Already Filed A Tax Year 2020 Tax Return
In most cases, if you already filed a 2020 tax return that includes the full amount of your unemployment compensation, the IRS will automatically determine the correct taxable amount of unemployment compensation and the correct tax. If you paid more than the correct tax amount, the IRS will either refund the overpayment or apply it to other outstanding taxes owed or other debts. The IRS began performing the corrections starting in May 2021 and continues to review tax year 2020 returns and process corrections to issue any applicable refund that is due. If the exclusion of unemployment compensation now qualifies you for deductions or credits not claimed on your original return, you should file an amended return. For example, if you did not claim the Earned Income Tax Credit on your originally filed return because your AGI was too high, and the special exclusion allowed for unemployment compensation received in tax year 2020 reduced your AGI, you should file an amended return to claim the EITC if now eligible.
Exception: If you have qualifying children and received a CP08 or CP09 notice stating you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit, you do not need to file an amended return. Instead, you can simply respond to the notice if you are eligible for the credit.
See Topic D: Amended Return for more information on filing amended returns and additional exceptions to the amended return requirement.
Will I Get A Stimulus Check If I’m Self
Self-employment does not prevent you from receiving a stimulus check, provided your income and residency fall under the stimulus check guidelines. The stimulus eligibility guidelines for the stimulus payment include having an adjusted gross income under $75,000 if single or married filing separately, under $112,500 if head of household, or under $150,000 if married filing jointly as of your latest tax return. If you were not required to file a tax return in 2018 or 2019, and you got a stimulus check this year, you should get one in the second round.
What If I Haven’t Filed A Tax Return
TAXPAYERS had until May 17 to file an extension if they needed more time to submit their returns.
If you didnt file a tax return or an extension, but should have, you need to take action – or the penalties you face may increase.
If you file your return over 60 days late, youll have to pay a $435 fine or 100% of the tax you owe – whichever is less.
However, there is no penalty for filing a late return after the tax deadline if a refund is due, said the IRS.
If you didn’t file and owe tax, file a return as soon as you can and pay as much as possible to reduce penalties and interest.
You won’t have to pay the penalties if you can show “reasonable cause” for the failure to do so on time – we explain how in our guide.
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Unemployment Federal Tax Break
Last year, the American Rescue Plan, gave a federal tax break on unemployment benefits. For Tax Year 2020 , you didnt have to pay federal tax on the first $10,200 of your unemployment benefits if your adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 in 2020. The $150,000 income limit is the same whether you are filing single or married.
For paper filers, the IRS published instructions on how to claim the unemployment tax break: New Exclusion of up to $10,200 of Unemployment Compensation. For online filers, the IRS has stated that tax software companies have updated their systems to reflect the unemployment federal tax break. If you file your taxes online and havent filed for 2020 yet, you may want to make sure your tax software is updated before filing your tax return.
In addition, remember that this is a federal tax break, which means that you may still have to pay state taxes on your unemployment benefits. You can read Kiplingers State-by-State Guide on Unemployment Benefits to see if your state gives a state tax break on your unemployment benefits.
If your state decided to give you a state tax break and you already filed your state return, you should check to see if you are newly eligible for any state tax credits.
Earned Income Tax Credit
Aside from the earned income credit, there aren’t many tax breaks for which unemployed individuals would likely be newly eligible, Grzes said. They may also qualify for the child and dependent care credit, for example, he said.
The earned income tax credit is a refundable tax credit available to taxpayers who received certain types of income in 2020, like wages and self-employment income. Income eligibility and amount vary based on number of kids.
The maximum credit is $538 for taxpayers with no children. That maximum is $6,660 for taxpayers with three or more qualifying kids.
Single filers without kids can claim the earned income tax credit if their adjusted gross income is less than $15,820. A filer with three kids can earn up to $50,594 and be eligible.
The IRS can automatically adjust returns for those taxpayers who initially claimed the earned income credit and may now be eligible for an increase in the credit amount . In other words, no amended tax return would be necessary in this case.
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Filing An Initial Claim
What information do I need to file a new application?
When filing a new application, you will need the following information:
- Your Social Security number
- Full mailing address, including apartment or lot number, Zip Code and PO Box if you use one
- A phone number where you can be reached during the day
- The name and mailing address of your last employer, no matter how long you worked there
- Note: Your paycheck stub or W-2 form usually contains this information
- The date you began and stopped working for each employer and the reason you left each job for the last 18 months
- The county in which you live
- Your driver’s license number
- If you are not a citizen or national of the United States, your employment authorization number and expiration date
- If you were active duty military within the past 18 months, your DD-214, Member #4 form
- If you were a federal employee, your Standard Form SF-50 or pay stub
- Any separation, vacation, or holiday pay you have received or will receive in the future.
A record of your application will not be established unless you are told your claim has been accepted. If you are unable to complete your application, the information you have entered will be saved for 7 days from the date you began filing the claim so that you can complete it later and within 7 days.
What if I have wages earned in another state, the military, or the federal government?
Go to GetKansasBenefits.gov and click to file an online application for unemployment insurance if:
Special Rule For Unemployment Compensation Received In Tax Year 2020 Only
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorizes individual taxpayers to exclude up to $10,200 of unemployment compensation they received in tax year 2020 only. In the case of married individuals filing a joint Form 1040 or 1040-SR, this exclusion is up to $10,200 per spouse. To qualify for this exclusion, your tax year 2020 adjusted gross income must be less than $150,000. This threshold applies to all filing statuses and it doesn’t double to $300,000 if you were married and file a joint return. Any unemployment compensation in excess of $10,200 is taxable income that must be included on your 2020 tax return.
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Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
What is Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation ?
PEUC is a federal Continued Assistance Act program that extends benefits to those who have exhausted state unemployment benefits. This benefit ended September 4, 2021.
What does it mean to exhaust state unemployment benefits?
A person exhausts state unemployment benefits when he or she either draws all available benefits that could be paid, or reaches the end of the benefit year and is not monetarily eligible for a new benefit year. Also, the individual cannot be eligible to file a claim in any other state.
How long does PEUC run?
Under the March 2020 CARES Act, the PEUC extension program allowed an additional 13 weeks of benefits and the program expired on December 26, 2020. The Continued Assistance Act extended this program to expire the week ending March 13, 2021. Under the new American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 , the PEUC program expired the week ending September 4, 2021.
How do I apply for PEUC?
Once your state unemployment claim has a zero balance, you can apply for PEUC on our website at www.GetKansasBenefits.gov.
PEUC applications can only be filed online at this time.
Do I have to apply for the extension provided under the new ARP Act?
No. If you were previously filing for PEUC benefits, you do not have to file a new application for the additional weeks. You just need to continue filing weekly claims each week you are unemployed.
How much does PEUC pay each week?
PEUC is available for the following periods:
Lost Wage Assistance Program
What was the Lost Wages Assistance Program ?
On August 8, 2020, the President issued an executive memorandum authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expend up to $44 billion from its Disaster Relief Fund to provide supplemental benefits to Americans receiving unemployment benefits, creating the Lost Wages Assistance Program . The program provided eligible claimants with an additional $300 in benefits for each of the qualifying weeks. LWAP was only available for the weeks ending August 1, 2020 through September 5, 2020.
Who was eligible for the additional Lost Wages Assistance ?
The program was limited in scope and, due to federal restrictions, was available only to those persons who provided self-certification that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 and who received at least $100 from a qualifying underlying unemployment benefit program.
An individual was determined to have received at least $100 per week for purposes of being an eligible claimant if the individuals weekly benefit amount as provided on the monetary determination is at least $100 . In addition, the week in question must have been considered compensable.
When did the additional Lost Wages Assistance start, and how long did it last?
Are the LWA benefits taxable?
Yes. These benefits are subject to state and federal taxes.
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File Tax And Wage Reports And Make Payments
All employers who are liable for unemployment insurance must file tax and wage reports for each quarter they are in business. The reports, and any payment due, must be filed on or before April 30th, July 31st, October 31st, and January 31st . Employers must report all wages paid to employees. However, taxes are due only on the first $9,500 per employee per year. Qualified employers may defer quarterly taxes of $5.00 or less until January 31st of the following year. Tax and wage reports may be filed using the preferred electronic filing methods available on the Employer Portal.
Domestic Employers must file an Annual Tax and Wage Report for Domestic Employment, Form DOL-4A. The annual report and any payment due must be filed on or before January 31st of the following year to be considered timely.
Paying Unemployment Taxes At The State And Local Level
At the local and state level, the options to pay for your state and local taxes may differ depending on where you live. Contact your state, county, or local unemployment office to learn about the different options to pay your taxes. These options may include:
1. Requesting to have state and/or local taxes withheld. The steps to request state and local tax withholding differ.
2. Making quarterly estimated payments. The due dates for estimated payments at the state and local level may differ from federal due dates.
3. Paying your taxes in full. If you need your full amount of your unemployment benefits and cannot make quarterly estimated payments, you can pay your taxes all at once when they are due. However, you may receive an underpayment penalty for not paying enough taxes throughout the year.
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How To Check The Status Of The Payment
One way to know the status of your refund and if one has been issued is to wait for the letter that the IRS sends taxpayers whose returns are corrected.
These letters are sent out within 30 days of a correction being made and will tell you if you’ll get a refund, or if the cash was used to offset debt.
Sadly, you can’t track the cash in the way you can track other tax refunds.
Another way is to check your tax transcript, if you have an online account with the IRS.
This is available under “View Tax Records”, then click the “Get Transcript” button and choose the federal tax option.
After this, you should select the “2020 Account Transcript” and scan the transactions section for any entries as “Refund issued”.
If you don’t have that, it likely means the IRS hasn’t processed your return yet.
This summer, frustrated taxpayers spoke out over tax refund delays after the IRS announced the cash for unemployed Americans.
Households who’ve filed a tax return and are due a refund get an average of $2,900 back – we explain how to track down the cash.
Register For The Self
On the main page in MSCA:
Once you submit your registration, youll immediately get a confirmation that youve entered into an agreement with the EI Commission.
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How To Get Your 1099
IDES will send your 1099-G form through email or mail . If you have additional questions about accessing your 1099-G form, please call IDES at 244-5631.
View the 1099-G Infographic for more information:
If you cannot access your 1099-G form, you may need to reset your password within IDES’s secure website. Please note that this site differs from the system used by PUA claimants, and your password may have expired.
New Refundable Tax Credits For The Self
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 18, making it the second major coronavirus-related bill. This bill’s chief provisions include changes to paid sick leave, insurance coverage for COVID-19 testing, waivers for food assistance, and other pandemic-related aid. In addition to changing the work requirements for receiving SNAP benefits, the bill also provided paid sick leave to the self-employed in the form of a tax credit.
Both the Qualified Sick Leave and Qualified Family Leave tax credits have been made effective as of April 1, 2020 and end March 31, 2021 under the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020.
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Unemployment Benefits And Covid
The Covid-19 pandemic changed the governments approach to the self-employed and granted them temporary relief from unemployment.
Under the CARES Act, self-employed individuals, such as independent contractors, who qualified for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance , could receive some benefits even if they are not fully unemployed so long as their work has suffered due to the pandemic. In addition, those seeking part-time employment or who did not qualify for the regular unemployment insurance were also covered under the program, which provided benefits for up to 39 weeks.
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What This Program Offers
Employment Insurance has a program designed for self-employed people. If you run your own business or control more than 40% of your corporations voting shares, this program can provide you with access to special benefits as early as 12 months after registering. When you need to take time away from your business to care for yourself, your children or other family members, you could receive financial support of up to 55% of your earnings, up to a maximum amount. In 2022, the maximum amount is $638 per week.
Please note that regular benefits arent available through this program.
If youre a fisher, barber or hairdresser, or if you drive a taxi or other passenger vehicle, you dont need to register for the self-employed program. People in these professions should apply for EI benefits as an employee.
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Payment Schedule For Unemployment Tax Refunds
With the latest batch of payments in July, the IRS has now issued more than 8.7 million unemployment compensation refunds totaling over $10 billion. The IRS announced it was doing the recalculations in phases, starting with single filers with no dependents and then for those who are married and filing jointly. The first batch of these supplemental refunds went to those with the least complicated returns in early summer, and batches are supposed to continue for more complicated returns, which could take longer to process.
According to an igotmyrefund.com forum and another discussion on , some taxpayers who filed as head of household or as married with dependents started receiving their IRS money in July or getting updates on their transcript with dates in August and September. No other official news from the IRS has been issued regarding payment schedule for this month.
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