How self-employment earnings affect ESD weekly benefits - minimums before reduction?
I just got laid off from my full-time job and have a small side business doing graphic design. I qualify for unemployment and was approved last week, but I'm confused about how my self-employment income affects my weekly benefit amount. Does ESD just subtract what I earn from my payment that week? Is there some minimum threshold I can earn before they start deducting from my benefits? I'd like to keep working on a few small projects while job hunting if possible. The handbook is so confusing and the ESD site doesn't clearly explain how this works for self-employed people specifically.
14 comments
Join the conversation
Monique Byrd
Yes, there is a threshold before they start deducting. It's called your earnings deduction and it's approximately 25% of your weekly benefit amount. So if your WBA is $850, you can earn up to about $212 before they start reducing your benefits. After that, they reduce your benefit dollar-for-dollar. ESD doesn't distinguish between self-employment and regular employment income - you just report all earnings for the week you do the work (not when you get paid).
0 coins
Alejandro Castro
•Thank you! That makes sense. So I need to report my earnings for the week I actually do the work, not when the client pays me? Some of my projects can take weeks before I invoice and get paid.
0 coins
Jackie Martinez
Quick note: you need to report your GROSS earnings (before expenses or taxes) for the week you do the work, not when you get paid. And keep detailed records of your hours worked, because ESD might ask for that documentation. I learned this the hard way when I had a small woodworking business while on UI last year.
0 coins
Lia Quinn
•this is super important!! i had to pay back like $4200 last year bc i didnt understand this part. reported when clients paid me instead of when i did the work and esd said i commited fraud 😩 even tho it was just a mistake
0 coins
Haley Stokes
Wait I'm confused now. So we have to track HOURS for self-employment?? Like if I do door dash for 3 hours but only make $27, do I report the hours or just the money? What if I do design work but don't know exactly how many hours I spent on it because I work in chunks throughout the week?? The ESD system is SO FRUSTRATING!!!
0 coins
Monique Byrd
•For self-employment, you still report your gross earnings for the week, but it's smart to also keep track of your hours because ESD may request this information during audits or if there's a question about your claim. For your design work, make a good faith estimate of your hours and keep notes about that estimate. The most important thing is accurately reporting your gross earnings each week.
0 coins
Asher Levin
i had this excat same question last month! what i do is i report all my etsy sales the week they happen even if etsy doesnt pay me till later. just be careful about how much u make cuz if u make too much in a week u might not get any benefits for that week but u still need to file the claim
0 coins
Serene Snow
•This is actually where a lot of people make mistakes. You need to report the income for the week you PERFORM THE WORK, not necessarily when the sale happens. So if you create Etsy items in week 1 but they sell in week 2, technically the income should be reported in week 1. But I know this is extremely confusing and ESD's guidance isn't very clear for self-employed folks.
0 coins
Issac Nightingale
Just a heads up on another part of self-employment that tripped me up - even if you're losing money in your business, ESD still counts your gross income before expenses. So if you did $300 worth of design work but spent $150 on software subscriptions that month, ESD still counts the full $300 against your benefits. The system is basically designed for W-2 employees and they just force self-employed people to fit into it.
0 coins
Alejandro Castro
•That's really helpful to know. Do you by chance know if they count mileage for client meetings as part of the deductions? Or do they really just care about the gross income regardless of expenses?
0 coins
Serene Snow
Has anyone actually been able to reach ESD to get clear answers on this? I've been trying to call for TWO WEEKS about my self-employment situation and it's always "high call volume" and they hang up. It's absolutely ridiculous that they expect us to follow these complicated rules but won't answer the phone to explain them!
0 coins
Jackie Martinez
•I had the same issue but finally got through using Claimyr. It's a service that basically holds your place in line and calls you when an ESD agent is available. Saved me hours of redial hell. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent I spoke with clarified all my self-employment reporting questions and even noted my account so I wouldn't have issues in the future.
0 coins
Alejandro Castro
Thank you all so much for the helpful information! I'm going to start tracking my design work hours more carefully and report the gross earnings during the week I actually do the work. I'll make sure to stay under that 25% threshold when possible to maximize my benefits while I'm job hunting. This community has been way more helpful than the ESD website!
0 coins
Monique Byrd
•You're welcome! One last tip: when you do your weekly claim, there's a section for comments. I always add a brief note there explaining my self-employment situation (like "Reported $175 in graphic design work done this week"). It creates a record in case there are questions later. Good luck with your job search!
0 coins