Do I have to pay tax on my supplemental unemployment benefits?

Supplemental unemployment benefits received from a company-financed fund to which the employees did not contribute are not unemployment compensation but rather taxable wages subject to income tax withholding but not subject to social security tax, Medicare tax or federal unemployment tax. These supplemental unemployment benefits are usually paid under guaranteed annual wage plans and must be reported on your tax return.

You may have to repay some of your supplemental unemployment benefits to qualify for trade readjustment allowances under the Trade Act of 1974. If you repay supplemental unemployment benefits in the same tax year you receive them, reduce the total supplemental unemployment benefits on your tax return by the amount you repay.

However, if you repay the supplemental unemployment benefits in a later tax year, you must include the full amount of the supplemental unemployment benefits you received in taxable income for the tax year you received them on your tax return.

If the supplemental unemployment benefits repayment is $3,000 or less claim a tax deduction on Line 36 of Form 1040 and to the left write "subpay TRA". If the supplemental unemployment benefits repayment is greater than $3,000 you can take a tax deduction on Line 27 of Form 1040, Schedule A or claim a tax credit on your tax return. The tax deduction on your tax return is not subject to the 2% AGI floor.

Under Internal Revenue Code Section 1341 you can re-compute your tax for the prior tax year as if you had not received the repaid supplemental unemployment benefits. You can claim a tax credit for the difference between the actual tax you paid and the tax you would have paid had you not received the repaid supplemental unemployment benefits. Claim the tax credit on Line 64 of Form 1040. Next to the line write "IRC 1341".

Related tax information about supplemental unemployment benefits
Tax Directory Topics:
Is unemployment compensation taxable?
Are disaster unemployment assistance payments taxable?
Income Related Questions and Answers
IRS publications about supplemental unemployment benefits:
For more tax information about supplemental unemployment benefits refer to IRS Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. Also see IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. Please read this IMPORTANT Editor's Note regarding navigating IRS publications with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
IRS publications can also be ordered by calling 1-800-829-3676.
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