1099-G Forms Available for Recipients of Unemployment Insurance Benefits in 2020
 

[February 02, 2021]  

SPRINGFIELD – 1099-G tax forms are now available for claimants who received unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in 2020, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today. Claimants who collected UI benefits last year need the 1099-G tax form from IDES to complete state and federal tax returns. The form is necessary for individuals who received state or federal UI benefits. This includes claimants who received regular UI benefits and/or benefits under the new federal pandemic relief programs, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), and state Extended Benefits (EB).

Claimants who opted to receive their 1099-G tax form electronically, which is an option available when claimants establish an IDES account, will receive an email notification with instructions to access the document from the IDES website. Claimants who opted not to receive their 1099-G tax form electronically will receive a paper form via regular mail; these claimants may also access and print their 1099-G form online by visiting the IDES website (login required). Previous years’ 1099-G information is also available for claimants online for the prior seven years.

Additional information about the 1099-G form is available on the IDES website. Individuals who have questions about this form can contact the Department at 800.244.5631 and select the appropriate queue to speak with an expert.

Individuals who did not apply for or receive UI benefits in 2020 but receive a 1099-G tax form from IDES are asked to immediately contact the Department at 800.244.5631. Receiving this form without having applied for or received unemployment benefits is an indication of identity theft and that a fraudulent claim was filed using the personally identifying information (PII) of an individual.

This PII was obtained through prior large-scale data breaches and cyber hacks (e.g. Equifax data breach in 2017 which compromised the PII of nearly 150 million; Target data breach in 2013 which compromised the PII of nearly 110 million; Yahoo data breach in 2014 which compromised the PII of nearly 3 billion) and is now being used by organized crime and fraudsters to illegally file for UI benefits and defraud state unemployment systems. IDES encourages all individuals to enhance the safety of personal information and cyber security where possible and never willingly share personal information online or under suspicious circumstances. More information about unemployment fraud and how to protect your PII can be found on the IDES website.

After fraudulent activity has been reported, the Department will investigate the matter and work with victims to get them a corrected form. Victims of identity theft will not be held responsible for repaying any benefits that may have been administered in their name by fraudsters, nor will they be held responsible for tax implications resulting from a fraudulent claim. To date, IDES has stopped more than 962,000 fraudulent unemployment claims since March 1, 2020.

IDES understands the urgency associated with tax season and is committed to ensuring Department resources are available to assist individuals with questions regarding the 1099-G tax form and filing process. For tax filing information, individuals are encourage to call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at 800.829.1040 or visit their website at IRS.gov.

[Illinois Office of Communication and Information]