Do you have to claim vacation pay on unemployment Washington ESD weekly claims?

Yes, you absolutely need to report vacation pay on your weekly claims. Washington ESD considers vacation pay as deductible income that can affect your weekly benefit amount. The timing matters though - you report it for the week you actually receive the payment, not when it was earned.

I had the same situation last year. Got a $800 vacation payout and didn't report it thinking it was money I already earned. Washington ESD caught it during their quarterly wage crossmatch and I had to pay back benefits. Definitely report it!

This is where something like Claimyr can be super helpful - when you have specific questions about reporting income, you can actually get through to a Washington ESD rep to clarify. I used claimyr.com after getting conflicting info online and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works. Way better than trying to call ESD directly and getting busy signals.

wait so any money from your old employer counts as income?? what about my final paycheck that included overtime from my last week?

The Washington ESD handbook says vacation pay is deductible income and must be reported. What gets confusing is that some people think if you 'earned' the vacation time before becoming unemployed it doesn't count, but that's wrong. The rule is based on when you RECEIVE the payment, not when you earned it. Same goes for holiday pay, severance, etc.

I'm dealing with something similar but it's severance pay instead of vacation. My employer is paying me 3 weeks severance but spreading it over 6 weeks. Do I report the actual amount I receive each week or the total amount divided by weeks?

The ESD system is so confusing about this stuff. I reported my vacation pay wrong the first time and had to call to fix it. Took forever to get through but they were able to adjust my claim. Make sure you put the vacation pay in the right section - it's not 'wages' it's 'other income'.

This whole thing is why I hate the unemployment system. You earn vacation time by working, then when you need unemployment benefits they penalize you for getting paid for time you already earned. Makes no sense.

Pro tip: if your vacation payout is really large, you might want to ask your employer if they can delay it until you find work. Some employers will work with you on timing if you explain the situation.

Had a friend who didn't report his vacation pay and Washington ESD found out months later. He had to pay back like $1,500 in benefits plus interest. They're really good at catching this stuff now.

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I had questions about reporting my severance package. Super helpful and saved me from making a mistake that could have cost me benefits. The rep explained exactly how to report different types of payments.

Just remember that reporting vacation pay doesn't mean you lose those benefits forever. It just means you don't get paid unemployment for that week. Your claim doesn't get extended or anything, you just get $0 for that specific week.

The Washington ESD website has a section about reporting income but it's pretty confusing. I wish they would just have clear examples for common situations like vacation payouts, severance, etc.

Another thing to watch out for is if you get vacation pay from a previous employer but then start a new job the same week. You'd need to report both the vacation pay AND the new job wages.

At least vacation pay is straightforward compared to things like stock options or bonuses. Had a coworker who got laid off right before his annual bonus and that was a nightmare to figure out how to report.

Bottom line - when in doubt, report it. Washington ESD would rather you over-report income than under-report it. If you report something you didn't need to, they can adjust it. If you don't report something you should have, that's when you get in trouble.

I'm curious - does anyone know if the vacation pay affects your job search requirements for that week? Like if you report $1200 vacation pay and get $0 benefits, do you still need to do job searches?

For anyone still confused about this, the Claimyr service really is helpful for these specific questions. I was skeptical at first but it's legit - you actually talk to a real ESD agent who can look at your account and give you specific guidance about your situation.

Thanks everyone for the help! I'm definitely going to report my vacation pay when I file my weekly claim. Better safe than sorry, and it sounds like ESD will find out anyway if I don't report it.

One more tip - when you file that weekly claim with the vacation pay, screenshot everything. I always take screenshots of my weekly claims just in case there are any disputes later about what I reported.

Just wanted to add that the timing can get tricky if your vacation payout spans multiple pay periods. I got my vacation pay split across two checks - one in December and one in January. You report each payment in the week you actually receive it, not when your employer processes it. So if the first check arrives on a Tuesday, you report it for that week's claim, even if your employer dated it from the previous Friday. The key is the date YOU receive the money, not when they cut the check.