Michiganders who collected jobless benefits in 2022 can choose how to receive 1099-G tax forms

As tax season approaches, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) reminds those who were paid jobless benefits this year to choose one of two options for getting a copy of their 1099-G tax form.

Residents can receive an electronic copy accessible online or a paper copy sent by mail to the address on file with UIA.

Unemployment benefits are taxable, so payments received in 2022 must be reported on state and federal tax returns. Anyone who received jobless benefits this year will receive Form 1099-G Certain Government Payments as proof of income and how much income tax was withheld this year.

Claimants have until January 2, 2023, to request to that an electronic version of their 1099-G be posted to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account. To change one’s preference:

• Log into your MiWAM account at MiLogin.Michigan.gov.

• Under the Account Alerts tab, click on “Request a delivery preference for Form 1099-G.”

• If your Account Alerts tab doesn’t have a 1099-G link, click on the Claimant Services tab; then select “Delivery Preference for Form 1099-G.”

Statements will be available to view or download by the end of January 2023. Here’s how to access it online:

• Go to the “I Want To” heading in MiWAM.
• Click on the “1099-G” link.
• Click on the 1099-G letter for the 2022 tax year.

Those who do not request an electronic 1099-G form will have a paper copy sent to them at the end of January through the U.S. postal mail to the address listed on their MiWAM account. Those who moved in the past year should be sure to update their mailing address in MiWAM to receive a tax form at the correct address.

UIA’s Your 1099-G Tax Form webpage answers key questions claimants may have at www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/uia/tools/publications/1099-g-information.

If the 1099-G received lists an incorrect amount in “total payment” or “tax withheld,” residents can request a revised form by downloading and completing Form UIA 1920, Request to Correct Form 1099-G. Then, mail the form to:

Unemployment Insurance Agency, 1099-G
P.O. Box 169
Grand Rapids, MI 49501-0169.
Or fax it to 1-517-636-0427.

Timely access to tax forms is a tenet of UIA Director Julia Dale’s wide-ranging reform of the agency, including providing exemplary customer service, fighting fraud, and instilling a human-centered approach to interactions with workers and employers. Since Dale was named director in October 2021, she has:

• Announced a replacement for the agency’s decade-old computer system with a user-friendly, state-of-the-art interface for claimants and businesses. A new system will allow for quick analysis of data that is currently not possible and timely program adjustments as economic conditions change.

• Approved more than 76,000 overpayment waivers this year of state and federal benefits paid out during the pandemic to Michigan workers and totaling more than $555 million.

• Obtained two federal approvals for a pause on certain collections for those facing overpayments.

• Secured a $6.8 million equity grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to make it easier for workers in underserved communities to access jobless benefits.

• Reassigned staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agency’s case backlog.

• Implemented new ethics and security clearance policies for employees and contractors.

• Redesigned the agency’s public website at Michigan.gov/UIA for easier use on mobile phones and tablets.

• Rebuilt to nearly $1.8 billion (and growing) the UI Trust Fund from which weekly benefits are paid to workers who lose their job through no fault of their own.

• Worked to simplify its correspondence using a human-centered approach to make letters easier to understand for claimants and employers.