PA UC confusion about gig work (DoorDash/Grubhub) income reporting - anyone successfully doing this?

I did UberEats while on UC last year and it was a headache! The system is designed for traditional employment, not gig work. You need to report your NET earnings (after expenses) each week you file. Keep really good records of all your expenses (gas, car maintenance, etc). Report yourself as self-employed when it asks for employer info. Most importantly, you must report your earnings for the week you WORKED, not when you got paid - that trips up a lot of people.

i do doordash on uc right now. its not that complicated lol. just put self employed on the form and the money u make THAT WEEK. dont overthink it

The UC system is still stuck in 1995 I swear. Had something similar happen with my Etsy shop. The rep kept asking for my "boss's phone number" 🙄

This is a common confusion point with PA UC and gig work. Here's exactly what to do: 1. When reporting earnings, enter "Self-employed" for employer name 2. Use your home address for the employer address 3. For earnings, report your GROSS income minus allowable business expenses (gas, mileage, etc) 4. Keep detailed records of all earnings and expenses 5. Report income for the week you performed the work, not when paid The threshold is indeed $260/week before your benefits are reduced proportionally. Anything over $413 would make you ineligible for that week. Make sure you're still completing your work search requirements too, as gig work alone doesn't satisfy this.

Ugh I tried to explain my Instacart gig work to a UC rep last month and she kept saying I needed to provide pay stubs!! I tried 2 tell her it doesnt work that way but she wouldnt listen at ALL. i gave up & just wrote 'SELF-EMPLOYED - GIG WORK' on the weekly certification form.

This is a tricky area. I've dealt with so many people getting hit with overpayment notices because they calculated their gig earnings incorrectly. I recommend keeping a detailed spreadsheet with these columns for each week: - Gross earnings - Miles driven (x $0.655 per mile in 2023/2024) - Other expenses (with receipts) - Net profit (what you report) Also, remember that partial benefit weeks still count against your total benefit weeks. Sometimes it's better to just work full-time gigs for certain weeks and not claim UC for those weeks, then return to UC if gig work dries up.

I know exactly what you mean!!! I've been doing Grubhub on the side and the UC people act like I'm speaking a foreign language! One time I waited 4 HOURS on hold to talk to someone about how to report it, only to get disconnected! I almost threw my phone through the window!!!!

Another important thing: if you're doing gig work while on UC, you should still be able and available for full-time work and actively applying for jobs. If you turn down regular employment to keep doing gig work, that could disqualify you from benefits. PA UC requires you to be seeking permanent full-time work.

Does anyone know if we're supposed to report cash tips from delivery apps? Some customers give cash in addition to in-app tips...

btw guys make sure ur not making over the limit. my buddy got slapped with a $4000 overpayment cuz he was making too much on doordash some weeks but still claiming full uc. they caught him in an audit.

Just want to add my experience - I've been doing gig work (mix of DoorDash and Uber) while on UC for about 6 months now. The key things that have worked for me: 1) Always report NET income after business expenses, 2) Keep a running log of miles driven each day (I use an app called MileIQ), 3) When the online system asks for employer info, I put "Self-Employed Delivery Driver" as job title and my home address. The most important thing is being consistent with how you report it every week. I've never had any issues with overpayments doing it this way. Also pro tip - if you have a really good week where you might go over the $260 threshold, you can always just not claim that week and save your UC benefits for slower weeks.

Does anyone use the Stride App? I have read through these comments and a few people have suggested manual inputing their income and expense data into a spreadsheet. I use Stride. As soon as I get my 1st order of the day, I turn on the app and have it track my mileage. When I'm done, I input my earnings for the day. And, voila good to go. The app does the calculation for the mileage deduction if you so choose. If you prefer to be a bit more meticulous, you can manually enter all expenses instead of using the mileage deduction. Also at any point, you can have a records spreadsheet sent to your email. There are many other features in the app these days, that I rarely use, as I feel it's become a bit bloated, but as a simple mileage tracker and record keeper, it's pretty awesome.