Why did I receive a Form 1099-G when I didn’t receive unemployment benefits; could it be identity theft?

Created by Anil Kumar Kumar Kotla, Modified on Wed, 24 Jan 2024 at 02:22 AM by Anil Kumar Kumar Kotla

If you didn’t receive unemployment benefits but received a Form 1099-G, this could mean you are a victim of identity theft. Someone may have used your information to fraudulently claim unemployment benefits.

What is a 1099-G?

A 1099-G is a document sent by a government agency to report income that may need to be reported on your tax return. Income listed on this form includes:

Unemployment compensation
State or local income tax refunds, credits, or offsets
Reemployment trade adjustment assistance (RTAA) payments
Taxable grants
Agricultural payments
Payments on a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan

I received a 1099-G but didn't receive unemployment benefits. What now?

According to the IRS:

Contact your issuing state agency to request a revised copy of Form 1099-G.
If you are unable to obtain a corrected Form 1099-G in time, the IRS advises you to complete an accurate tax return reporting only the income you have received.

In cases of identity theft, a corrected Form 1099-G may help you avoid being hit with an unexpected federal tax bill for not reporting this income. You may want to keep it for your records.

Depending on your state, you may want to contact the Social Security Commission to report the fraudulent activity and to obtain additional information on your account.

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