Does unemployment count as income for health insurance marketplace subsidies in Washington?

Thanks! So if I'm getting $580/week, that's about $30,160 annually. That should still qualify me for subsidies right?

For 2025, that income level should definitely qualify you for premium tax credits, especially if you're single. The cutoff is around 400% of federal poverty level which is much higher than your UI amount.

Good point about updating when benefits end. I forgot to do that and had to pay back some of my premium tax credit at tax time.

Oh no, that's exactly what I'm worried about! How much did you have to pay back?

That's smart - I'll probably do something similar. Did you have any issues with the income verification process?

No major issues, but I did have to provide documentation from Washington ESD showing my benefit amount. Keep your determination letter handy.

This is really important! I was doing some freelance work while on partial unemployment and almost forgot to include that income on my marketplace application.

I'm not working at all right now, just collecting regular unemployment. So it sounds like I just need to report my UI benefits amount.

Never heard of Claimyr - is that like a calling service? I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for days about a different issue.

Yeah, it's claimyr.com - they basically call on your behalf and get you connected to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me so much time.

Good reminder! I did opt to have taxes withheld from my unemployment payments. Does that affect how I report the income on the marketplace?

No, you still report the gross amount before taxes. The tax withholding is separate from the income calculation for premium tax credits.

Yes, both count as income for marketplace calculations. SSDI is taxable income in most cases, so you'll need to include both amounts in your total estimated annual income.

Wait, can you even get unemployment if you're on disability? I thought those were mutually exclusive.

It's complicated - I was working part-time while on SSDI and became eligible for unemployment when I lost that job. Washington ESD approved my claim but it took some back and forth.

So it's better to overestimate slightly rather than underestimate? I want to avoid having to pay anything back.

That's generally the safer approach, yes. You can always update your application during the year if your income changes significantly.

Yikes! How long did it take to fix your application? Did it affect your coverage?

Took about 2 weeks to get it sorted out. My coverage wasn't interrupted but I had to pay higher premiums until the correction went through.

Yes! I learned this the hard way. Make sure you can access your eServices account to download these documents if needed.

Good advice! I'll make sure to save copies of everything from my Washington ESD account.

I'm single so that's not an issue for me, but good point for others reading this thread.

This caught me off guard when I applied. My spouse was still working full-time so our combined income was too high for the largest subsidies.

That's a huge savings! I'm hoping to get similar results. Did you use the Healthcare.gov website or the Washington state marketplace?

I used Healthcare.gov since Washington doesn't have its own state marketplace. The process was pretty straightforward once I had all my income information ready.

That makes sense. I'm actively job searching so I'll definitely need to remember to update my application when I find something.

And don't forget to check if your new employer offers health insurance. You might want to switch from marketplace coverage to employer coverage during open enrollment.

Thanks for sharing your experience! It's reassuring to hear from someone who's been through this successfully.

Same here - I've had to navigate this situation multiple times unfortunately. The key is staying organized and updating your application whenever your income changes.

I actually looked into Claimyr after the earlier comment - seems like it could be really helpful for getting through to Washington ESD quickly.

I was skeptical at first but ended up trying it when I couldn't get through to resolve an issue with my weekly claim. Worked exactly as advertised.

Perfect summary! I feel much more confident about filling out my marketplace application now. Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice.

This whole thread has been super helpful. I'm in a similar situation and was worried about messing up my application.