The Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) released a statement warning Ohio residents, who may have been the victims of unemployment fraud because of identity theft, to report it or they could be required to pay higher taxes. This comes after the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) identified over 80,000 cases of unemployment fraud because of identity theft.
Unemployment benefits are taxed by the IRS. If you receive Form 1099-G, stating you have received unemployment benefits when you never applied for unemployment, you could potentially be paying more federal and state taxes if you don’t report it to the ODJFS.
The ODJFS will then report it to the IRS and correct the record so victims will not have to pay taxes for benefits they never received.
The IRS has released instructions for taxpayers on identity theft. The ODT is also advising victims of fraud that they don’t need confirmation from the ODJFS of their fraud claim or a corrected 1099_G to file your tax returns.
Officials state that fraud victims generally don’t need to report it on their tax return but DO need to get a corrected 1099-G Form after filing to avoid paying the extra taxes from the IRS or the ODT.
For additional information or guidance, contact ODJFS at (833) 658-0394 or:
https://unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov/, and click on the red ‘Report Identity Theft’ button
– The IRS at:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-offers-guidance-to-taxpayers-on-identity-theft-involving-unemployment-benefits
– Or ODT at:
https://tax.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/tax/help-center/resources/1099g
