Can I File My Taxes Without My 1099-G From Unemployment?
Even without Form 1099-G, reporting unemployment income is required. Understand the process for gathering your information to file a compliant, accurate return.
Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, reports the total unemployment compensation you received from a state agency within a calendar year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers these benefits taxable income that must be reported on your federal tax return. Each January, state unemployment agencies send this form to you and the IRS.
The information on Form 1099-G includes the total benefit amount and any federal income tax you chose to have withheld. These figures are the primary source for what you will need when preparing your taxes, ensuring that your reported income matches the information the government has on file.
Locating Your Unemployment Compensation Information
If you have not received your Form 1099-G by early February or have misplaced it, you can still gather the necessary information to file your taxes. The most direct method is to access your account through your state’s unemployment agency website. Most states provide a secure online portal where you can view your payment history and access a digital copy of your Form 1099-G.
When accessing your online account, you need the total amount of unemployment benefits paid to you and the total amount of federal income tax withheld. The payer’s Federal ID Number may also be required, which is often available on the agency’s website or on prior correspondence.
Another way to determine your total benefits is by reviewing your bank records. If you received payments via direct deposit, you can go through your bank statements for the year and sum up all deposits from the state agency. While this can reconstruct your total income, it will not show the amount of federal tax withheld.
Should online access or bank statement review prove insufficient, you can contact the state unemployment agency directly by phone. Be prepared to verify your identity by providing personal information. Agency representatives can provide you with the total benefit and withholding amounts over the phone or explain how to request a duplicate form.
How to Report Unemployment Income on Your Tax Return
You must report your total unemployment compensation and any federal tax withheld on your income tax return. You do not need the physical Form 1099-G to file, as long as you have the correct totals. The state agency has already reported this information directly to the IRS.
The total unemployment compensation you received is reported on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, on Line 7. The total from Schedule 1 is then carried over to the main Form 1040, where it is included in your adjusted gross income calculation.
If you had federal income tax withheld from your benefits, that amount is reported directly on Form 1040. This figure is added to any other federal tax withheld from other sources, such as a job. Tax preparation software simplifies this process by providing a dedicated section where you can enter your total benefits and withholding amount, and the software will place the numbers on the correct lines.
Handling Post-Filing Scenarios
If you receive your Form 1099-G after you have already submitted your tax return and the amounts differ from the figures you reported, you will need to file an amended return. This is done using Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You must report the corrected income and tax withholding, which may result in you owing more tax or being due a larger refund.
Filing an amended return involves explaining the changes from your original return and recalculating your tax liability based on the corrected information. You should wait until you have received any refund from your original return before filing Form 1040-X.
It is also possible to receive a Form 1099-G that you believe is incorrect, which can be a sign of identity theft and fraud. In this case, do not report the incorrect information on your tax return. Instead, immediately contact the state unemployment agency that issued the form to report the error and request a corrected Form 1099-G. The agency will investigate and issue a corrected form to you and the IRS if they confirm the error.