Do you have to file taxes on unemployment benefits from Washington ESD?

Yes, unemployment benefits are definitely taxable income. Washington ESD should have sent you a 1099-G form showing how much you received in 2024. You'll need to report that amount on your federal tax return.

this is why i always have taxes withheld from my unemployment payments when i file my weekly claims. you can choose to have 10% taken out for federal taxes

I had the same shock last year. Ended up owing like $1,800 in taxes because I didn't withhold anything. The IRS considers unemployment as regular income, so it gets added to whatever other income you had.

If you can't find your 1099-G or Washington ESD hasn't sent it yet, you can actually access it through your SecureAccess Washington account. Log in to your unemployment dashboard and look for tax documents. The form will show your total benefits paid and any taxes that were withheld if you chose that option.

The government gives you money then wants it back in taxes. Makes perfect sense right? 🙄 The whole system is backwards.

Just went through this exact situation myself. Had to call Washington ESD multiple times to get help understanding my 1099-G because the amounts didn't match what I thought I received. The hold times were absolutely insane - I probably spent 8 hours total on hold over several days. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an agent in like 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Totally worth it when you're dealing with tax documents and can't afford to wait weeks for answers.

Don't forget that if you received unemployment in 2024, you might also qualify for certain tax credits like the Earned Income Credit depending on your total income for the year. Make sure to explore all your options when filing.

wait so if i got like $15000 in unemployment benefits last year i have to pay taxes on all of that??? this is the first im hearing about this

I learned this the hard way my first year on unemployment too. Now I always tell people to have the 10% withheld when they file their weekly claims. It's not enough to cover everything you'll owe but it helps a lot.

Pro tip: if you didn't withhold taxes and are worried about owing a lot, you can make estimated tax payments throughout the year to avoid a big bill at filing time. The IRS website has calculators to help figure out how much to pay.

Same boat here. Got laid off in March and collected benefits through September. The 1099-G was a reality check when I saw the total amount. At least Washington state doesn't tax unemployment benefits, so that's something.

I had issues with my 1099-G showing the wrong amount last year. Turns out Washington ESD had counted some benefits twice in their system. Took forever to get it corrected. If your form looks off, definitely call and question it before filing your taxes.

Just a heads up - if you received any overpayment notices from Washington ESD, that can affect your tax situation too. The 1099-G should reflect the net amount you actually kept, not the gross amount paid out.

For anyone still looking for their 1099-G, I found mine by logging into the Washington ESD website, going to my account dashboard, and clicking on 'Tax Information' or something like that. It was under a documents section.

Another thing to remember is that if you received benefits in multiple states, you'll get a separate 1099-G from each state. Make sure to report all of them on your federal return.

The tax thing really caught me off guard too. Ended up owing about $2,200 when I filed. Had to set up a payment plan with the IRS because I couldn't pay it all at once. At least they were reasonable about it.

This thread has been super helpful! I was freaking out about the tax implications but now I at least know what to expect. Going to check my Washington ESD account for the 1099-G right now.

One last tip - if you used any of your unemployment benefits to pay for health insurance premiums, you might be able to deduct some of that on your taxes. Worth looking into if you were buying your own coverage while unemployed.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info in this thread. Now I know what I need to do and where to find my tax documents. Time to face the music and get my taxes filed!