Do you claim unemployment on taxes - Washington ESD reporting questions
I received unemployment benefits from Washington ESD for about 6 months last year and now I'm doing my taxes. Do I need to report the unemployment payments as income? I got a 1099-G form but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to include all of it or just part of it. Also worried because I had some taxes withheld but not sure if it was enough. Anyone know how this works with Washington state having no income tax but still needing to report to the IRS?
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Yara Nassar
Yes, unemployment benefits are taxable income at the federal level. You'll need to report the full amount shown on your 1099-G from Washington ESD on your federal tax return. Washington state doesn't have income tax so you don't need to worry about state taxes, but the IRS definitely wants their cut.
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Connor Murphy
•Thanks! So I report the whole amount even though taxes were already taken out? The 1099-G shows about $8,400 total.
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Yara Nassar
•Exactly. Report the full $8,400 and then the taxes withheld will show up separately to reduce what you owe.
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StarGazer101
I made the mistake of not having taxes withheld from my UI benefits and ended up owing like $1,200 at tax time. Definitely report everything on the 1099-G or you'll get in trouble with the IRS later.
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Connor Murphy
•Yikes! I think I had 10% withheld but not sure if that's enough. Guess I'll find out when I finish my taxes.
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Keisha Jackson
•10% is usually close but might not cover everything depending on your other income. Better to owe a little than get a big surprise.
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Paolo Romano
The 1099-G from Washington ESD should have all the info you need. Box 1 shows total benefits paid, Box 4 shows federal taxes withheld. You report Box 1 as income and Box 4 reduces your tax liability. Pretty straightforward process once you understand it.
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Connor Murphy
•Perfect, that makes sense. I was overthinking it. Box 1 goes on line 7 of the 1040 right?
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Paolo Romano
•Yes, unemployment compensation goes on line 7 of Form 1040. Make sure you keep the 1099-G for your records too.
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Amina Diop
Had a nightmare trying to get my 1099-G from Washington ESD last year. Their website kept crashing and when I called I was on hold for literally 3 hours. Finally found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to someone at Washington ESD who could mail me a copy. Check out claimyr.com if you're having trouble reaching them.
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Connor Murphy
•Good to know! I was able to download mine from the eServices portal but it's reassuring to know there's help if needed.
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Oliver Schmidt
•Never heard of Claimyr but that sounds useful. The Washington ESD phone system is absolutely terrible.
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Amina Diop
•Yeah they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration.
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Natasha Volkov
quick question - do we have to report unemployment if we paid it back? I had an overpayment and paid back like $900 to Washington ESD
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Paolo Romano
•You still report the full amount you received as income, but you may be able to deduct the repayment. It's a bit complicated so you might want to talk to a tax preparer about that situation.
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Natasha Volkov
•ugh taxes are so confusing. thanks for the help
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Javier Torres
The IRS has been cracking down on unreported unemployment income. They match 1099-G forms against tax returns so don't try to skip reporting it. I know someone who got audited over $3,000 in unreported UI benefits.
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Connor Murphy
•Definitely not trying to hide anything! Just wanted to make sure I was doing it right. Thanks for the warning.
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Emma Wilson
•Yeah the computer matching is automatic now. Not worth the risk of getting flagged.
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QuantumLeap
One thing to watch out for - if you received benefits in 2024 but some payments were for earlier weeks, make sure you're reporting it in the right tax year. The 1099-G shows when payments were made, not when the weeks were claimed.
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Connor Murphy
•All my payments were made in 2024 so I think I'm good there. But that's a good point for people who had delays.
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Malik Johnson
•This happened to me with adjudication delays. Got paid in January 2024 for November 2023 weeks. Had to figure out which tax year it belonged to.
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Isabella Santos
does anyone know if the job search assistance programs count as income too? I did some workshops through WorkSource
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Paolo Romano
•Generally no, job search assistance and training programs aren't taxable income. Only the actual unemployment benefit payments are taxable.
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Isabella Santos
•ok cool thanks. was worried about that
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Ravi Sharma
Pro tip - if you're using tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block, there's usually a specific section for unemployment income. Just enter the amounts from your 1099-G and it handles the calculations automatically.
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Connor Murphy
•I'm using FreeTaxUSA so hopefully they have something similar. Thanks for the tip!
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Freya Larsen
•Most tax software handles unemployment income pretty well these days. Much easier than doing it by hand.
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Omar Hassan
MAKE SURE you keep all your records! Not just the 1099-G but also any correspondence with Washington ESD about overpayments, appeals, or adjustments. The IRS might want to see backup documentation.
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Connor Murphy
•Good advice. I've been keeping everything in a folder just in case. Better safe than sorry.
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Chloe Taylor
•This is smart. I had to provide additional docs during an audit and having everything organized saved me hours of stress.
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ShadowHunter
Wait I'm confused - if Washington doesn't have state income tax why did they take taxes out of my benefits? Where did that money go?
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Paolo Romano
•Those were federal taxes being withheld and sent to the IRS, not state taxes. Washington ESD can withhold federal taxes even though the state doesn't have its own income tax.
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ShadowHunter
•ohhhh that makes sense. I was wondering about that. Thanks!
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Diego Ramirez
For anyone still struggling to get their 1099-G, I had success using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier. They helped me get through to Washington ESD when I couldn't reach them on my own. Worth checking out if you're stuck.
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Connor Murphy
•Seems like a few people have had good luck with that. Might be worth bookmarking for future reference.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•The fact that a service like that even needs to exist shows how broken the Washington ESD phone system is. But glad it's available when needed.
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Sean O'Connor
just to confirm - regular unemployment benefits are taxable but things like food stamps and housing assistance aren't, right? Want to make sure I'm not missing anything else
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Paolo Romano
•Correct. Unemployment insurance benefits are taxable, but most other government assistance programs like SNAP (food stamps) and housing vouchers are not taxable income.
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Sean O'Connor
•perfect thanks. didn't want to accidentally skip something
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Zara Ahmed
This thread has been super helpful! I was worried I was going to mess up my taxes but it sounds pretty straightforward. Report the 1099-G amounts and let the tax software handle the rest.
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Connor Murphy
•Agreed! I feel much more confident now. Thanks everyone for all the helpful answers.
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Luca Conti
•Yeah this community is great for getting straight answers about Washington ESD stuff. Much better than trying to navigate their website alone.
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Nia Johnson
One last thing - if you had a really complicated situation with your unemployment claim, like appeals or weird timing issues, you might want to consider getting professional tax help. Could be worth the cost to make sure everything's done right.
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Connor Murphy
•My situation was pretty straightforward but that's good advice for people with more complex cases.
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CyberNinja
•Agreed. Especially if there were overpayments or you're dealing with multiple tax years. Better to get it right the first time.
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