Is unemployment considered government assistance for Washington ESD benefits?

Thanks! That makes sense. I figured it was better to be upfront about it rather than risk having issues later.

I always list my UI benefits when asked about government assistance. Never had a landlord reject me because of it.

This is exactly right. Unemployment is insurance, not welfare. You literally paid premiums through your paychecks.

That's a good way to think about it - as insurance rather than assistance. Makes me feel less weird about receiving it.

Did Washington ESD give you any documentation about how to classify it? I might need something official for my application.

They didn't give me paperwork but said I could reference the fact that it's funded through employer payroll taxes, not general tax revenue like other assistance programs.

You're absolutely right about earning it, but legally it's still classified as government assistance in most contexts. The distinction matters for certain applications.

yeah I get that legally its government money but it feels different than food stamps or whatever. I worked for this.

For mortgage applications, definitely disclose it. Lenders want to see all income sources, and UI benefits count as verifiable income for the application period.

Good to know! I'll make sure to include it then. Better safe than sorry with mortgage stuff.

This is the safest approach. I've never had problems being upfront about receiving UI benefits.

Yeah, transparency seems like the way to go. I don't want to accidentally commit fraud or something by not disclosing it.

That's a great point about the legal classification. The distinction matters more for things like public housing eligibility than rental applications.

Exactly. For housing assistance programs, they definitely distinguish between earned benefits and needs-based assistance.

That's really helpful to hear from someone on the other side! So you're more concerned about knowing all income sources than judging the type of income?

Exactly. We just want a complete picture of someone's financial situation. UI benefits show you have some income coming in, which is better than no income.

good to know landlords dont automatically reject people on unemployment. I was worried about that.

Right, it's temporary by design. Most people only receive it for a few months while job searching.

Exactly. And there are work search requirements and other conditions that make it different from unconditional assistance programs.

Don't feel ashamed! You earned this benefit through your work history. It's there specifically to help people during job transitions.

Yeah, there's no shame in using a benefit you paid into. That's literally what it's for.

thanks everyone. this community is really supportive and I appreciate all the perspectives

Good point about taxes. The IRS definitely treats UI benefits as taxable income from government sources.

Yep, learned that the hard way last tax season. Make sure to save some money for taxes if you're not having them withheld from your UI payments.

Thanks for the professional perspective! It sounds like being transparent is the consensus regardless of the technical classification.

Exactly. Most forms just want to know about all your income sources. The specific type of assistance usually doesn't affect the outcome.

That's probably the simplest way to think about it. If it comes from the government, it's government assistance.

Right, and there's really no downside to disclosing it on most applications anyway.

That's encouraging! I was worried landlords would automatically reject applications from people on UI.

Most landlords just want to see that you have some income coming in. UI benefits show you're actively job searching and have temporary income.

You're absolutely right. I'm going to list it and explain that it's temporary unemployment insurance if there's space for clarification.

Good approach. Most forms have a section for additional comments where you can explain the nature of the assistance.

Interesting that they made that distinction for scholarship purposes. I wonder if it affected your eligibility at all.

It didn't hurt my application. They were more interested in my overall financial need than the specific source of assistance.

This is great advice. From a property management perspective, we'd much rather have too much information than not enough.

Perfect, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Better safe than sorry!

Good point about consistency. It's easier to have one standard way of reporting it than trying to make case-by-case decisions.

Exactly. And if government agencies themselves count it as assistance income, that's probably the most official classification you can get.