My problem was being an employee for a few different companies in addition to being self-employed. In Ohio, they only want to know about W2 workers for the unemployment. Since my work for those three companies was minimal last year, I was underemployed. It states on the ODJFS site that IC workers do not qualify for that, but that the PUA is being put in place and will be available sometime in mid May. I was able to preregister so that they will contact me as soon as the Ohio PUA section has rolled out.

I did not put my name down as employer. Should I have done that? I thought about it but the form that they had you follow said to put down self employed. So now I'm totally confused and can't change that.

Well I'm certain my issue was I did not get a 1099 for 2019, I was under the impression if you didn't get one you didn't have to file. I've only not received a 1099 two years since being a mystery shopper which has been my sole income for the past 7 years. I'm in FL and was found ineligible with no reason or explanation given. I reapplied with all the supporting documents I could find proving I was employed and have worked all the way up March of this year. But FL's system is still a total wreck and who knows what will come of it.

I know in Ohio that would be a no. Have no idea about your state, sorry.

@mnarteach wrote:

I did not put my name down as employer. Should I have done that? I thought about it but the form that they had you follow said to put down self employed. So now I'm totally confused and can't change that.

Here is what my denial form that I haven't received yet says: Information we need from you:
• SELF-EMPLOYMENT has not provided wage information. If you send proof of wages or the
employer provides wage information, an amended determination with updated benefit amounts will
be sent to you.
Now I'm wondering if I filled out something incorrectly since it says self-employment has not provided wage information. Oh geez can't they make this easier?? Not sure what to do now.

If you did not file taxes for the past two years just because no one sent you a 1099 that is not legal. Getting a 1099 has nothing to do with whether or not you have to file. if you earned enough money to pay taxes you are supposed to file whether or not you got a 1099 or a W2. . I suppose you could go in and do a late tax return for 2018 and file a tax return for 2019 using schedule C reporting all your mystery shopping income as the deadline for filing for 2019 is not until July.Then once you file your tax return you will be able to file for the PUA. . If you did file a tax return already but just thought you for some reason were exempt from paying tax taxes on your mystery shop income you could file an amended return and pay the difference.
To cybersst and mnarteach, I was told by the incredible SteveSoCal and also wwin to file as myself being the employer since technically we are as independent contractors. Since you have already filed incorrectly I would think there would be some way to edit your filing and change that. This is how it worked in Calif and I would think since this is a federal rule it would be the same in other states. AS the employer myself I was not asked to send in anything. I did not get any 1099's this year or last since they do not need to send them if you earn less than $600 from each msc. So filing as yourself being the employer they do not ask for any of that. If worst comes to worst you can try calling. I was on hold for about 40 minutes during which time I put my phone on speaker and continued to do other work so it was not too bad. The person who answered fixed it all up for me and even filed the forms needed for me and approved me for pay for the 5 weeks I was owed already. I called tech support in my case as I had already filed but could not get into my online account. That might be faster if you can find that number as he was able to do everything necessary for me and perhaps the wait time on the phone was shorter. Since mnarteach you already filed but made an error in reporting your employer not as yourself I would think tech support would be the right place to help you change that.

@cybersst wrote:

Well I'm certain my issue was I did not get a 1099 for 2019, I was under the impression if you didn't get one you didn't have to file. I've only not received a 1099 two years since being a mystery shopper which has been my sole income for the past 7 years. I'm in FL and was found ineligible with no reason or explanation given. I reapplied with all the supporting documents I could find proving I was employed and have worked all the way up March of this year. But FL's system is still a total wreck and who knows what will come of it.

@sandyf The years I did not receive one were not consecutive. Sorry I did not clairfy that. Once in 2013 and once in 2019. I know 1099's do not get sent unless you make over 600 in taxable income, which does not include all your reimbursements. I did not make the 600 last year. I fell just short of it. I have a 1099 for 2018 and filed taxes, in florida they did not want that, they only wanted from 01/01/2019-present day. I did file as myself and said my occupation was IC I was my own employer from day one. The companies I work for had already told us to file that way.

@cybersst:

Interesting that they would tell you that, because all income should be reported. I am not the IRS "police" but it doesn't matter if you make $590 with any particular company, you are supposed to file and report it. Usually you will come out okay and sometimes you can actually get additional compensation such as EIT and more. But sandyf isn't wrong.

Yikes! Thanks Sandyf for the info. I tried to contact our UI office and got absolutely no where. There is no tech service number that I can see and basically they just have a recording playing saying log into your account. Ugh. Wish I would have used my brains when I filled this form out.

Believe it or not I think I've finally got what I needed to try to refile! thanks everyone for all your info and Sandyf you cleared up the last bit for me. Grateful for this forum and it's members.

@JASFLALMT I never said sandyf was wrong, obviously I was wrong and hand no idea. But I am clearly now informed. I have no clue what EIT is.

If you have not filed your taxes for 2019 will documents such as 1099's, paypal payments from various MS's and direct deposit information be enough documentation? Are states accepting this?

Sorry I meant to type EIC which is earned income credit. There were some other tax breaks last year ss well. Not sure if you would qualify or not. I'm no tax expert by any means.

@cybersst wrote:

@JASFLALMT I never said sandyf was wrong, obviously I was wrong and hand no idea. But I am clearly now informed. I have no clue what EIT is.

Ok, gotcha. We don't qualify for earned income tax credit. Thanks for your help and everyone else's in clarifying things for me. So now I know better.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Sorry I meant to type EIC which is earned income credit. There were some other tax breaks last year ss well. Not sure if you would qualify or not. I'm no tax expert by any means.

@cybersst wrote:

@JASFLALMT I never said sandyf was wrong, obviously I was wrong and hand no idea. But I am clearly now informed. I have no clue what EIT is.

Sorry for all the questions. One thing I don't quite understand is the unemployment portion of this. Is there the regular unemployment which w2 workers would qualify for and then an independent contractor unemployment that is covered with 1099's and direct payments etc? Then the extra $600 kicks in for both if you qualify?? The unemployment piece is throwing me off. I now know the mistake I made with my filing but I still have questions about the unemployment etc. I'm guessing someone here understands completely.

@cybersst:

Just so you know, you don't have to have kids for the EITC. I found a bit of information on it, but you should really look into it. Here's an excerpt of what I found on Nerdwallet:

"You must have at least $1 of earned income (pensions and unemployment don’t count).
Your 2019 investment income must be $3,600 or less (that rises to $3,650 in 2020).
You can’t claim the earned income tax credit if you’re married filing separately.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC or EITC) is a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers. The amount depends on income and number of children. People without kids can qualify. For the 2019 tax year, the earned income credit ranges from $529 to $6,557. For 2020, it’s $538 to $6,660.

If you fall within the guidelines for the credit, be sure to claim it on your return when you do your taxes And if you didn’t claim the earned income credit when you filed your taxes in the last three years but you think you qualified for it, the IRS encourages you to let it know so you can get that money back.

Here are some quick facts about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC or EIC):

The earned income tax credit doesn’t just cut the amount of tax you owe — the EIC could also score you a refund, and in some cases a refund that’s more than what you actually paid in taxes."

I double checked the IRS website and the info is correct. The IRS has a link to a form where you can check to see if you qualify.

Hi Mnarteach and others who are confused and frustrated... Yes, some of the questions are confusing on the forms we need to file as an Indep. contractor and there is really no help when you click the link for an explanation. I myself scratched my head when I saw the question about last employer and then the following questions about sending 1099's and addresses and the note that said you needed to list the company name as the one on your checks! What checks? I do not save the few I get from msc's but I do know some come under a different name. Mostly we get paypal or direct dep so we never even see a check. So, I contacted one of the shoppers who offered help and was told to scrap all the msc we consider to be the employer simply because they employ us for a half hour or more here and there. But it turns out we are our employer.(Can't help singing the phrase "We are the Champions" in my head at this time) and since we are not "employees" they are not our employer.And voila, after changing the employer name to myself all those other questions disappeared.

Now on to the question regarding the programs...Those who have W2 income, which is the vast majority of people who work for someone else have always been able to collect unemployment as on every paycheck some money is taken out for Unemployment Insurance. The rules for that program have mostly stayed the same...they have a one week waiting period once they are unemployed and do not collect any money for weeks before they actually put in their application for unemployment. To make it clear, my daughter and I both applied. I applied through the new PUA program for gig workers and Independent contractors like mystery shoppers. We both had our last day of work March 12. She applied through the traditional program called Unemployment Insurance. My Unemployment started March 14 week. Her first week she got unemployment for was around April 1. She earned quite a bit more than I did in 2018,2019 but I got a bigger check through PUA. (there is a minimum amt that they are paying us which is greater than the minimum amt someone would earn thru the traditional program if their income was fairly low). Both of these ways to apply are on the same site for your state and we all get the $600 check added if we qualify for either program. If all your earned income comes from Independent contract work you would apply to the PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) program. If you worked for an "employer" in addition and got a W2 along the way, you would apply through the UI (Unemployment Insurance) program. Just click the right program when you first apply.
I am no expert so hopefully what I said is true!!! To the best of my knowledge it is but I am open and happy to be corrected if I am wrong. This is a real learning experience for all of us. By the way, another difference is that we as independent contractors did not pay a penny into this specific program unlike the W2 who pay out of each paycheck but it is being offered to us during this pandemic. Our program will end once the Pandemic is over.

@mnarteach wrote:

Sorry for all the questions. One thing I don't quite understand is the unemployment portion of this. Is there the regular unemployment which w2 workers would qualify for and then an independent contractor unemployment that is covered with 1099's and direct payments etc? Then the extra $600 kicks in for both if you qualify?? The unemployment piece is throwing me off. I now know the mistake I made with my filing but I still have questions about the unemployment etc. I'm guessing someone here understands completely.

It varies state by state. In FL you had to apply for regular benefits, be denied, and reapply, losing a month. That may be different now. Also, the governor's position is that gig workers get $600/wk in federal benefits, nothing in state benefits, even though the law clearly says that gig workers get 1/2 of the state's average weekly benefit, plus $600 in federal.

It is now coming up on two months since I worked and had any income and still nothing from the OKUI people. I am supposed to get a callback this week maybe but I really doubt it.

The Federal Government gave all states a set of guidelines regarding how they need to handle PUA. Outside of those guidelines, the states are free to ask for supporting documentation as they see fit. The Feds are expecting the states to do some form of auditing for fraud. In California, some PUA applicants have received letters asking for 1099 forms, or a letter with an interview date. Some states are relying solely on 2019 taxes or any 1099 forms that were received by the state tax board. If you live in a state that's ready to go back to the good old days, then expect them to be more stringent with PUA.

Supporting documentation yes, but in FL they are making up their own rules, imposing minimum income requirements for the federal benefit, denying that ICs get a state benefit at all, holding denials so that you end up being delayed in refiling and therefore losing weeks, and more.

Side note on CARES and the taxability of the federal payment for IC's; A friend whom I helped to apply last week just had their payments issued. At my suggestion, they asked to have taxes taken out of the payment, so they would not have big federal tax burden at the end of the year.

$17 dollars was removed each week as taxes, based on 10% of the $167 base EDD payment. Now I understand better why that was the minimum amount. No taxes were removed from the FAC $600 payments (presumably because CA doesn't think it's taxable) and the weekly payments are an even $750.

@panama18 wrote:

Supporting documentation yes, but in FL they are making up their own rules, imposing minimum income requirements for the federal benefit, denying that ICs get a state benefit at all, holding denials so that you end up being delayed in refiling and therefore losing weeks, and more.

The feds gave told the states that they would lay an extra $600 to any person who qualifies for at least $1 in unemployment. The feds allow the states to make up their own unemployment requirements. Some states, like California, have decide to pay all PUA applications at least $164 a week. Other states imposing a minimum income requirement, and if an applicant doesn’t meet that minimum, then they cannot get the $600 from the feds.

As I said earlier, some governors are ready to open up their states right now, so I would expect that those same states would be doing whatever they want to keep people off of unemployment and back to work

I have a question. I tried looking through the posts to see if this was answered or not.
2019 made approx 6600 as a mystery shopper. I claimed it on my taxes. 2019 nothing on w-2.
2018 I made approx 3,000 on w-2 and 3,000 as I mystery shopper. Claimed on my taxes.
My w2 job is the same for last 16 years, I am still working there.
So I can’t file for unemployment for w2 job as I still am working there. Can I file as a independent contractor PUA side using only mystery shopping?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2020 08:15PM by Rockers32.

@Rockers32 wrote:

I can’t file for unemployment for w2 job as I still am working there. Can I file as a independent contractor PUA side using only mystery shopping?

It's going to completely vary by state and you really didn't give enough info to get your question answered.

You are still working for the company but had zero income from them in 2019?-That doesn't really make sense...and at least in CA, if you are working, you are not unemployed.

Are you collecting a weekly paycheck?...and have your hours been reduced due to the pandemic?

ROCKERS32
You can not file unemployment if you are working. No you can not collect on Mystery shopping PUA if you are working. STEVESOCAL answered the question. I am from Massachusetts. You can only apply if your hours have been cut based on your employment. If you were just Mystery shopping you could collect under contractor, 1099.

I am actually an employee for a few merchandising companies that only throw work my way occasionally. I have been a part-time merchandiser since 2010. A couple of those companies I didn't work for in a few years but then ended up working a couple of short projects last year. Even though I don't work regularly for them, I am still an employee with them. It is definitely possible to get zero income some years but still remain an employee.

quote=SteveSoCal]
You are still working for the company but had zero income from them in 2019?-That doesn't really make sense...and at least in CA, if you are working, you are not unemployed.
[/quote]

I'm in PA and received notice today that Labor and Industry is working on the website tonight to provide full functionality soon. They have also made some eligibility decisions, apparently. I received notice that I am eligible based on the 1099 income documentation that I submitted. The financial determination letter said that I would be eligible for $195 per week (which I believe is the minimum amount in Pennsylvania). However, there was nothing at all in the letter about additional federal money. It is my understanding that the CARES act provides an additional $600 per week...is that correct?

Is there some kind of chart or something that tells where an independent contractors earnings fall? How is the unemployment part of the PUA determined? I'm not sure my question makes sense. I'm wondering if there is a way to determine if your earnings are enough before the unemployment office makes there determination.

I would expect their guidelines for the minimum income you would have to have earned will differ from one state to another. What is clear to me is that anyone who qualifies to get any amt from either traditional unemployment or PUA will also get the $600 weekly from the CARES act. If you qualified for PUA but did not get notice of the $600 from the CARES act that will probably come under separate cover as it is a different program.
I personally have lived in several states in my life and the amounts paid out and also the minimum amts you had to earn to qualify varied from state to state. It sounds like from what people in different states have reported on here, the minimum amts have varied for PUA as well.