Where does Washington ESD unemployment go on 1040 tax return?
I received my 1099-G from Washington ESD for the unemployment I collected last year but I'm not sure where to put it on my 1040. The form shows about $8,200 in benefits. Do I report this as regular income or is there a special section for unemployment? I used TurboTax last year but want to make sure I'm doing this right since it's my first time filing with unemployment income.
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Clarissa Flair
Unemployment benefits go on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income. You'll report it on line 7 as 'Unemployment compensation.' The amount should match what's on your 1099-G from Washington ESD.
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Eve Freeman
•Thanks! So it's not just regular W-2 income then? I need to fill out Schedule 1 separately?
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Clarissa Flair
•Correct, it's separate from W-2 wages. Schedule 1 feeds into your main 1040 form.
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Caden Turner
yeah i had the same question last year. turbo tax walked me through it pretty easy tho. just make sure you enter the exact amount from your 1099-G
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Eve Freeman
•Good to know TurboTax handles it well. Did you have to pay taxes on the full amount?
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Caden Turner
•yep, unemployment is fully taxable. wish someone had told me that when i was collecting it!
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McKenzie Shade
One thing to remember - if you had any federal taxes withheld from your unemployment benefits, that will show up on your 1099-G too. Washington ESD gives you the option to have 10% withheld for federal taxes. If you did that, make sure to claim those withholdings on your return.
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Eve Freeman
•I didn't have anything withheld because I didn't know it was taxable. Should I be worried about owing a big tax bill?
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McKenzie Shade
•Depends on your total income and tax situation. $8,200 in additional income could increase your tax liability, but it varies by person.
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Harmony Love
•If you're worried about owing taxes, you might want to use a service like Claimyr to help you get through to Washington ESD agents if you need clarification on your 1099-G. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how they help people actually reach agents instead of getting stuck in phone loops.
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Rudy Cenizo
UGH why doesn't Washington ESD just automatically withhold taxes like regular jobs do?? This is so confusing and now I probably owe money I don't have!
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Clarissa Flair
•They actually do offer withholding - you have to request it when you file your weekly claims. It's optional because some people prefer to handle taxes themselves.
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Rudy Cenizo
•Well nobody told me that when I started my claim! I would have definitely chosen to withhold taxes.
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Natalie Khan
Make sure you keep your 1099-G form safe - you'll need it for your records and the IRS gets a copy too so the amounts need to match exactly.
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Eve Freeman
•Good point. I downloaded the PDF from my SecureAccess Washington account but should I print a copy too?
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Natalie Khan
•I always print tax documents. Digital copies are fine but having a hard copy never hurts.
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Daryl Bright
This is exactly why I hate tax season. Between my W-2, my husband's 1099 from contract work, and now my unemployment 1099-G, it's like we need a degree in accounting just to file our taxes correctly.
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Caden Turner
•tell me about it. i ended up paying someone to do my taxes because i was so confused
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Daryl Bright
•I'm seriously considering that this year. The $200 might be worth it for peace of mind.
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McKenzie Shade
Pro tip: if you're using tax software, it should automatically put the unemployment income in the right place when you enter your 1099-G. Just make sure you select '1099-G' and not '1099-MISC' or something else.
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Eve Freeman
•That's helpful - I was wondering if there were different types of 1099 forms that could get mixed up.
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McKenzie Shade
•Yes, there are many types. 1099-G is specifically for government payments like unemployment, tax refunds, and other government benefits.
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Harmony Love
If anyone is having trouble getting their 1099-G from Washington ESD, I found that using claimyr.com really helped me get through to an actual person who could help me access my forms. Way better than spending hours on hold.
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Rudy Cenizo
•How much does that cost? I'm already stressed about owing taxes and don't want to spend more money.
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Harmony Love
•It's worth checking out their site - they focus on helping you connect with agents rather than doing the work for you. Much more reasonable than hiring a tax professional.
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Eve Freeman
Update: I found my 1099-G in my SecureAccess Washington account under 'Tax Documents.' For anyone else looking, it's not super obvious where to find it but it's there.
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Natalie Khan
•Good find! They should make that easier to locate. Tax season is stressful enough without having to hunt for documents.
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Caden Turner
•yeah mine was buried in there too. took me forever to find it
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Clarissa Flair
Just to clarify for anyone reading this thread - ALL unemployment compensation is taxable income for federal purposes. This includes regular UI benefits, any federal extensions, and any other unemployment-related payments from Washington ESD.
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Eve Freeman
•So even if I only collected for a few weeks, I still need to report it?
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Clarissa Flair
•Yes, any amount of unemployment income needs to be reported, no matter how small.
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Rudy Cenizo
I'm still mad that Washington ESD doesn't make it clearer that unemployment is taxable. They should have big warnings about this when you first apply!
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McKenzie Shade
•They do mention it in the paperwork and during the application process, but it's easy to miss when you're focused on just getting benefits approved.
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Rudy Cenizo
•Well if they mentioned it, it wasn't obvious enough. I definitely would have remembered something that important.
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Daryl Bright
For what it's worth, I called Washington ESD to ask about my 1099-G and they were actually pretty helpful. Took forever to get through though - probably spent 2 hours on hold over multiple attempts.
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Harmony Love
•That's exactly why I started using Claimyr - they help you get through to Washington ESD without the endless hold times. Check out their demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ to see how it works.
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Daryl Bright
•Interesting, I'll have to check that out. Two hours on hold is ridiculous for a simple question.
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Caden Turner
does anyone know if there's a difference between state and federal taxes for unemployment? like do i owe washington state taxes too?
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Clarissa Flair
•Washington state has no income tax, so you don't owe state taxes on unemployment. Only federal taxes apply.
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Caden Turner
•oh wow that's actually a relief. one less thing to worry about
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Natalie Khan
I learned this the hard way last year - if you collected unemployment and didn't have taxes withheld, set aside money for next year's tax bill. It's better to be prepared than surprised.
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Eve Freeman
•Good advice. I'm definitely going to do estimated payments if I end up owing a lot this year.
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Natalie Khan
•Smart move. The IRS doesn't like surprises and neither do most taxpayers.
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McKenzie Shade
One more thing - if you received unemployment in 2024 but your 1099-G shows income for 2023, that's normal. The 1099-G reports when the income was paid, not when it was earned. Just make sure you're filing it for the correct tax year.
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Eve Freeman
•That's confusing. How do I know which tax year it belongs to?
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McKenzie Shade
•Look at the tax year printed on the 1099-G form itself. That tells you which year's return to file it with.
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Rudy Cenizo
This whole thread has been super helpful but also made me realize how much I don't know about taxes. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay someone to do them this year.
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Daryl Bright
•Honestly, it might be worth it for peace of mind. I'm leaning the same way.
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Clarissa Flair
•Tax software has gotten pretty good at handling these situations. Might be worth trying that first before paying for professional help.
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Harmony Love
For anyone still struggling to get their 1099-G or having other issues with Washington ESD, I really recommend checking out claimyr.com. They helped me get through to resolve a discrepancy on my form that would have been a nightmare to fix otherwise.
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Eve Freeman
•What kind of discrepancy did you have? Now I'm worried mine might be wrong too.
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Harmony Love
•They had the wrong amount listed - probably a system error. The agent I reached through Claimyr was able to correct it and send me a revised form within a week.
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Caden Turner
thanks everyone for all the help. i feel way less confused about this now. time to bite the bullet and actually do my taxes lol
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Eve Freeman
•Same here! This thread saved me a lot of stress and probably some mistakes.
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Natalie Khan
•Good luck everyone! Tax season is never fun but at least we're all in it together.
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Eve Freeman
Final update: I used TurboTax and it walked me through everything perfectly. The unemployment income went exactly where everyone said it would. Thanks for all the help!
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Clarissa Flair
•Glad it worked out! Tax software has really improved over the years.
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Rudy Cenizo
•Good to hear. Maybe I won't need to pay someone after all.
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