The
Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) today announced that 1099-G
forms have been mailed to all 2020 Unemployment Insurance benefit recipients.
DLI sends
1099-G forms to individuals who received payments under the regular, pandemic,
and additional benefit programs. Those who received payments over the last year
will need this form to file their taxes. The Department mailed 1099-G forms to
all claimants on Thursday and Friday morning. Claimants are also receiving a
resource
letter with additional information on the
document.
UI
benefits are considered regular income and are subject to federal income tax.
This includes benefits received under regular UI, any special unemployment
compensations authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security (CARES) Act or Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of
2020, and the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) and Interim Pandemic Assistance (IPA)
programs. In Montana, UI benefits are exempt from state income tax.
Regular
UI claimants have the option to have 10% of their benefits withheld for their
federal tax liability. The option to have federal taxes withheld was not
available for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), LWA and IPA programs.
Information on the taxability of UI benefits is provided to claimants at the
start of their claim.
Montana
claimants can also access their 1099-G form in their MontanaWorks.gov account,
under the 1099 tab. Those without an account can create one by visiting
MontanaWorks.gov.
Montanans
who receive a 1099-G form from DLI but did not file for unemployment benefits
are likely victims of identity theft. All states, including Montana, have seen
an increase in UI fraud due to sophisticated nationwide criminal schemes that
use personally identifiable information sourced from external data breaches to
file fraudulent UI claims. Montanans who did not file for UI but received a
1099-G are asked to call the fraud hotline at (406) 444-0072 to report this
criminal activity.
The
Department is unable to provide tax advice. For tax filing information,
Montanans can call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 or visit their website at irs.gov.
Claimants with questions concerning their tax situation are recommended to
consult a tax advisor. Additional information on the taxability of UI benefits
is available at
dli.mt.gov/taxability-of-benefits.
Claimants
with technical, eligibility, or benefits questions are encouraged to view the
COVID-19 resource website at
dli.mt.gov/covid-19. A variety of information for both
Montana workers and employers are available, in addition to resources to help
claimants navigate the unemployment process.