Although Treasury does not administer either of these programs (that’s done by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry), we want to help.
Answers to the most common questions can be found below. If your question is not answered here, use the link at the bottom of this page to contact us.
Check your UC Dashboard to make sure that (1) the payment has been released by the Department of Labor & Industry and (2) your bank account information and/or payment method have not been changed.
If the payment was released but you see no record of receiving it, unfortunately you may have been the victim of fraud and/or identity theft. You should immediately take the following steps:
We know this is inconvenient, but filing these reports will help protect yourself and will help the authorities track down the fraudsters.
If your direct deposit information was changed without authorization, unfortunately you may have been the victim of fraud and/or identity theft. You should immediately take the following steps:
We know this is inconvenient, but filing these reports will help protect yourself and will help the authorities track down the fraudsters.
Additionally, please continue to check your weekly payments often in order to flag any activity that may be suspicious or unexpected to you.
According to the Department of Labor & Industry, there is nothing a company can do to prevent identity thieves who have the personal information of their employees from filing fraudulent claims. When contacted by L&I regarding current employees, you should return the appropriate forms to L&I with a notation that the employees are still employed.
Unfortunately, any affected employees may have been the victim of fraud and/or identity theft. Those employees should immediately take the following steps:
We know this is inconvenient, but filing these reports will help protect the employees and will help the authorities track down the fraudsters.
If you received a paper check in the mail but did not file for unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania, do not cash the check. Cashing the check knowing that you have not applied for PUA or any other UC program may be deemed fraud and repayment will be required.
Instead, please write “VOID” on the check and return it to:
Pennsylvania Treasury Department
651 Boas Street
Room 400 L&I Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Please include a brief signed statement with the reason you are returning the check. Be sure to include your printed name, address, phone number and email address, along with the last four digits of your Social Security number.
If you received a US Bank ReliaCard in error, do not activate the card.
Instead, to aid Treasury’s internal investigation operations and prevent a fraudulent expenditure of Commonwealth funds, please return the ReliaCard to:
Pennsylvania Treasury Department
651 Boas Street
Room 400 L&I Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Please include a brief signed statement with the reason you are returning the check. Be sure to include your printed name, address, phone number and email address, along with the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Contact your financial institution to request a “Refuse Credit of Deposit” and provide the financial institution with the issue date of the payment.
If you are unable to request a “Refuse Credit of Deposit,” write a personal check, cashier’s check, certified check, or money order payable to the “PA UC Fund” in an amount equal to the direct deposit payment. Then, mail the check to:
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
651 Boas Street, Room 500
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Please include a brief signed statement with the reason you are returning the check. Be sure to include your printed name, address, phone number and email address, along with the last four digits of your Social Security number.
According to the Department of Labor & Industry, approximately 250,000 individuals were overcharged for some UC fault overpayments through 2017.
L&I has indicated that, “Individuals who still owe an overpayment will not receive a refund, but rather will have the interest from the range of affected years on their owed amount reduced until the amount owed is correct. L&I staff will also be contacting individuals who have repaid their fault overpayment and may be due a refund of overpaid interest.”
The UC-1099G is used to report income from regular Unemployment Compensation. The PUA-1099G is used to report income from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Both forms are created by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has posted information about 1099 Forms for Unemployment Compensation (including UC-1099G forms).
As a first step, we recommend you review the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s PUA-1099G Frequently Asked Questions. (Once you click on that link, you will need to scroll down past the UC-1099G FAQs to reach the PUA-1099G FAQs.)
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has posted information about 1099 Forms for Unemployment Compensation (including PUA-1099G forms).
If you received a PUA-1099G Form and you disagree with the amount of benefits reported, you should complete the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s PUA-1099G Inquiry Form.
Questions about PUA-1099G Forms can also be sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s dedicated PUA email address, UCpua@pa.gov, or by using the alternative contact information listed here.
You may have been the victim of fraud and/or identity theft. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon, and you should immediately take the following steps:
We know this is inconvenient, but filing these reports will help protect yourself and will help the authorities track down the fraudsters.
You should also contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry to request a corrected 1099G form. (See “If you need a revised or replacement 1099G Form…” below for more details.)
Questions about regular UC can be sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s dedicated UC email address, UChelp@pa.gov, or by using the alternative contact information listed here.
When you contact the Unemployment Compensation Center, be sure to specify that you are requesting a corrected 1099G form as the IRS has recommended. (In this guidance, the IRS lists several steps to take, including “Ask state agency to issue a corrected 1099-G.” The IRS also recommend that affected taxpayers “File an accurate federal tax return reporting only income received, even if a corrected 1099-G has not yet been received.”)
Treasury is not allowed by law to generate 1099G forms. Only the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry can do that. In fact, Treasury does not have access to – and is prohibited by law from accessing – the information necessary to correct any errors that may have occurred in the preparation of a 1099G Form.
However, Treasury has given the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry all of the information that it has acquired regarding regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefit payments that claimants have returned to Treasury over the course of the tax year.
As part of this process, you may need some or all of the following information, which Treasury can provide, and which can be used as evidence that fraudulent activity has occurred:
Cardholders who suspect their card is being used fraudulently should contact U.S. Bank immediately at the phone numbers provided by the bank. Additionally, Treasury can send a request to U.S. Bank to deactivate debit cards that are being used fraudulently.
To contract Treasury to request this information, please send an email describing what you are seeking as fully as possible to UCDtreasuryweb@patreasury.gov, using “1099” for the subject line. NOTE: Do NOT include sensitive information such as a Social Security Number.
The Pennsylvania Treasury does not have access to 1099G information. Please contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Unemployment Compensation office at 888-313-7284 for any questions regarding 1099G (tax) information or refer to this page about 1099G tax forms on the Department of Labor and Industry’s website.