Unemployment Compensation

You should receive a Form 1099-G showing in box 1 the total unemployment compensation paid to you in 2008. Report the amount in box 1 on line 19. However, if you made contributions to a governmental unemployment compensation program and you are not itemizing deductions, reduce the amount you report on line 19 by those contributions.

If you received an overpayment of unemployment compensation in 2008 and you repaid any of it in 2008, subtract the amount you repaid from the total amount you received. Enter the result on line 19. Also, enter “Repaid” and the amount you repaid on the dotted line next to line 19. If, in 2008, you repaid unemployment compensation that you included in gross income in an earlier year, you can deduct the amount repaid on Schedule A, line 23. But if you repaid more than $3,000, see Repayments in Pub. 525 for details on how to report the repayment.

Unemployment compensation benefits received from a union or private fund to which you contribute are taxable on your tax return only to the extent that your unemployment compensation benefits exceed your contributions to the union or private fund.