Filed WA unemployment after moving to a state with income tax - tax filing nightmare!

I went through this exact situation when I moved to California but continued getting WA unemployment. Here's the deal: you file state taxes in the state where you RESIDE, not where the benefits come from. So yes, you'll need to report your WA unemployment benefits on your Oregon state tax return. The W-2G form you get from ESD will show WA as the source, but that doesn't matter for state tax purposes - your residency is what counts. Make sure you're setting aside money for those Oregon taxes because WA ESD doesn't withhold state taxes for other states.

ur tax guy is right, i moved to idaho last yr and had to pay idaho taxes on my WA benifits. it sucks but thats how it works

This is a common issue with interstate moves. The general rule is you pay income taxes to the state where you physically reside when receiving the benefits, regardless of which state's unemployment system is paying you. The unemployment benefits are considered income in your new state. Make sure you're very clear about your date of residency change, as that will determine what portion of your benefits is taxable in Oregon. If you moved in February but didn't start collecting unemployment until April, then all your benefits would be taxable in Oregon. I recommend calling ESD directly to set up federal tax withholding (which is separate from state taxes). Unfortunately, their phone lines are perpetually jammed. When I was in a similar situation, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual ESD agent without the long wait. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 that shows how it works. It saved me hours of frustration.

The Oregon tax people are WRONG if they told you that you don't have to pay Oregon taxes on your unemployment! Thats crazy! I made this mistake last year when I moved to California and ended up with a HUGE tax bill plus penalties! Don't listen to them!!!

I'm so confused by this whole interstate unemployment thing. I thought that unemployment is always only taxed in the state where you earned the wages that the claim is based on. But now everyone is saying something different? Can someone explain why we'd pay taxes to a state where we didn't even work?? That seems like double taxation or something.

Hey just wanted to share my experience - I moved from Washington to Minnesota mid-claim last year and had to deal with this exact situation. Called ESD about a dozen times before finally getting through to someone. They confirmed I needed to file Minnesota state taxes on my WA unemployment. I ended up having to put aside about 7% of each payment for state taxes. Also had to file a part-year resident tax return in Minnesota which was a real headache. Make sure you're documenting your exact move date because that matters for tax purposes.

wait a secind, did u update ur adress with ESD when u moved? cuz if not u might be in violaton of the ESD rules. pretty sure ur spposed to be looking for work in WA if thats where ur claiming from

Update: I spent all day trying to reach someone at ESD to get federal withholding set up on my claim. Called at least 10 times and either got a busy signal or was disconnected after waiting on hold. This is so frustrating! Does anyone know if there's a way to set up withholding through the online portal? I can't find that option anywhere.

I tried using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above after struggling to get through to ESD for weeks. It actually worked! Got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. Just wanted to report back that it's legit if anyone else is facing the same frustration with the phone lines.

Just wanted to add my experience to help others in similar situations. I moved from Washington to Colorado mid-2024 while collecting unemployment benefits from WA ESD. Colorado also has state income tax, and yes, I had to pay Colorado state taxes on all my WA unemployment benefits. The key thing to understand is that unemployment benefits are taxed as regular income in your state of residence, not the state that issues them. I learned this the hard way when I didn't set aside enough money for state taxes. My advice: immediately start setting aside at least 5-7% of each payment for state taxes (depending on your state's tax rate), and definitely try to get federal withholding set up through ESD to avoid a big tax bill come filing time. Also keep detailed records of your move date and all correspondence with both states' tax agencies - you'll need it for filing.