Can you collect unemployment if you have rental income in Washington state?

That's a relief! Do I need to report the rental income when I file my weekly claims?

You should report it to be safe, but it typically won't reduce your benefits since it's not wages from work.

Did you have to provide any documentation about the rental property when you applied?

No, they didn't ask for rental documentation during the initial application process.

Interesting, I'll look into that. The phone lines are always busy when I try calling.

How does that service work exactly? Is it legit?

It's basically a callback service that handles the waiting for you. Pretty straightforward and saves hours of redialing.

Good point about the property management aspect. I basically just collect rent and handle minor issues, nothing that would interfere with job searching.

What if you have multiple rental properties? Does that change anything?

Multiple properties still count as passive income unless you're running it as a full-time business with employees, licenses, etc.

The system is designed to replace wages from employment, not all forms of income. Rental income doesn't replace lost wages in the same way.

i guess that makes sense when you put it that way

Did you mention it in the initial application or wait until the weekly claims?

I mentioned it during the initial phone interview just to be upfront about all income sources.

Smart approach to be transparent from the start.

My rental income is only about 40% of what I was making at my job, so I definitely need to find new employment.

Yeah, as long as you're genuinely seeking work you should be fine.

It's just me renting out half of my duplex, nothing formal or business-like about it.

Then you're definitely in the clear. That's classic passive rental income.

How long did it take with Claimyr to actually reach someone?

They called me back within a few hours and had me connected to an agent pretty quickly after that.

Perfect, that's exactly what I needed to know. I'll go ahead and file my claim this week.

Good luck with your claim! The rental income shouldn't be an issue at all.

That's reassuring to hear real examples of people who've been through it successfully.

Yeah, he was worried about it too but it turned out to be a non-issue.

Absolutely, I plan to be completely transparent about everything.

Transparency is always the best policy with unemployment claims.

That's great to hear from someone with extensive experience in both areas.

Did you report the rental income on your weekly claims or just during the initial application?

I reported it initially and they noted it in my file. Didn't need to report it weekly since it's not wages.

I'll look that up for my own reference. Thanks for pointing me to the official source.

Having the official policy is always helpful if questions come up later.

I might do that just to be 100% certain before I file. Better safe than sorry.

Smart thinking. Official confirmation never hurts.

Perfect summary. I feel much more confident about moving forward now. Thanks everyone!

Glad we could help clear that up for you. Good luck with your job search!

That's concerning and contradicts what others have shared here. Did they specify why they classified rental income as self-employment? I'm wondering if it depends on factors like the number of properties you own or how actively involved you are in managing them. It would be helpful to understand what makes the difference between passive rental income and self-employment income in their eyes. @Yang Wang, do you remember what questions they asked that led to that classification?

@Sean Matthews I called specifically to ask about if I should report rental income when I file the weekly claim. The WA ESD person did not even ask anything and said straight that yes, I should report all incomes. Then I asked him what category did the rental income belong to and he said Self Employment. But he did specify that I should report Net income.

@Yang Wang This is really confusing because it goes against what everyone else has been saying. I m'wondering if different ESD agents are giving different information, or if there are specific circumstances that make rental income count as self-employment. Did you end up reporting it as self-employment income? And if so, did it actually reduce your weekly benefit amount? This is making me think I definitely need to get official clarification before I file my claim.

This is really concerning to hear conflicting information from ESD agents. @Yang Wang, I'm curious - do you have multiple rental properties or just one? And are you actively involved in property management tasks beyond just collecting rent? I'm wondering if there's something about your specific situation that made them classify it as self-employment. It seems like we're getting inconsistent guidance, which makes it really important for everyone to get their individual situations clarified directly with ESD. Did you end up reporting it and see an actual reduction in your benefits?

@Yang Wang That s'really helpful information, thank you for sharing your direct experience with ESD. This definitely shows there might be some inconsistency in how different agents interpret rental income. I m'now wondering if it depends on how you initially describe your rental situation or if there are specific criteria they use to determine whether it s'passive vs self-employment income. Did you notice any impact on your actual benefit amount when you reported it as self-employment? I think I m'going to use that Claimyr service others mentioned to get connected and ask very specific questions about my duplex situation before filing.

@Yang Wang This is really eye-opening and honestly pretty frustrating to hear such conflicting information from ESD agents. Your experience suggests there might be some inconsistency in how they re'training their staff on rental income classification. I m'curious - when you reported it as self-employment income, did it actually end up reducing your weekly benefit amount? And did they ask any follow-up questions about the nature of your rental activities? This makes me think it s'crucial for anyone in this situation to get multiple opinions or speak with a supervisor to ensure they re'getting accurate guidance. The fact that you got such a definitive answer about self-employment classification while others have had completely different experiences is concerning.