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One more thing - if your employer offers you your job back or offers you other work, you generally have to accept it or risk losing your unemployment benefits. There are some exceptions but be careful about turning down work.
There are rules about 'suitable work' but it gets complicated. If that happens, definitely try to talk to someone at Washington ESD about your specific situation.
This is where having a way to actually reach Washington ESD becomes crucial. Good thing services like Claimyr exist to help get through to them.
The whole system seems designed to make people give up honestly. But stick with it, you earned these benefits by working and paying into the system.
The whole process seems overwhelming but it's really not that bad once you get started. Just make sure you file your weekly claims on time and keep looking for work. The payments are pretty reliable once everything is set up.
Remember your weekly benefit amount stays the same for your entire benefit year (52 weeks from when you filed), even if you find work and then become unemployed again within that year. So if you calculated $350/week when you first filed, that's what you'll get if you need to reactivate your claim later.
Last thing - make sure you understand the waiting week. In Washington there's no waiting week anymore (they eliminated it), so you can get benefits for your first week of unemployment if you file right away and meet all requirements.
This thread is super helpful. I have my fact-finding interview next week and was panicking until I read all this advice. Definitely going to get my documentation together.
Question - what if your employer doesn't show up for their part of the interview? Does that help your case?
Natasha Orlova
One more thing to consider - if you're married and file jointly, your spouse's income might push you into a higher tax bracket. The 10% withholding might not be enough in that case.
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Javier Cruz
•Good point. We always end up owing because of this exact situation. I have mine set to 15% withholding.
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Mei Wong
•I'm single so 10% should be fine for me, but thanks for mentioning this for others.
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Emma Wilson
PSA: Don't forget that if you received unemployment in 2024, you need to report it even if you find a job before tax season. The IRS gets a copy of your 1099-G from Washington ESD so they'll know if you don't report it.
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Malik Thomas
•Absolutely. And if you move to another state, make sure your address is updated with Washington ESD so you receive your 1099-G.
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NeonNebula
•Can confirm this - moved to Oregon last year and almost didn't get my tax form because I forgot to update my address.
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