 TITLE: Do You Have to Pay Taxes on Unemployment Benefits? CONTENT: Which Taxes Apply to Unemployment Benefits?\n-------------------------------------------\nGenerally, you'll have money withheld from your paycheck for several types of taxes: income, Social Security and Medicare.\nCombined, the Social Security and Medicare taxes are called Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, and they can be up to 7.65% of your pay. But FICA taxes don't apply to unemployment benefits.\nYou have to pay federal income taxes on your unemployment benefits, as well as any applicable local and state income taxes.\nSimilar to how you receive a W-2 or 1099-MISC tax form with your wages and income and use those to prepare your tax return, your state will send you the IRS copies of Form 1099-G with a record of how much you received in unemployment. You'll include this amount in your income for the year when you file your taxes.\nThrough July 31, 2020, your taxable unemployment benefits may include an additional $600 a week as part of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act stimulus. The extra benefit also counts as taxable income. The separate one-time stimulus check that was also a component of the CARES Act is not, however, subject to income taxes. END