Can you collect unemployment if you have a side business in Washington?

Yes you can still collect UI benefits with a side business! The key is reporting ALL income when you file your weekly claims. Washington ESD will deduct your weekly earnings from your benefit amount but you won't be completely disqualified just for having self-employment income.

I've been in this same situation and Washington ESD is pretty strict about self-employment reporting. You need to report income when you EARN it, not when you get paid. So if you finish a logo design in week 1 but don't get paid until week 3, you report it in week 1.

Just went through this exact situation last year. The main thing Washington ESD cares about is that you're available for full-time work. As long as your side business doesn't prevent you from accepting a full-time job, you should be fine. I was doing some consulting work and never had issues as long as I reported everything correctly on my weekly claims.

ugh I'm so frustrated trying to get through to Washington ESD about this exact question! I've been calling for weeks and either get busy signals or get disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. Has anyone found a better way to actually talk to someone there about self-employment rules?

The income reporting is definitely confusing. I think you have to report it even if you make less than your weekly benefit amount. Like if your weekly benefit is $400 and you only make $100 from your side business, you still report the $100 and they'll reduce your benefit payment accordingly.

Be VERY careful about the available for work requirement. I know someone who got disqualified because Washington ESD decided their side business made them unavailable for full-time employment. They had to go through a whole appeal process to get their benefits reinstated.

I had a small Etsy shop when I was on unemployment and it was such a pain to track everything. You have to keep detailed records of when you did the work, not just when you got paid. Washington ESD can audit your records if they want to verify your reported income.

Wait, I'm confused. If you have a business doesn't that mean you're not unemployed? Like isn't the whole point of unemployment that you don't have work?

Just make sure you understand the difference between being self-employed and having a side business. If Washington ESD determines you're primarily self-employed rather than unemployed, that could affect your eligibility differently.

The Washington ESD handbook has specific rules about self-employment income reporting. You should definitely read through that before filing your first claim. It explains the whole process step by step.

My cousin had this issue and ended up owing money back to Washington ESD because she didn't report her babysitting income correctly. Don't mess around with this stuff - be super accurate about reporting everything.

This is why I love this forum - so much helpful info! I've been wondering about this too because I do some photography work on weekends. Sounds like as long as I report everything honestly I should be okay.

One more thing - make sure you understand how the work search requirements apply when you have self-employment income. You still need to be actively looking for work and meeting the job search requirements even if you have some income from your business.

I tried calling Washington ESD about this months ago and gave up after 5 hours of busy signals. Ended up just being super conservative and reporting every penny I made. Better safe than sorry.

Just wanted to add that if your side business grows significantly while you're collecting benefits, you might need to reassess your eligibility. Washington ESD could determine you're no longer unemployed if the business income becomes substantial.

The whole system is so confusing! I wish Washington ESD would just have clear examples of different scenarios instead of making us guess. Like 'if you make X amount from side work, here's exactly what happens to your benefits.

Bottom line: report everything, keep good records, and don't let your side business interfere with your job search. Washington ESD is pretty reasonable as long as you're honest and following the rules.

One last tip - if you end up in adjudication because of questions about your self-employment, don't panic. It's pretty common and usually gets resolved as long as you have documentation to back up your reported income.

This thread has been so helpful! I'm bookmarking it because I'm sure I'll need to reference this info when I start filing my weekly claims. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences.

I just wanted to add something that might help with tracking your freelance income - I use a simple Google Sheet to log everything in real time. I have columns for date work completed, client name, description of work, amount earned, and date paid. This way I never forget to report something when I file my weekly claims. It's also saved me a ton of time when I needed to look back at previous weeks. The key is updating it right after you finish each project, not waiting until claim filing day!