QUESTION
Does my son legally have to pay his unemployment back and re-file taxes? Why?
Asked on Jun 05th, 2015 on Labor and Employment - Georgia
More details to this question:
My son’s employer mistakenly filed his state taxes in one state instead of another. The company is based in one state but my son worked in another for them. When laid off, he filed and got money from unemployment. Now they have discovered the error and wants him to pay back $7000 they also banned him from unemployment. He knows he has to refile his taxes correctly. But they still insist he has to pay them back. He has spent over 20 hours on the phone with the states they all see the problem but it is not getting resolved and they still want the money back. He is now out of work again laid off with no income it is a real mess for him. Can anyone help him please?
1 ANSWER
You should talk to a tax advisor. I see no reason for him to file his taxes again, except perhaps if income was claimed in the wrong state. Ask the tax advisor about that. also banned him from unemployment That sounds like a fraud penalty, unrelated to any mistake by DOL. It would be based on a fraudulent act committed by your son. This leads me to believe you may not know all the facts, and are dealing with half information. Repayment of an overpayment is a separate issue, which does not involve amending a tax return. He is required to report the unemployment in the year he received the payment, and pay taxes accordingly, in that year. Then, in the year he repays, he may offset his other income with the repayment. Look closely at the IRS tax form 1040, and you will see how this part works. You should also talk to a tax advisor about this.
Answered on Jun 05th, 2015 at 7:12 PM