I applied for PUA in 12/2020, after waiting 28 weeks to be denied regular unemployment benefits. I was approved in January and back paid. Do I claim 2020 or 2021?

[carparonie]

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, back paid for the year 2020, but not officially paid until 2021. What year do I claim it for?

[DawnC]

If you did not receive any unemployment in 2020, you have nothing to report on this tax return.   If you were paid this year in 2021, you will receive a 1099-G in January of next year and you will report it on your 2021 tax return.   It matters when you received the money, not when you applied for or waited for it.  

[Patricia Coryell]

Unfortunately, I also have this issue.  I applied for pandemic unemployment in 2020, but errors on the part of Nevada State Unemployment resulted in my payment being delayed until 2021.  Now I owe more than $5,000 in taxes because I can't claim the $10,000 exclusion.  Don't  know what I'm going to do - I'm screwed.

[tammea]

We applied for unemployment in March 2020. Due to an error by Indiana, we did not receive any money until February 2021. After 100’s of hours on the phone and countless messages to our State Representative, we did receive it. But, we ended up paying taxes on all of it. It was ridiculous. They should have made some kind of provision to help those who waited forever to even get any money.