Scammers have taken advantage of the pandemic by filing fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation using stolen personal information of individuals who had not filed claims. Anyone whose personal information was stolen and used for this purpose should be aware of the following:

  •   Taxpayers who receive an incorrect Form 1099-G for unemployment benefits they did not receive should contact the issuing state agency to request a revised Form 1099-G showing they did not receive these benefits. In Pennsylvania, the state issuing agency is the Dept. of Labor & Industry.  See 1099-G FAQs and scroll down to “What do I do if I believe someone else filed and received UC benefit payments under my name or SSN without my permission” question for reporting instructions.
  •   Taxpayers who are unable to obtain a timely, corrected form from states should still file an accurate tax return, reporting only the income they received.
  •   Taxpayers do not need to file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, with the IRS regarding an incorrect Form 1099-G. The identity theft affidavit should be filed only if the taxpayer’s e-filed return is rejected because a return using the same Social Security number has already been filed.
  •   The IRS previously issued guidance requested by states, see Identity theft guidance regarding unemployment compensation reporting. No Forms 1099-G should be issued to those individuals the states have identified as ID theft victims.

During 2020, millions of taxpayers were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through job loss or reduced work hours. Some applied for and received unemployment compensation from their state. Under federal law, unemployment benefits are taxable income.

IRS offers guidance to taxpayers on identity theft involving unemployment benefits.
IRS ofrece orientación a contribuyentes acerca de robo de identidad relacionado con compensación por desempleo.