How much is unemployment tax taken from Washington ESD benefits?

Oh no, I don't think I requested withholding when I filed. How do I add it now?

Log into your SecureAccess Washington account and look for the tax withholding option in your claim settings. You can change it anytime.

Yikes! That's exactly what I'm worried about. How much should I have them withhold?

Standard federal withholding is 10% but you might want more if you're in a higher tax bracket. Washington has no state income tax so you only worry about federal.

I had the same problem until I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com. They help you get through to Washington ESD agents without waiting on hold forever. There's even a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

Really? That sounds too good to be true. How does it work exactly?

Basically they call Washington ESD for you and get you connected to an actual person. Saved me hours of frustration trying to get my tax withholding set up.

Thanks for clarifying! So if I'm getting $400/week, they'd withhold $40 for taxes?

Exactly. $40 per week would go to federal taxes, leaving you with $360 per week.

Is 10% enough though? I made decent money before getting laid off and I'm worried 10% won't cover what I'll owe.

Good point. I was making $65k before I got laid off, so maybe I should withhold more than 10%?

At that income level, you're probably in the 22% tax bracket, so 10% might not be enough. Consider withholding 15-20% to be safe.

Unfortunately yes. The unemployment benefits count as income, so you'll owe taxes on whatever you received during the year.

this is so frustrating. the whole system is confusing and they dont explain anything clearly

Wow, that's a lot! I'm definitely going to log in and set up withholding right now.

Did you have to pay any penalties for not paying quarterly?

Luckily no penalties because I had enough withheld from my previous job earlier in the year, but it was still a shock.

Good advice! I'll start keeping a spreadsheet with my weekly amounts.

Yeah, and make sure your address is updated with Washington ESD so you actually receive the 1099-G form.

Agreed. The initial filing process should have a big warning about taxes, not just a small checkbox buried somewhere.

Yeah, I definitely missed that checkbox when I was filing. Too many forms and questions to keep track of.

How much does something like that cost though?

It's worth it to avoid the headache of calling Washington ESD yourself. Much easier than spending half your day redialing busy signals.

Oh I hadn't thought about that. I'm not on any other benefits but good to know.

Yeah, they use your gross unemployment amount before taxes for things like SNAP eligibility.

It shows the gross amount - the total benefits you received before any tax withholding.

Thanks! So I'll need to keep track of what was withheld separately.

The withholding amounts should show up on your regular tax forms when you file, but yes, good to keep your own records.

Same here! Thanks everyone for the advice. Definitely learned something new today.

Good luck! The tax withholding option should be pretty easy to find once you're logged in.

That's reassuring to know there are options if needed. Hopefully the withholding will cover most of it.

Yeah, they're usually pretty reasonable about setting up payment plans as long as you don't just ignore the bill.

Awesome! I'm definitely going to check that out if I need to call Washington ESD again.

It's nice to know there are solutions when the regular phone system doesn't work.