How much taxes do they take out of unemployment Washington ESD benefits?
I just started receiving my weekly unemployment payments from Washington ESD and I'm confused about the tax situation. They're taking out federal taxes but I'm not sure if it's the right amount. My weekly benefit is $640 and they're withholding $64 for federal taxes (10%). Is this standard? Should I be having state taxes taken out too since I live in Washington? I don't want to owe a bunch at tax time but I also don't want them taking too much if Washington doesn't tax unemployment benefits.
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Isabella Ferreira
Washington state doesn't have income tax so you won't owe state taxes on your unemployment benefits. The federal withholding of 10% is optional - you can choose to have it taken out or not when you file your initial claim or change it later through your account.
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Malik Thompson
AuthorOh that's good to know about no state taxes! So the 10% federal is just a standard rate they offer?
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Isabella Ferreira
Yes exactly. It's just a flat 10% federal withholding option. Whether that's enough depends on your total income for the year and tax bracket.
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CosmicVoyager
i chose not to have any taxes taken out because i figured i could just pay at the end of the year but now im worried that was a mistake
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Ravi Kapoor
It really depends on your situation. If unemployment is your only income this year, you might not owe much. But if you had other jobs or income, you could end up owing a significant amount.
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CosmicVoyager
yeah i worked for 8 months before getting laid off so i probably should have had them withhold something
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Freya Nielsen
The 10% federal withholding is usually not enough for most people. I learned this the hard way last year when I owed $1,800 at tax time. If you're in a higher tax bracket or have other income, you should consider having additional taxes withheld or making quarterly payments.
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Malik Thompson
AuthorYikes! $1,800 is a lot. How do I figure out if 10% will be enough for my situation?
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Freya Nielsen
You can use the IRS withholding calculator online or talk to a tax professional. Generally if your total income puts you in the 22% bracket, the 10% won't cover it.
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Omar Mahmoud
Does anyone know how to change the tax withholding after you've already started receiving benefits? I initially chose no withholding but want to start having taxes taken out now.
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Isabella Ferreira
You can change it by logging into your SecureAccess Washington account and updating your tax withholding preferences. The change should take effect with your next weekly claim.
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Omar Mahmoud
Perfect, thank you! I'll do that this weekend when I file my weekly claim.
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Chloe Harris
I had trouble getting into my account to make changes. Kept getting error messages when I tried to update anything. If you run into issues, there's this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps people get through to Washington ESD agents. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.
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Diego Vargas
Just remember that unemployment benefits are fully taxable at the federal level. A lot of people don't realize this and get surprised at tax time. Even if you don't have taxes withheld, you'll still owe on the full amount you received.
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NeonNinja
This is so important! My neighbor didn't know unemployment was taxable and owed $3,000 last April. She had to set up a payment plan with the IRS.
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Diego Vargas
Exactly! It's treated just like regular income for tax purposes. The only difference is the withholding is optional instead of automatic.
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Anastasia Popov
The Washington ESD website has a section about taxes but it's not very clear. They basically just say federal taxes may apply and you can choose to have 10% withheld. Doesn't really help you decide if that's the right amount.
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Sean Murphy
I agree their tax info is pretty basic. I ended up calling H&R Block to ask about my specific situation since I wasn't sure.
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Anastasia Popov
Good idea. Professional advice is probably worth it if you're dealing with a significant amount of benefits.
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Zara Khan
For what it's worth, I've been having the 10% withheld and it's been pretty close to what I actually owe. I'm single with no other major income sources though, so YMMV.
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Malik Thompson
AuthorThat's helpful to know. I'm in a similar situation - single and this is my main income right now.
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Luca Ferrari
Same here. The 10% has worked out fine for me over the past few months.
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Nia Davis
One thing to consider is that if you don't have enough taxes withheld and end up owing more than $1,000 at tax time, you might have to pay penalties for underpayment. This is especially true if you had other income during the year.
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Mateo Martinez
I didn't know about the penalty! How much is it usually?
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Nia Davis
It varies but it's calculated as interest on the amount you should have paid quarterly. Usually not huge but still annoying to pay extra.
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QuantumQueen
If you're worried about getting through to Washington ESD to change your withholding settings, I used Claimyr a few weeks ago when I couldn't get through on my own. Really helped me get connected to an actual person who could update my account settings.
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Aisha Rahman
How much did that cost? I've been trying to call for days but keep getting the busy signal.
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QuantumQueen
It was worth it for me since I was wasting so much time trying to call. Check out their demo video to see how it works - https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ
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Ethan Wilson
Does the 10% withholding apply to the whole benefit amount or just part of it? I'm getting $520 a week and they're taking out $52, so it seems like it's on the full amount.
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Isabella Ferreira
Yes, it's 10% of your total weekly benefit amount. So if you're getting $520, they'll withhold $52 for federal taxes.
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Ethan Wilson
Got it, that makes sense. Thanks for confirming!
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Yuki Sato
I'm curious about this too because I just started my claim last week. Do you get a 1099 form at the end of the year showing how much you received and how much was withheld?
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Ravi Kapoor
Yes, Washington ESD will send you a 1099-G form by January 31st showing your total benefits and any federal taxes withheld. You'll need this for your tax return.
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Yuki Sato
Perfect, good to know I'll get the proper documentation.
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Carmen Flores
The whole tax situation with unemployment is confusing. I wish they would just automatically withhold the right amount based on your income bracket instead of making it a guessing game.
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Andre Dubois
I think the problem is they don't know your other income sources or tax situation, so they can't really calculate the right amount automatically.
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Carmen Flores
True, but even a rough estimate would be better than the current system.
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CyberSamurai
Quick tip - if you decide to have taxes withheld, make sure to check your account settings every few weeks. I had mine set to withhold but somehow it got changed back to no withholding without me realizing it.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
That's weird. Did Washington ESD explain why it changed?
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CyberSamurai
No, I never got a clear answer. Could have been a system glitch or maybe I accidentally changed it when filing a weekly claim.
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Jamal Carter
This happened to me last month too! I had to call to get it fixed. Took forever to get through but once I did, the agent was able to restore my withholding setting. If you're having trouble reaching them, that Claimyr service mentioned earlier actually helped me get through when I was stuck in phone hell.
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Mei Liu
For anyone doing the math - if you receive the maximum weekly benefit in Washington ($929) and have 10% withheld, that's about $4,830 in federal taxes over a full year of benefits. Just to give you an idea of the scale.
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Liam O'Donnell
Wow, that's a significant amount. Definitely makes sense to think carefully about the withholding decision.
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Mei Liu
Exactly. And if you're in a higher tax bracket, you'd still owe more on top of that $4,830.
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Amara Nwosu
Don't forget that if you receive unemployment benefits, you might also qualify for tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, depending on your total income for the year. Sometimes people focus too much on the taxes owed and forget about potential credits.
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AstroExplorer
Good point! I qualified for EIC last year even though I received unemployment for part of the year.
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Malik Thompson
AuthorI hadn't thought about tax credits. Definitely something to look into when I file my return.
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