Confused about Working Family Tax Credit vs. ESD benefits - where to get help?
Hi everyone! I'm incredibly confused and hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I lost my job at the warehouse last month and filed for unemployment through ESD. While looking into what benefits I might qualify for, I came across something called the Working Family Tax Credit. I submitted an application through the Department of Revenue website two weeks ago but haven't heard anything back. Called ESD yesterday and after waiting 90 minutes, the agent told me they couldn't answer my questions about the tax credit status or whether it affects my UI benefits. Does anyone know if these programs are connected? Will getting the tax credit reduce my weekly unemployment amount? And who should I actually contact about the status of my application? The DOR website isn't very helpful and I'm stressing about bills piling up.
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Isabella Tucker
The Working Family Tax Credit has NOTHING to do with unemployment. For the best advice contact a Tax Office, an accountant, or join a tax FB group page. Just because it's paid out by the WA State Revenue Department does not mean Unemployment deals with this credit too. All anyone here can do is take a wild guess on answering your Tax Credit Question........
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Emma Swift
•Oh wow, thank you for clearing that up! I was so confused because they're both state programs. Do you know if getting the tax credit would impact my unemployment benefits at all? Like would ESD count it as income?
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Jayden Hill
These are completely separate programs. The Working Family Tax Credit is administered by the Department of Revenue and is basically a tax refund for eligible low-income households. It will NOT affect your unemployment benefits at all - ESD doesn't count tax credits as income for UI purposes. For tax credit questions, you need to contact DOR directly at 360-763-7300 - that's their dedicated WFTC hotline. They're usually pretty helpful, but be prepared for wait times there too. Hope this helps!
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Emma Swift
•This is exactly what I needed to know! Thank you so much for the clear explanation and the phone number. I'll try calling them tomorrow morning.
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LordCommander
ya ive been on unemployment since february and got that tax credit too. they don't affect each other at all. totally different things. the tax credit is nice little boost tho!
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Lucy Lam
I faced a similar situation last year. It's frustrating when different state departments don't communicate well with each other! If you're still struggling to reach the Department of Revenue about your tax credit application, you might want to try Claimyr to at least get through to ESD about your unemployment questions. It helped me get through to an agent when I was stuck in pending for weeks. Their website (claimyr.com) has a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Good luck with both your UI claim and the tax credit!
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Aidan Hudson
•Claimyr sounds sketchy af. Why would you pay someone else just to call unemployment??? They probably steal your info too. Just keep calling ESD yourself and you'll get through eventually.
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Lucy Lam
•I understand the skepticism, but after trying for 3 weeks to get through myself (and getting disconnected every time), I was desperate. It actually worked for me. But you're right that persistence can eventually pay off too.
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Zoe Wang
you should also check out the benefit verification website for food stamps and rental assistance if your struggling with bills! they helped me tons when i was waiting for my esd claim to process. unemployment takes FOREVER these days!!
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Emma Swift
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been looking into food assistance too. Everything helps while waiting for the ESD claim to fully process.
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Connor Richards
THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE IS A JOKE!!! I applied for that tax credit in January and didn't hear ANYTHING for 4 months!!! Had to call them 7 times before someone could even tell me what was happening with my application. And guess what? They had "lost" some of my documentation! The whole system is designed to make people give up.
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Jayden Hill
•That sounds incredibly frustrating, but in fairness, this is the first year of the expanded Working Family Tax Credit program, so there have been some growing pains. Most applications are processing within 90 days now according to their website. The documentation requirements are pretty strict because it's a refundable credit, so they need to verify everything carefully to prevent fraud.
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Grace Durand
My sister works for DOR (not in the tax credit department tho). She says they got WAY more applications than they expected for the Working Family Tax Credit this year and are super backlogged. If it's been less than 90 days, they probably won't have any updates for you yet. Just FYI.
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Emma Swift
Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'll stop worrying about these programs being connected and focus on following up with each department separately. Going to call the DOR hotline tomorrow about the tax credit and keep working with ESD on my unemployment claim. Really appreciate all the advice!
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LordCommander
•good luck!!!! hope u get both!!! 👍
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