Alert: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Processing Begins Tonight
Payments for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation will start Jan. 14, 2021. The program adds an additional $300 each week you receive unemployment benefits for up to 11 weeks. If you chose to have federal tax withheld, your payment will be a little lower.
The payment covers weeks ending Jan 2 and Jan. 9, if you were eligible to receive benefits for those weeks. If your claim is still being processed for these weeks, FPUC will be paid when we determine you are eligible to receive unemployment for those weeks. Future payments will be included with your normal unemployment benefits, until the program ends the week ending March 13.
Please remember, it may take 2-3 business days for your bank to process these funds and add them in your account.
To see this payment in eServices:
See COVID-19 frequently asked questions for more information.
Guidance Confirms 11 Weeks Of Extra $300 Unemployment Benefit
The federal unemployment supplement, officially known as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program , was created after Congress passed the Cares Act in March. The program provided an additional $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, but expired on July 31, 2020. The new stimulus bill called for the program to restart at half the weekly rate and run for 11 weeks however, there was concern that because President Trump delayed signing the stimulus agreement, FPUC would only be extended for 10 weeks, essentially costing unemployed workers $300.
FPUC is reauthorized and modified to provide $300 per week to supplement benefits for weeks of unemployment beginning after December 26, 2020, and ending on or before March 14, 2021, the DOL said in a news release. The ETA released more specific guidance in the form of Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 09-21. In the UIPL, the ETA specified that in states where the week of unemployment ends on a Saturday, the first week for which FPUC must be paid at the $300 amount is the week ending January 2, 2021. Similarly, for states where the week of unemployment ends on a Sunday, the first week for which FPUC must be paid at the $300 amount is week ending January 3, 2021.
Expiration Of Federal Unemployment And Pandemic Benefits
As of September 5, 2021, several federal unemployment benefit programs have expired across the country, per federal law. The federal benefit programs that have expired include:
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
- Extended Benefits
- $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
- $100 Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation
Unemployment Insurance benefits will continue to be paid to eligible claimants. To be considered eligible for UI after September 5, 2021, a claimant must be unemployed AND be in the first 26 weeks of benefits. Claimants can find their effective days remaining in their online Payment History. Because FPUC has expired, any weeks a claimant is eligible to receive UI benefits after September 5, 2021 will no longer include the additional $300 in FPUC.
Next Section
Continue
Don’t Miss: Make Money Unemployed
What If You’ve Already Filed Your 2020 Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service hasn’t issued formal guidance on this yet.
If your return has already been processed and you’ve received a refund, you’ll likely have to file an amended tax return in order to claim the $10,200 exemption, according to The Century Foundation.
If you’ve filed your return but it hasn’t been processed by the IRS, it could be delayed. If you were expecting a refund, that could be delayed as well. However, after factoring in the $10,200 tax waiver, your refund may end up being larger than you originally expected as a result.
If you already withheld or paid taxes on your unemployment benefits throughout the year, you may now be entitled to a refund.
You Could Receive An Extra $300 In Your Weekly State Unemployment Check If You Qualify
If you are unemployed and have been unable to find a job, you dont have to worry because you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Because of the pandemic, unemployed Americans will receive $300 in federal money and weekly unemployment checks. For this reason, we will learn all about when the $300 unemployment starts.
Joe Bidens landmark legislation seeks to rebuild the backbone of the country. It aims to allow the people who built the country to fight back, namely the working and middle class of the country.
Recommended Reading: How Do I Apply For Unemployment In Tn
Why Did Benefits End Early In So Many States
Citing labor shortages in the spring, 26 state governors claimed pandemic-related unemployment benefits were producing limited incentives for workers to take jobs. Many economists and analysts disagreed, highlighting several factors that prevented people from finding suitable work, including low wages, lack of health care, inadequate child care and fear of contracting COVID-19.
With unemployment claims still fluctuating as the economy struggles to return to pre-pandemic “normalcy,” reports are showing that the early cancellation of the federal programs had little impact on labor markets. A recent JP Morgan Chase Institute study confirmed that states that ended supplemental unemployment insurance programs during the summer saw a limited impact on job growth.
According to an August report by the Century Foundation’s Andrew Stettner, “Politics, not economics, drove the attack on unemployment insurance.” The states that cut off the enhanced benefits before the federal expiration were mostly Republican-led.
Arkansas, Indiana and Maryland were slated to cut off benefits early, but successful lawsuits forced those states to preserve the federal coverage, at least temporarily. In issuing their rulings, judges noted that the ending of benefits made it harder for the unemployed to afford basic needs. Lawsuits were also filed against state governors elsewhere, which were either denied by judges or are still held up in the courts.
When Will The Extra $300 In Unemployment Benefits Start These States Are Already Paying The Bonus
Some states have already started to distribute the extra $300 in federal unemployment aid this week after Congress passed a long-awaited COVID-19 relief package in December that will extend aid to millions of unemployed Americans.
Some labor experts were concerned that President Donald Trumps delay in signing the $900 billion rescue bill into law would mean that recipients would get only 10 weeks of the bonus benefits instead of 11 weeks. About 14 million people faced a lapse in their regular unemployment checks averaging about $400 a week at the end of December.
Some state unemployment agencies, however, avoided a delay in payments and have started sending out the $300 bonus for the week that ended Jan. 2 or 3.
Here’s what you should know:
Recommended Reading: How To Apply For Unemployment In Missouri
Is It Too Late To Apply For Unemployment Insurance
If you’ve been laid off or furloughed, you can apply for unemployment benefits in your state. Once the state approves your claim, you can apply to receive whatever state benefits you’re entitled to. Because states cover 30% to 50% of a person’s wages, there isn’t a single sum you could expect on a national basis. Each state’s unemployment insurance office provides information to file a claim with the program in the state where you worked. Some claims may be filed in person, by phone or online, so it’s best to contact your state’s office directly.
Eligibility criteria vary from state to state, but the general rule is that you should apply if you’ve lost your job or been laid off through no fault of your own, including if it was due directly or indirectly to the pandemic. You can check on your state’s requirements here. In February, the Department of Labor updated its unemployment eligibility requirements to include people who refused to return to work due to unsafe coronavirus standards.
As for self-employed workers and freelancers who are losing PUA coverage, some online groups are calling to extend pandemic unemployment programs through the crisis and offer more information.
You might also want to know about the IRS issuing refunds to those who were taxed on their 2020 unemployment benefits. And here’s an important primer on the 2021 enhanced child tax credit, which is offering millions of families extra money in advance of next year’s taxes.
When Will The $300 Extra Weekly Unemployment Start Being Paid In My State News And Updates On Payment With Pua And Peuc Claims
The latest stimulus package was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President Biden on March 11th, 2021. It includes further extensions to pandemic unemployment programs and an extra $300 weekly FPUC supplementary UI payment. The latest supplementary $300 payment will be paid over 25 weeks starting from week of March 15th, 2021 to September 6th, 2021. This is in addition to the previous extension covering 11 weeks from December 27th, 2020 to March 14th, 2021. Eligible payments will be made retroactively in cases where state unemployment agencies face delays with rolling out system updates to process these payments.
The $300 weekly unemployment payment will be made above and beyond any regular state or enhanced federal unemployment payment and require eligible claimants to certify regularly according to their state UI agency guidelines. Claimants will need to be eligible for at least $1 of an underlying unemployment benefit to receive the $300 supplemental payment under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.
You do not need to take any additional action to receive this supplemental payment. States are slowly rolling out these payments for different groups of claimants starting with those already getting regular UI and state extended benefits . Those who have exhausted benefits prior to the extensions being rolled out or new claimants will only be able to get payments once their underlying claim is approved.
Stay In the Know:or follow us on , and
Read Also: Can You File Chapter 7 On Unemployment Overpayment
When Will The Extra $300 Weekly Fpuc Unemployment Stimulus End In My State
The Biden ARP stimulus bill continued the supplementary $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payment that was already in place for another 25 weeks. In most states this will cover the benefit weeks ending March 20th, 2021 to September 4th, 2021. However per the table below many states are ending this payment much earlier than planned.
Eligibility criteria is the same as earlier FPUC payments where the claimant has to be getting $1 from any underlying regular state or federally funded unemployment benefit program during the 25 week coverage period. Any payments will be retroactively caught up for eligible weeks.
Covered in this Article:
Which States Have Issued The $300 Boost
Arizona, California, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee are among the first states to begin paying a $300 boost this week, CNBC reported. Connecticut and Washington state aim to disburse the supplement beginning in mid-January, the report said.
California started paying the supplement only to some benefit recipients.
Georgia issued payments this week for those receiving continuing payments, a spokeswoman from the Georgia Department of Labor said. The state also issued payments to those who continue to receive payments on regular unemployment and state extended benefits, she added.
Maine, Montana, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington, among other states, said they’ll begin issuing the bonus next week.
Also Check: How Do I Apply For Unemployment In Tennessee
Are The $300 Unemployment Benefits Retroactive
600 to 700 stimulus checks?And only 300 unemployment benefits?This pandemic is ranging and they keep doing these short term deals to help the American people.Americans need long term deals not one time payments and short term benefits from unemployment.
Summer47
The Washington Post reported the $300 unemployment payments won’t be retroactive and make up for missed weeks in a lump sum. However, if someone becomes unemployed in the early days of 2021, they could take advantage of the overflow period and earn an extra three weeks of $300 payments.
What If I Earn Wages And I’m A Contractor
Some workers with mixed earnings from wage and independent contractor work would receive an additional federal benefit of $100 a week through Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation, or MEUC.
Many independent contractors and self-employed workers may have been receiving smaller unemployment checks, experts say, since their payments were based on wages from their W-2 tax forms that didn’t include their self-employment income, which could be higher.
The bonus would be on top of the $300-per-week supplement and would last until mid-March.
States have to opt in to this program. New York, Florida, Minnesota and Illinois have signaled they plan to provide the aid, according to CNBC.
Read Also: Njuifile Extension
New $100 Boost For Mixed Earners Could Take Longer To Arrive
The latest stimulus package introduces a new $100 weekly enhancement to mixed earners who have both wage income, such as from a W-2 job, and self-employment or independent contractor earnings, like from a 1099 role, but whose benefit calculation may be artificially low by excluding self-employment income.
Mixed earners who earned at least $5,000 in self-employment income last year will qualify and may be drawing from regular state aid, PEUC or Extended Benefits.
So far, states including Florida, Illinois, Minnesota and New York have stated intentions to offer the new Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation boost, which is in effect until March 14, 2021. States may also choose not to opt in.
With the signing of the stimulus bill, state unemployment offices are now waiting for federal guidance to determine how to administer new benefits to residents. Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, says it’s “highly unlikely” states will be able to proactively identify people newly eligible for this benefit. She recommends workers affected by the new policy reach out to their state agencies to find out the process and what documentation they’ll need to supply to prove eligibility.
How will the latest $300 weekly unemployment boost impact your household? Are you concerned about federal jobless aid ending in March? CNBC Make It would like to hear from you. Email work reporter Jennifer Liu at .
Check out:
How Long Do $300 Unemployment Benefits Last
The $300 federal benefits were extended through September 6, 2021, benefiting hundreds of workers. Interestingly, the benefit was terminated on Labor Day, especially since many unemployed have already managed to return to their jobs.
The extension of this program is retroactive to the start date of the new program. If the federal supplement was not received before March 11, it could not be obtained now.
You May Like: Unemployment Compensation Phone Number
More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits
The stimulus bill will extend both the PUA and PEUC programs for 11 weeks, as well as top up regular state benefits with an extra $300 in weekly jobless aid or half of the extra $600 in aid received by jobless workers at the start of the pandemic and which expired in July.
At the same time, the number of people applying for jobless aid remains at a high level, showing that the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the economy.
“A lot of workers are concerned because they have gone in the hole during their unemployment they have built up debt,” said Andrew Stettner, an expert on unemployment with the left-leaning Century Foundation. “Some of the research shows that the average unemployed person has a negative net worth.”
The extra $300 a week, as well as additional weeks of unemployment, probably won’t be enough for many jobless workers to dig themselves out of debt, Stettner added, but would likely help many meet their basic needs at least until the programs expire in mid-March.
Kenneth Elliott, 50-year-old ride-hail driver in West Palm Beach, Florida, has been out of work since March. Between April and July he was able to qualify for $600 a week in additional benefits, which covered his expenses. But since August, he’s been living on just $275 a week in state unemployment benefits, “which is kind of not survivable,” he told MoneyWatch recently.
Is There A New Verification Process For Pua Applications
Jobless Americans who were receiving PUA benefits must verify their eligibility for the program this year.
Under an anti-fraud provision in the relief package, those currently getting PUA benefits will have 90 days to submit documents proving their continuing eligibility for the program. Those that dont could be at risk of having to pay back any funds they receive after the bills enactment in December.
Its unclear what documentation will be sufficient to satisfy the requirement, experts say.
People who apply for PUA for the first time starting Jan. 31 will have 21 days to submit their verification documents, according to CNBC.
Read Also: Sign Up For Unemployment In Missouri
The Extension Of Federal Unemployment Programs
Americans who have exhausted all of their regular state unemployment benefits are eligible for federally funded Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation . Millions more who have lost their jobs and dont qualify for regular state benefits can get federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, program. Both were set to expire at the end of last month.
But both programs have been extended under the stimulus deal to March 14or to April 11 for those already receiving PEUC benefits who haven’t yet exhausted their aid. PUA recipients can also now receive a maximum of 50 total weeks of benefits . And recipients of the PEUC program can now receive a maximum of 24 weeks of benefits .
President Donald Trump Issued An Executive Order On 8 August Which Included A $300 Enhanced Payment In Unemployment Benefits
On 8 August, U.S. President Trump signed an executive memorandum, freeing up $44 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Four states – Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Mexico have already requested grants to take part in the program which will give a weekly a $300 enhanced unemployment payment to those who have lost their job or are out of work as a result of the crisis. FEMA however, is not responsible for issuing payments directly to individuals the states and territories will distribute the funds through their own unemployment insurance systems, as a supplement payment.
The Lost Wages Assistance program replaces the weekly $600 top-up payment which was part of the CARES Act and ran from until the end of . The $300 LWA payment is a supplement on top of standard unemployment benefit paid by each state. Each state has the choice on whether to top up the payment by providing an additional 25% or not. To be eligible for the extra benefits, an individual must be receiving at least $100 as part of their regular unemployment insurance from any of the following:
- Unemployment compensation, including regular State Unemployment Compensation, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
Recommended Reading: Pa Unemployment Ticket Number Tracker
