PA UC confusion with AirBnb income after W2 job layoff - anyone else dealt with this?

same thing happend to me last year!! i had a airbnb too and lost my job at the warehouse. they made me fill out the self employment form and then denied my bennefits for 3 weeks saying i was self employed even tho the airbnb was just extra money. so frustrating!!!

This is a common issue with PA UC. They need to determine if your AirBnb constitutes self-employment or if it's considered passive income (more like a rental property). Here's what matters: 1. How involved are you in the day-to-day operation? If you're actively managing it (cleaning, checking guests in, handling all maintenance), they may consider it self-employment. 2. Do you use a property management company or is it all you? 3. How many hours per week do you spend on AirBnb activities? On the form, be very clear about the limited time investment and how it differs from your W2 job. Emphasize that your main profession was your W2 position, and the AirBnb is more like a passive investment property (if that's accurate). Make sure to report all income correctly. If you underreport the AirBnb income, you could face an overpayment determination later.

I HATE how PA UC system treats people with side income!!! When I lost my teaching job in 2024, they gave me ENDLESS problems because I sold stuff on Etsy occasionally. They kept saying I was "self-employed" even though I maybe made $200 a month from it. Had to appeal TWICE and wait 7 weeks for benefits!!!! The system is BROKEN!!!

I worked for the unemployment office until recently, and this comes up all the time. For AirBnb specifically, PA UC looks at: 1. Time spent (hours per week) 2. Income compared to your W2 job 3. Whether you would quit the AirBnb to take a full-time job Make sure to document EVERYTHING. Keep records of how many hours you spend on AirBnb activities. On the form, be extremely clear that you're available for and actively seeking full-time work despite having the AirBnb property. Also important: If they determine your AirBnb is self-employment, they'll use a formula to deduct part of that income from your weekly benefit amount. It won't necessarily disqualify you completely.

my cousin had almost the same situation but with a vacation rental property at the poconos. took him forever to get through to someone who could actually help explain how to fill out the forms. he kept getting busy signals for days until he found some service called claimyr that got him through to an actual person at PA UC. might be worth checking out if you need to talk to a real human about your situation. heres the website claimyr.com and theres a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2

this happened to my roomate last month he has an airbnb too and they made him fill out some form about self employment and he got benefits but they reduced the amount a little bit. just be honest on the form and you should be ok

Here's what PA UC is actually trying to determine: 1. Is your AirBnb activity substantial enough to be considered self-employment? 2. Does it impact your ability to accept full-time work? 3. How should they calculate any deductions from your benefit amount? On the form, you need to emphasize: - The limited hours you spend on the AirBnb (ideally under 10 per week) - That you're fully available for full-time work - That you would prioritize a new job over the AirBnb activities Be aware that they might still reduce your weekly benefit amount using their partial benefit calculation formula, which deducts a percentage of earnings over a certain threshold. This doesn't mean you're denied - just that the benefit amount is adjusted. Also important: keep filing your weekly claims even while this issue is being resolved. If you stop filing, you'll lose those weeks even if you're later deemed eligible.

guys i have a sort of similar question - i just started driving for uber after losing my full time job. do i have to report that on my weekly claims? dont want to mess anything up

Just to follow up on your situation - once you complete the form, be prepared for a potential interview with a UC examiner. They might call to ask additional questions about your AirBnb activities. Have your documentation ready showing: 1. Hours spent weekly on AirBnb tasks 2. Monthly income statements showing actual earnings 3. Documentation of expenses related to the property 4. Your job search records showing you're actively seeking work The determination usually takes 2-3 weeks once they have all your information. Just keep filing your weekly claims during this time and make sure you're meeting the work search requirements (applying to at least 2 jobs per week and completing 1 work search activity).

I went through something very similar when I lost my office job last year and had a small rental property on the side. Here's what worked for me: be extremely specific about time spent on your AirBnb activities when filling out that form. I documented everything - cleaning coordination (1 hour), guest communication (2 hours), maintenance scheduling (1 hour), etc. This helped show it was truly passive income, not a full business operation. Also, make sure you're calculating your AirBnb income correctly. They want to know your net earnings after legitimate expenses like cleaning supplies, utilities portion, platform fees, etc. Don't just report the gross booking amounts. One thing that really helped my case was emphasizing that I'd be willing to sell or pause the rental activities if a full-time job required it. That showed PA UC I was genuinely available for work and not treating the rental as my primary occupation. Good luck with the form!

I had almost the exact same situation! Lost my office job in March and had an AirBnb that brought in around $1200/month. The key thing that helped me was being super detailed about documenting that the AirBnb was truly supplemental income, not my main business. When I filled out their self-employment form, I made sure to emphasize: - Only spent 4-6 hours per week managing it (mostly just guest messages and coordinating my cleaning lady) - My office job was my primary profession and career focus - I was 100% available for full-time work and would prioritize any new job over the rental - Kept detailed expense records (cleaning, supplies, Airbnb fees, etc.) to show actual net income They ended up classifying it as supplemental income rather than self-employment, and I only had a small weekly deduction from my benefits based on the net earnings. The whole process took about 3 weeks once I submitted everything. My advice: be completely honest about hours and income, but really emphasize that you're available for full-time work and that the AirBnb is just a side income stream, not your career. Keep filing your weekly claims even while they review everything!