I supplied 1099's and payment records for companies that did not provide me with 1099's for the year 2019. That was good enough (in CA). I had already filed my taxes this year, and I could have sent my tax returns, but I opted to just send 1099's. I have been receiving payments since April.
@BirdyC... if you received a debit card, you cannot transfer to your bank. However, you are able to go the issuing bank and withdraw cash from the ATM.

@1forum1 wrote:

@BirdyC... if you received a debit card, you cannot transfer to your bank. However, you are able to go the issuing bank and withdraw cash from the ATM.

I just got a letter in the mail today about the debit card (which I haven't gotten yet), and they said you can transfer money to your bank account directly from the card, but there's a fee. Of course, they don't tell you what the fee is. But I really don't like having to pay a fee to get at my own funds! But I also don't want to leave the $$ on the debit card; I'd rather put it into my bank account and earn interest on it.

Aram, you need to have taxable income for unemployment and they look at your earnings for a one year period which starts in the quarter 18 mos prior to the quarter you are applying in and ends after one year which would be 6 mos prior to the quarter you are applying for so for this quarter in June it would be either the entire year 2019 which is the basis for your claim or it would be from Oct 2018 thru end of Sept 2019. not sure which at the moment.. If you were mystery shopping last year you should have used a schedule C to report your earnings for 2019. You may not have done your 2019 taxes yet. If you were not mystery shopping until this year then you probably filed some income for last year unless you did not work at all last year.
You would usually only get a 1099 from each msc you earned $600 or more from. In my case I usually do not get any 1099's but i file taxes so they can check my income that way.
AS for the question about the debit card from the State of Calif. you do not have to pay to transfer funds. It takes about 2 seconds. You do have to have an acct in a regular bank to transfer the money to so if you do not already have a bank account it is time to set one up. then your transfer will be free. Look at the rules to make sure your new bank qualifies. Better yet you can take a bank job and set up a new acct that way and get paid to do it and then have somewhere to transfer funds. i send them to a checking acct. Look at the instructions and see where you are allowed to transfer funds to in Calif.

@atram wrote:

Right, so I'd rather apply only if I'm 100% sure I qualify with proof. Better safe than sorry.

Any older retired shoppers here getting PUA-UI? I am in my 70s and I occasionally do shopping assignments in NYC area. I also get some social security. I don't have any employment except for the mystery shops. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Your social security or pension does not affect your eligibility. Your PUA will be based on your mystery shopping work. If you have filed taxes this year or have 1099's that show mystery shopping was your source of income, you "might" qualify. It depends how much mystery shopping income was generated. Each state has slightly different independent contract requirement guidelines for PUA, but social security is NOT a factor. I would go to your state's website and review what is said about PUA. If you are unsure, you could apply anyway. Be honest, provide required documents, and watch what happens. The worst thing that could happen is that you are denied. However, if you are approved, you will be berry berry happy.

I am retired and receive a pension, actually two which includes a very small pension from my previous job and also my husbands pension. I was worried that they asked on the form about pensions and other payments like social security. But from what I can understand the only pension that will interfere with the PUA payments is if you are getting a pension from the same company you are now working for. So basically if your base year income was from company xyz and you are applying for PUA from a new job with your same company xyz, they will deduct your pension payments. But if you are applying after working for company abc instead they do not count off for the pension.
Go ahead and apply for PUA. If you had income you reported to the govt and paid taxes on you might qualify. I am not sure of the minimum income you would have to have but I think it is three or four thousand dollars a year in California.

@hksh1 wrote:

Any older retired shoppers here getting PUA-UI? I am in my 70s and I occasionally do shopping assignments in NYC area. I also get some social security. I don't have any employment except for the mystery shops. Any feedback would be appreciated.

@hksh1 wrote:

Any older retired shoppers here getting PUA-UI? I am in my 70s and I occasionally do shopping assignments in NYC area. I also get some social security. I don't have any employment except for the mystery shops. Any feedback would be appreciated.

FL is a little more flexible with income amount needed in order to qualify for PUA. I did not meet the amount for the period they were asking for, they wanted income from Jan 2019 to Dec 2019 and I still qualified for the min. amount of PUA that FL is paying out. I think PUA in general is a little more flexible than regular UI, but again it does vary some by State and NY could be different.

I attempted to transfer funds from my Bank of America unemployment debit card to my checking account, and within three days my debit card was suspended for fraud from BOA. I had to call and verify it was me trying to set up /authorize the transfer. After several hours on hold I got it cleared up, but the option to transfer was removed from my account! I have no idea why or what was going on. I now just withdraw cash at a Bank of America atm (which costs zero) and then deposit the cash into my bank account. Nuts I tell you! ????

I was going to sign up for the unemployment debit card which is on Chase bank. But then after I read everything I went with DD. The debit card you got your funds 2 days later then DD and every time you use the card for anything, they charge you a service fee of $2.00. This is Idaho.

It seems like each state has a different set up. I do not remember but i think in California the debit card was the only choice. I can transfer money once a week and it is pretty much instantaneous and free. Since the debit card from the state is a Bank of America acct maybe it is faster since I have the same bank.

@sandyf wrote:

Since the debit card from the state is a Bank of America acct maybe it is faster since I have the same bank.

It's definitely faster if your personal account is with B of A.

When they made the card mandatory years ago I found a setting that automatically transferred anything on my card to my personal account. I put the debit card in a drawer and haven't seen it since...works the same as DD that way.

So weird.... I got my card and transferred most of the funds directly to my bank account, which should have resulted in a fee, according to the fee schedule that came with the card. But there was no fee! Which is a good thing. So much easier to do that transfer than to go to an ATM, or several (depending on the withdrawal limits at each one), then go to the bank to deposit the cash.

The states seem to have widely varying standard methods of payment, and even when the method is the same, there are so many different ways that they administer it. My head spins!

Yes, I just had to set up a bank of america login for EDD and as soon as I get the email telling me there is money in my debit card from EDD I just log in to that site and the money gets transferred to my b of a checking acct. I have no idea where I put my debit card a i do not use it at all.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

Since the debit card from the state is a Bank of America acct maybe it is faster since I have the same bank.

It's definitely faster if your personal account is with B of A.

When they made the card mandatory years ago I found a setting that automatically transferred anything on my card to my personal account. I put the debit card in a drawer and haven't seen it since...works the same as DD that way.

Back in 2008 Hubby was collecting unemployment. Each week he'd take his debit card to the closest place that he could do free withdrawals, take out all the money, and then drive to our bank and deposit it.

@BirdyC wrote:

I just got a letter in the mail today about the debit card (which I haven't gotten yet), and they said you can transfer money to your bank account directly from the card, but there's a fee. Of course, they don't tell you what the fee is. But I really don't like having to pay a fee to get at my own funds! But I also don't want to leave the $$ on the debit card; I'd rather put it into my bank account and earn interest on it.

I was never able to get through on the phone to California EDD so I filed a new claim yesterday. Today I was able to certify for benefits, backdated to March and it shows a $167 weekly benefit. I don't know how they figure this out since it is more than my 2019 net income. I did already file 2019 taxes. The form I filled out yesterday seemed to have 2 pages of additional questions specific for independent contractors that I do not remember filling out on my original claim. I only have self-employment income.

So if anyone in Califonia was originally denied I would recommend filing a second claim.

@carlsbadguy... you're gonna have a huge pay day.

@carlsbadguy wrote:

I was never able to get through on the phone to California EDD so I filed a new claim yesterday. Today I was able to certify for benefits, backdated to March and it shows a $167 weekly benefit. I don't know how they figure this out since it is more than my 2019 net income. I did already file 2019 taxes. The form I filled out yesterday seemed to have 2 pages of additional questions specific for independent contractors that I do not remember filling out on my original claim. I only have self-employment income.

They don't calculate anything. If you qualify as an IC, you simply get $167 weekly. If you choose to have taxes removed, they will deduct $17 and pay you $150 weekly back to March. Starting in April, they will add $600 to each check, so yes....a big pay day for you!

It's all on the website. That's the standard amount for income under $17,368. The amount increases for income more than that: [edd.ca.gov].

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@carlsbadguy wrote:

I was never able to get through on the phone to California EDD so I filed a new claim yesterday. Today I was able to certify for benefits, backdated to March and it shows a $167 weekly benefit. I don't know how they figure this out since it is more than my 2019 net income. I did already file 2019 taxes. The form I filled out yesterday seemed to have 2 pages of additional questions specific for independent contractors that I do not remember filling out on my original claim. I only have self-employment income.

They don't calculate anything. If you qualify as an IC, you simply get $167 weekly. If you choose to have taxes removed, they will deduct $17 and pay you $150 weekly back to March. Starting in April, they will add $600 to each check, so yes....a big pay day for you!

@MSF wrote:

It's all on the website. That's the standard amount for income under $17,368. The amount increases for income more than that: [edd.ca.gov].

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@carlsbadguy wrote:

I was never able to get through on the phone to California EDD so I filed a new claim yesterday. Today I was able to certify for benefits, backdated to March and it shows a $167 weekly benefit. I don't know how they figure this out since it is more than my 2019 net income. I did already file 2019 taxes. The form I filled out yesterday seemed to have 2 pages of additional questions specific for independent contractors that I do not remember filling out on my original claim. I only have self-employment income.

They don't calculate anything. If you qualify as an IC, you simply get $167 weekly. If you choose to have taxes removed, they will deduct $17 and pay you $150 weekly back to March. Starting in April, they will add $600 to each check, so yes....a big pay day for you!

Good to know. Back when it started and I was helping friends through it, there was no adjustment for earning greater than that....

Does anyone know about how long it takes to get the Debit Card once approved?

@carlsbadguy wrote:

Does anyone know about how long it takes to get the Debit Card once approved?

Depends on the state you are in.
Idaho is 7-10 days

@carlsbadguy wrote:

Does anyone know about how long it takes to get the Debit Card once approved?

It averaged about 5 days for everyone I know in CA. If you are going to do an electronic transfer from it, test it with a small amount first. I had a friend transfer the full amount and it was lost in the ether for weeks....

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the form for California PUA said somewhere to report on the week you received the money rather than when you worked. I just did a recert so I am pasting the question that explains this here...other places on the form it asks to report work but this conflicts with the instruction to report on the date worked.
From Calif recert form:
YesNo
6. *Did you work or earn money, whether you were paid or not? If self-employed, report earnings during the week you receive the money.

Sandy, I wish Pa. was like that. Our instructions are exactly the opposite. We are to report income in the week in which we "earned" it, not the week in which we received it. They make no distinction for the self-employed. And, of course, being self-employed, no matter in what field, we can't always be sure we're going to receive the income, even if we earn it. Customers and clients have been known to just not pay....

@sandyf wrote:

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the form for California PUA said somewhere to report on the week you received the money rather than when you worked. ....

Sandyf- How did you answer the questions about earning $ for Ca? I did a small job for DJC's that earned me $5. (luckily paid the same day job was performed). I don't know how to answer the questions about employer, address, are you still working for them etc. I don't have any info on the msc except their name and they aren't really my employer they are my client so do I put my info. I can't certify for the last two weeks till I figure this out and I'm really over thinking this for a stupid $5.

@wwin wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the form for California PUA said somewhere to report on the week you received the money rather than when you worked. ....

Sandyf- How did you answer the questions about earning $ for Ca? I did a small job for DJC's that earned me $5. (luckily paid the same day job was performed). I don't know how to answer the questions about employer, address, are you still working for them etc. I don't have any info on the msc except their name and they aren't really my employer they are my client so do I put my info. I can't certify for the last two weeks till I figure this out and I'm really over thinking this for a stupid $5.

Everybody needs to understand that as an IC, you are not an employee of the businesses you work with. Those are business-to-business transactions. You work for yourself. You are the company that you work for, but every state is going to have different ways that deal with that.

This is an ongoing issue with shoppers on this forum, and not just related to unemployment. Listing a business that you contract for could be confusing on a resume, an unemployment form or anything else that asks about your employment.

My suggestion, like with taxes, would be to contact your state unemployment department and ask how they want the work listed. Asking advice here on how to list things for your particular state could lead to a problem down the line unless someone from your state had specific information they received directly from the department regarding this.

SteveSoCal , that would be my first place to turn if I could get through California's EDD phone system to ask. Sadly the phone lines are still impossible to get through. It took me hundreds and hundreds of attempts daily over weeks to get my paperwork corrected just to sign up and the line are still all busy or disconnecting.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2020 06:00AM by wwin.

So for Calif here is what I did (I think it is the same I did last time but I have not yet received the email that the money is ready so I am not sure it was correct.) On the first page everything was no except Q 3 which was yes. The second page of recert I started to fill out and listed myself as employer but really could not answer most of the questions.It would not allow me to go to page 3 without answering all of them so I deleted all the answers on the page about work that week and just clicked next on the bottom of the page. After that i do not remember the exact page numbers but where it asked if I earned any $$ I entered my fee only for the shop I did. I did not enter the reimbursement amt. I do not know if I did that correctly but two weeks I also only entered the fee received and got my money. Then on the page about pensions and a long list of other forms of income I checked no. Two weeks ago I checked yes as i had gotten a pension payment and that was ok. The only thing I did differently this recert week was I checked that I would not be interested in a full time job if it was offered to me..Last time I said I would. But we are under a stay at home order here in LA so truthfully I should not be "allowed" to take a regular full time job outside the home...at least not for someone my age and with an underlying condition.
Interesting new note...I decided to check my debit card before finishing this reply. My money was there in my debit card even though I have not yet gotten the email telling me. It was short $10 as I reported $36 income for one of the weeks...

@wwin wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the form for California PUA said somewhere to report on the week you received the money rather than when you worked. ....

Sandyf- How did you answer the questions about earning $ for Ca? I did a small job for DJC's that earned me $5. (luckily paid the same day job was performed). I don't know how to answer the questions about employer, address, are you still working for them etc. I don't have any info on the msc except their name and they aren't really my employer they are my client so do I put my info. I can't certify for the last two weeks till I figure this out and I'm really over thinking this for a stupid $5.

Be prepared California. This morning I received an email from EDD . Immediately I assumed there was an issue with the certification I just did and they were going to retroactively take my money away. Here is what it looks like:

Notice of Required Retroactive Certification
Turns out they are going back to the initial weeks or months when they automatically certified many people and sent money to them. So now I need to fill out the cert form from Feb 8 thru May 9. So be prepared and don't get scared.

If I earned less than $600 so the mystery shopping company did not send me a 1099, which form do I use to report the income if I am using 1040 file income tax? Do I fill out the 1099 myself?