what is unemployment income 
unemployment income refers to an insurance benefit paid due to taxpayers inability to find gainful employment unemployment income is paid from either a federal or state sponsored fund the recipient must meet certain criteria in trying to find a job employers and employees are assessed a payroll tax to cover the cost of this benefit unemployment income is also known as an unemployment benefit unemployment compensation or unemployment insurance the term is most commonly associated with filing a tax return where such income must be reported understanding unemployment incomeunemployment benefits were first introduced in 1935 along with social security 1 unemployment income is designed to provide a subsistence income for a given length of time giving the unemployed recipient time to find another job in the united states unemployment income is paid to jobless individuals who qualify for them individuals must have worked at least one quarter in the previous year and been laid off by their employer they must be actively seeking work to claim and receive benefits temporary workers or those who worked off the books are not eligible nor are individuals who quit their jobs or were fired for misconduct 2claims may be denied for several reasons including if unemployment income is fully taxable as ordinary income recipients are sent a form 1099 g at year end detailing how much they received which they must report on their 1040 form 4unemployment income amountsindividual states determine how much unemployment income an individual receives every week a figure that may vary significantly from state to state for example minnesota had one of the highest maximum weekly benefit amounts at 762 topped only by massachusetts at 855 5 massachusetts allows up to 30 weeks of payments while minnesota offers a maximum of 26 weeks 67 though not the lowest florida s 375 maximum weekly benefit and 14 weeks of benefits are among the least generous 8during high unemployment such as during the great recession unemployment income payments may last for 99 weeks 9 during times of low unemployment such benefits tend to last for up to roughly six months or 26 weeks in most states though some states may offer a fraction of that 10the covid 19 pandemic and unemployment incomeon march 27 2020 president donald trump signed into law a 2 trillion coronavirus emergency stimulus package called the coronavirus aid relief and economic security cares act which put provisions in place to provide unemployment benefits to unemployed individuals affected by the pandemic the law also expanded eligibility to allow those who otherwise don t qualify for benefits including self employed people freelancers and independent contractors and created three initiatives called the pandemic unemployment assistance pua program the federal pandemic unemployment fpuc program and the pandemic emergency unemployment compensation peuc program 11on sept 6 2021 all of these special pandemic related benefits came to an end 12while the american rescue plan extended the deadline for federal pandemic unemployment relief to sept 6 2021 a number of states elected to end their enrollment in the fpuc and peuc programs early 13 the best way to confirm the status and duration of your unemployment benefits is to check with your state s unemployment office as mentioned above unemployment benefits were expanded under the pua to include people who normally don t qualify for this type of income these benefits are based on someone s previous earnings according to a formula by the disaster unemployment assistance program the minimum benefit provided was 50 of an individual state s average benefit per week approximately 190 for that period 1114the cares act also established the fpuc program which provided unemployed individuals with an extra benefit of 600 this benefit was paid weekly in addition to other unemployment income until july 2020 11this benefit was extended after the passage of the consolidated appropriations act caa of 2021 in december 2020 the amount was then reduced to 300 payable every week beginning dec 26 2020 until march 14 2021 15 president joe biden pushed down the expiration date after signing the 1 9 trillion package called the american rescue plan act of 2021 on march 11 2021 according to the new law unemployed individuals could receive the additional 300 weekly benefit until sept 6 2021 12states typically provide people with 26 weeks of unemployment benefits but the cares act expanded that timeline under the peuc allowing individuals to claim benefits for an additional 13 weeks but the law stated that people must be able to work available to work and actively seeking work 11these benefits were extended to 24 weeks with the passage of the caa in december 2020 15 the biden administration changed that again in march 2021 to 53 weeks and the peuc expired on sept 6 2021 12