Does 1099 income affect Washington ESD unemployment benefits?

Do I report it the week I do the work or the week I get paid? The payment might come weeks later.

Report it for the week you actually performed the work, not when you received payment. That's what Washington ESD requires.

No, that's incorrect. Washington ESD specifically states you report earnings for the week the work was performed, regardless of when payment is received.

oh ok thanks for the correction

That sounds helpful! Did they charge you a lot to get through?

They don't mention pricing upfront but it was worth it to avoid potentially messing up my claim. The agent walked me through the whole process.

Washington ESD uses a formula - you can earn up to a certain amount before they start reducing benefits. If you earn more than 1.5 times your weekly benefit amount, you get nothing that week.

Ok that makes sense. My weekly benefit is $320 so I could earn up to $480 before losing everything.

For unemployment purposes, you report gross earnings before expenses. Don't try to deduct business expenses when reporting to Washington ESD.

Ugh that seems unfair but good to know. Thanks!

I get the frustration but the rules are actually pretty straightforward once you understand them.

STRAIGHTFORWARD?? Have you tried calling Washington ESD lately? Good luck getting through to anyone who can explain anything!

That's exactly why I used Claimyr - I was getting nowhere with the regular phone lines. They specialize in getting through to Washington ESD agents.

Same experience here. I've been trying to reach someone for weeks about my 1099 reporting.

That's a tax question, not an unemployment question. You should consult a tax professional about quarterly payments.

yeah probably should talk to someone who knows taxes better than me

How detailed do the records need to be? Just dates and amounts?

I keep track of dates worked, hours, what I did, and gross pay. Washington ESD might ask for specifics if they audit your claim.

Correct - ANY self-employment income needs to be reported, regardless of the amount. Even small amounts from online sales count.

Good thing she figured it out before they caught it I guess

Yes, you report it for the week the work was performed, even if payment comes later. The timing of payment doesn't matter to Washington ESD.

That seems weird but ok, thanks for clarifying

Which service did you use? I'm getting desperate here.

It was Claimyr - found them online and they got me through to an actual person at Washington ESD.

That's smart planning but it's really a personal finance question. You might want to talk to a tax professional about estimated payments.

Yeah probably should get some real tax advice instead of asking on here

You need to report ALL earnings, no matter how small. If you haven't been reporting DoorDash income, you should contact Washington ESD immediately to correct your past claims.

Oh no... how much trouble could I be in for not reporting like $300 total over 2 months?

For unemployment purposes, they treat all self-employment and contract work the same way - report gross earnings for the week work was performed.

Thanks, that simplifies things a lot

You have 30 days to appeal an overpayment determination. Gather all your records showing when you worked and what you reported on your weekly claims.

I have all the records but I'm not sure how to present them properly in the appeal

You still need to do your required job search activities unless the 1099 work is full-time equivalent. Part-time or sporadic 1099 work doesn't eliminate the job search requirement.

ok good because I was worried about that part too

I felt the same way which is why I ended up using Claimyr to get through to an actual Washington ESD agent. Having someone official explain the rules made me feel much more confident about reporting correctly.

That sounds like a good idea. The uncertainty is causing me so much stress.

You've got it exactly right. Good luck with your freelance work!

If you do decide to try reaching an agent, definitely check out that Claimyr service. Saved me hours of frustration.

That's really smart advice about the spreadsheet! I wish I had thought of that from the beginning. The availability requirement is something I hadn't fully considered either - so even if I'm doing freelance work, I still need to be able to accept a full-time job offer if one comes up?