment history. It should show the gross amount, tax withholding, and net payment amount for each week.

THERE IS NO FEE for direct deposit!!! The PA UC system is actually REQUIRED BY LAW to give you your full benefit amount minus any taxes you elected to have withheld. If there was truly a "fee" being charged that wasn't explained, that would be ILLEGAL! BTW -- I had the EXACT same confusion last year. The determination letter shows your GROSS benefit amount but then they take out the taxes if you opted for withholding. It's confusing because they should make this clearer in the paperwork they send you!!!

I've been on PA unemployment three different times over the years, and I can confirm there's definitely no fee for direct deposit. If anything, they prefer direct deposit because it costs them less than issuing the debit cards. The difference is almost certainly tax withholding. Federal is 10% if you opted for that (which I always recommend), but some people also withhold state taxes which vary. I'd suggest calling the UC office to get a clear explanation of your specific withholding calculation. If you've been trying to reach them and can't get through, I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that can help you bypass the busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. I used it last month when I had an open issue that wasn't resolving and got through to a rep in about 20 minutes instead of trying for days.

When I was on unemployment last winter, my payments were always exactly what they said they would be minus taxes. I remember being confused about this too at first. The benefit calculator they have online shows the gross amount, not what you actually get after taxes. And btw sometimes they take state tax too depending on what boxes you checked when you applied.

Just to clarify what others have said: PA unemployment benefits are subject to federal income tax, and you can choose to have this withheld when you file your initial claim or change it later. The standard federal withholding rate is 10%. $432 × 0.10 = $43.20 for federal tax withholding $432 - $43.20 = $388.80 But you're getting $425, which is actually MORE than you'd get with just federal withholding. This suggests you might have a different weekly benefit amount than you think, or there's some other adjustment happening. When you check your payment history online, it should break down exactly what's being withheld and why. If the math still doesn't add up after checking your payment history, then it's definitely worth calling to get clarification from a UC representative.

glad u figured it out! i always get confused with the tax stuff too, they should make it more clear in those letters they send!

This is such a common source of confusion! I went through the exact same thing when I first started collecting. The determination letter really should be clearer about showing both gross and net amounts. For anyone else reading this thread - when you log into your UC dashboard, look for the "Payment History" section and it'll break down every deduction. Also, just FYI, you can actually change your tax withholding elections at any time if you decide you want more or less taken out. Glad you got it sorted out!

This thread is so helpful! I just started collecting UC benefits last month and was wondering about the same thing. My weekly amount seemed lower than what I expected but I wasn't sure if it was normal. Reading through all these responses really clarifies the tax withholding confusion. It's frustrating that the determination letter doesn't spell this out more clearly - they could save everyone a lot of stress by just showing "Gross: $XXX, Federal Tax: $XX, Net: $XXX" right on the letter. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially for explaining how to find the payment breakdown in the dashboard!