Does unemployment get taxed upfront? Could be ugly next spring if everyone is getting the bill come due.
You can choose to have it taxed with each payment or pay the taxes on the back end. It is strongly advised you always have the taxes taken out right away.
Seconding what Handyman said. In Illinois, they ask you if you want it taxed, or to make it up next April. I get why the option is there (if you're hurting for the cash, the couple extra bucks helps), but most everyone opts to have taxes taken out on each check.
Also in Illinois, you can work part time while on unemployment, but that amount is deducted from your weekly claim, and you cannot exceed 50% of your unemployment insurance, otherwise you will be taken off unemployment.
So for those on unemployment who do want to work, unless its cash under the table, they're stuck in a rut until they find work that will pay them similarly to the job they were laid off from. Or at least pays more than the UI does.
I always thought of unemployment as a good program, mostly because family and family friends were seasonal laborers, Teamsters, etc. where unemployment got them through the winters/down times.
I've always given suspicious side eye to those who maximised their unemployment withdrawals then cried disability and moved on to milking that system.
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