When will IRS send unemployment tax refund for Washington ESD benefits?

This was for 2023 benefits I received from Washington ESD. My accountant said there might be additional relief but wasn't sure about the timeline.

For 2023, there wasn't the same automatic unemployment tax relief as there was in 2021. You might need to check if you qualify for other credits or deductions instead.

Wait, so unemployment benefits are always taxable? I thought they changed that permanently!

No, the $10,200 exclusion was only for 2020 tax returns. Regular UI benefits have always been taxable income, including Washington ESD payments.

Thanks, I might need that. I've been trying to call the IRS for weeks with no luck getting through.

Claimyr actually works pretty well. I used it last month to get through to someone about my tax transcript. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.

So basically I'm out of luck for getting any refund on the taxes I paid on my 2023 Washington ESD benefits?

Correct, unless you have other tax credits or deductions you missed. You might want to review your return with a tax professional to see if there are other ways to reduce your tax liability.

It was part of COVID relief legislation. The idea was that 2020 was an unusual year with massive unemployment due to the pandemic shutdown.

I guess that makes sense, but people are still struggling with job loss in other years too.

Good luck getting through to them. I tried calling about a different issue and gave up after being on hold for 3 hours twice.

That's exactly why I mentioned Claimyr earlier. They specialize in getting people connected to hard-to-reach government phone lines.

That explains why I never got anything. My unemployment was in 2023, not 2020.

Same here. I keep seeing people online talking about unemployment tax refunds but they must be referring to the old 2020 ones.

I did work part of 2023 before getting laid off. Maybe I should have my tax preparer look at that.

Definitely worth checking. Sometimes people focus on one issue and miss other opportunities for tax savings.

Hey, $800 is still $800! I would take that right now.

True, every bit helps. Just saying don't expect thousands if you somehow did qualify for something.

I haven't seen any legislation proposed for that. The 2020 exclusion was specifically pandemic-related relief.

Would be nice but I'm not holding my breath. Congress seems focused on other things right now.

Yeah, at least living in Washington means no state income tax on the UI benefits. That's something I guess.

That's actually a pretty big advantage. State income tax on unemployment can be significant in some places.

No, the unemployment tax exclusion was only for 2020. All unemployment benefits from 2021 forward are fully taxable as regular income.

Well that's disappointing but good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

How much does it cost? If it's expensive it might not be worth it just to confirm what people are saying here.

I'd rather not get into specifics about pricing, but for me it was worth it to get a definitive answer directly from the IRS instead of guessing.

That's what I'm gathering from everyone's responses. Guess I was hoping for something that doesn't exist.

Yeah, unfortunately there's a lot of outdated information floating around online about these refunds. People see old articles and think it still applies.

I have all my 1099-G forms from Washington ESD. That should be enough, right?

Yes, the 1099-G shows exactly what you need to report. Just make sure the amount on your tax return matches what's on that form.

You generally have 3 years to amend a tax return, so you might still be able to claim the 2020 unemployment exclusion if you didn't get it automatically. You'd need to file Form 1040X.

Thanks! I'll look into that. Could be worth a few hundred dollars if I qualify.

Good to know it works for Washington ESD too. I might need that for future unemployment issues as well.

Yeah, they seem to work with various government agencies. Pretty handy service to know about.

Same here. At least now I know I'm not missing out on money I should be getting.

Exactly. Better to know for sure than keep wondering about it.

That's actually really good advice. I learned that the hard way when I got hit with a huge tax bill.

I did have taxes withheld from my benefits, which is why I was hoping for some kind of refund. But at least I won't owe more.