How to check unemployment tax refund status in Washington ESD system?
I paid taxes on my unemployment benefits last year and heard I might be eligible for a refund. I'm trying to figure out how to check if Washington ESD processed any tax refund for me. I've looked through my SecureAccess Washington account but can't find anything about tax refunds. Has anyone successfully tracked down their unemployment tax refund status? Where exactly do I look for this information?
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Mary Bates
The unemployment tax refund would actually come from the IRS, not Washington ESD. You'd need to check your federal tax return status on the IRS website or call them directly. Washington ESD doesn't handle tax refunds - they just issue the 1099-G forms.
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Oliver Brown
•Oh that makes more sense! I was so confused why I couldn't find anything on the Washington ESD site. Thanks for clarifying that.
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Clay blendedgen
•Yeah the IRS was automatically issuing refunds for people who overpaid on unemployment taxes. Check your bank account or IRS transcript.
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Ayla Kumar
You can check your IRS account transcript online at irs.gov to see if any refund was processed. Look for 'Account Transcript' and it will show all activity including refunds. If you're still having trouble getting through to the IRS phone lines, I actually found this service called Claimyr that helps you reach government agencies faster. They have a demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ and their site is claimyr.com. Worked great when I needed to talk to someone about my tax situation.
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Oliver Brown
•Thanks! I'll check the IRS transcript first. If I can't get through their phone system I might try that service you mentioned.
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Lorenzo McCormick
•Wait is that a paid service? I'm already struggling financially so I don't want to pay extra just to make a phone call.
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Ayla Kumar
•I think it's worth checking out their demo video first to see if it would help your situation. Sometimes the time saved is worth it when you're dealing with urgent issues.
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Carmella Popescu
I got my unemployment tax refund automatically last year without doing anything. The IRS just deposited it into the same account where they sent my regular tax refund. Did you file your taxes electronically? That might affect how they process it.
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Oliver Brown
•Yes I filed electronically through TurboTax. Maybe I should check my bank statements again to see if there was a deposit I missed?
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Carmella Popescu
•Definitely check! Mine showed up as 'IRS TREAS' or something like that. The amount wasn't huge but every bit helps.
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Kai Santiago
WAIT are we talking about the american rescue plan unemployment tax relief? because that was only for 2020 unemployment benefits and the deadline to claim that has passed. if you're talking about regular tax refunds thats different.
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Oliver Brown
•I collected unemployment in 2020 so yes that's probably what I'm thinking of. I didn't realize there was a deadline!
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Kai Santiago
•yeah that deadline was like 2021 or 2022 i think. but you should still check your irs transcript to see if they processed it automatically back then.
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Mary Bates
•The IRS was supposed to automatically process those refunds for most people who were eligible. You might have already received it and just not noticed.
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Lim Wong
ugh this is so confusing. I collected unemployment in 2020 and 2021 and have no idea if I got any refunds or not. my financial records from that time are a mess.
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Mary Bates
•The IRS transcript will show everything. Even if your personal records are messy, the IRS keeps track of all payments and refunds on their end.
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Dananyl Lear
•same boat here. that whole period was such chaos with all the different unemployment programs. at least now we just have regular washington esd benefits.
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Clay blendedgen
If you're still having trouble getting answers from the IRS, I used Claimyr recently to get through to them about a different tax issue. Way easier than trying to call myself and waiting on hold forever. The website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works.
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Oliver Brown
•How long did it take them to connect you? I've been trying to call the IRS for weeks with no luck.
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Clay blendedgen
•It was pretty quick actually. Much faster than when I tried calling on my own. Saved me hours of frustration.
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Noah huntAce420
Just to clarify - Washington ESD doesn't handle tax refunds at all. They send you the 1099-G showing how much unemployment you received, then you use that to file your taxes with the IRS. Any refunds come from federal or state tax agencies, not Washington ESD.
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Oliver Brown
•Got it, thank you for explaining that clearly. I was definitely looking in the wrong place.
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Ana Rusula
•yeah i made the same mistake when i first started collecting UI. the whole system is confusing with all these different agencies.
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Lorenzo McCormick
does anyone know if there are still any unemployment tax benefits available for 2024? or was that american rescue plan thing a one-time deal?
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Mary Bates
•The American Rescue Plan unemployment tax relief was specifically for 2020 tax year only. For 2024, unemployment benefits are taxable income just like they normally are.
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Lorenzo McCormick
•dang, that sucks. i was hoping there might still be some relief available.
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Noah huntAce420
•You can still choose to have taxes withheld from your weekly unemployment payments to avoid owing at tax time. That option is available in your Washington ESD account.
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Fidel Carson
pro tip: if you use the IRS online transcript tool, make sure you're looking at the right tax year. the unemployment tax refunds would show up on your 2020 account transcript specifically.
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Oliver Brown
•Good point! I was probably looking at the wrong year. I'll check my 2020 transcript specifically.
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Fidel Carson
•yeah and look for any deposits that happened in 2021 or early 2022, that's when most of the automatic refunds were processed.
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Isaiah Sanders
honestly the whole tax situation with unemployment is so complicated. between washington esd, the irs, and state taxes, it's hard to keep track of everything.
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Xan Dae
•tell me about it. i'm still confused about whether i owe state taxes on my UI benefits or not.
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Noah huntAce420
•Washington state doesn't have income tax, so you don't owe state taxes on unemployment benefits here. Just federal taxes.
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Fiona Gallagher
Update: I found my unemployment tax refund! It was automatically deposited in May 2021 and I completely missed it. Thanks everyone for pointing me toward the IRS transcript tool.
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Oliver Brown
•That's great! I'm going to check my transcript tonight and see if the same thing happened to me.
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Fiona Gallagher
•Definitely check! Mine was listed as 'unemployment compensation exclusion' or something like that. The amount was around $1,200.
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Carmella Popescu
•Nice! That's a decent chunk of money to discover you already received. Glad you found it.
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Thais Soares
for anyone still struggling to get through to the irs about this stuff, i had good luck with claimyr helping me connect faster. their demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ shows exactly how it works. way better than spending hours on hold.
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Nalani Liu
•is that service legit? i'm always suspicious of third-party things when it comes to government stuff.
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Thais Soares
•yeah it's legit. they don't ask for any sensitive info, just help you get through the phone system faster. check out their site at claimyr.com to see for yourself.
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