How much can I make while on unemployment in Washington without losing benefits?

That's really helpful, thank you! So if I made $200 one week and my benefit is $350, I'd still get the full $350?

Exactly! As long as you stay under that $345 threshold ($350 minus $5), you get your full benefit plus whatever you earned.

This is so important! I got hit with an overpayment notice because I forgot to report some odd jobs. Had to pay back like $800 plus interest.

How do they find out about unreported income? Just curious...

They cross-reference with tax records, and employers report wages to the state. Plus random audits. Not worth the risk honestly.

Wait, gross earnings? So if I make $300 but pay $50 in expenses, they count the full $300?

Yep, they count the $300. The expenses don't matter for unemployment calculations, unfortunately.

Never heard of that. Does it actually work or is it just another scam?

It's legit. I was skeptical too but I actually got through to someone at Washington ESD within like 20 minutes instead of calling for days.

How much does something like that cost though?

I don't remember the exact amount but it was totally worth it to get my questions answered quickly instead of being on hold forever.

Good point! I almost forgot about that requirement. How many job contacts do we need per week again?

It's 3 job search activities per week, and they have to be documented in your WorkSourceWA account.

What's considered too many hours? I'm thinking about taking a 20-hour per week job.

There's no hard rule on hours, but generally if you're working more than 32 hours you might have issues. 20 hours should be fine as long as you're still available for full-time work.

The key is being able to accept full-time work if it's offered. If your part-time schedule conflicts with that, you could have problems.

You report it for the week you performed the work, not when you got paid. So if you worked Monday-Friday of week 1, you report it on week 1's claim even if you don't get paid until week 2.

That makes sense, thanks! I was doing it wrong and reporting when I got paid.

The income limits are the same regardless of whether it's W-2 or 1099 work. The main difference is you'll owe self-employment taxes on the 1099 income, but that doesn't affect your unemployment calculation.

Got it, so Washington ESD treats both types of income the same way for benefit calculations?

Exactly. They just care about the gross amount you earned, not the tax status.

Same here! I've been trying to get through for days. The phone system is absolutely terrible.

This is exactly why I used Claimyr. Their service basically calls for you and gets you connected to an actual person at Washington ESD. Way better than sitting on hold all day.

I might have to try that. This is ridiculous that it's so hard to get basic information.

Just for that week! If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you won't get any unemployment payment for that specific week, but you can still claim the following week as long as you're under the limit again.

That's a relief. I was worried one bad week would mess up everything.

What kind of documentation do they typically want?

Invoices, payment records, timesheets if you have them. Basically anything that shows when you worked and how much you earned.

I keep a simple spreadsheet with dates, hours worked, and payment amounts. Has worked fine for me.

Really? I didn't know they recalculated. How often do they do that?

I think it's quarterly, but I'm not 100% sure. It happened to me once when I was working part-time for a few months.

They don't typically recalculate your weekly benefit amount unless you have a new base period. Part-time earnings while collecting shouldn't change your benefit calculation.

Agreed! The Washington ESD website is a nightmare to navigate. Half the links are broken and the information is scattered everywhere.

At least we have forums like this where people share real experiences. Way more helpful than the official site sometimes.

Why would employers care? It doesn't affect them at all.

Some think you're not committed to the job or that you'll leave as soon as you find something full-time. It's stupid but it happens.

I just don't mention it unless they specifically ask. None of their business really.

Glad it helped! Just remember to report everything accurately and you should be fine.

Same here! I'm going to move forward with that freelance opportunity. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to explain everything.

This is such a crucial point! I almost made the same mistake when I started doing some contract work. It's confusing because most people naturally think about reporting income when they actually receive the money, but Washington ESD is very clear that it's based on when you performed the work. Thanks for sharing this - it could save people a lot of headaches with overpayment issues later!

This is exactly what tripped me up when I first started freelancing while on unemployment! I was reporting everything based on when I got paid through PayPal or checks, not realizing it should be when I actually did the work. Had to go back and correct several weeks of claims. Pro tip: I started keeping a simple calendar where I mark down exactly what days I work and how much I earned each day, then I reference that when filing my weekly claims. Makes it so much easier to stay accurate.

This is so helpful to know! I was about to start some consulting work and would have definitely made this mistake. So if I work on a project Monday through Wednesday but don't send the invoice until Friday and don't get paid until the following Tuesday, I report that income for the week I did the actual work (Monday-Wednesday week), correct? Want to make sure I understand this properly before I start.