Built on the current IRS Form 1099-G, Rev. December 2026, including the new family leave box
Make sense of your 1099-G
Form 1099-G reports money that came from a government: unemployment benefits, a state or local tax refund, taxable grants, agricultural payments, and now paid family leave. What trips people up isn't the form, it's what's taxable, since a refund in box 2 counts only if you itemized last year, while unemployment in box 1 almost always does. This page walks every box and what it means for your return, and if you need to produce or replace a 1099-G, the generator drops each amount in the right box and builds a clean copy to preview free.
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Written and reviewed against the current IRS Form 1099-G and its instructions by the ePaystubs editorial team · Updated · Sources
Certain Gov Payments
1099-GCopy B · RecipientTY 2026
PayerState Dept. of Labor
Recipient TIN•••-••-3902
1 Unemployment comp.$9,000.00
2 State tax refund$412.00
3 Refund tax year2025
4 Fed. tax withheld$900.00
6 Taxable grants$0.00
10 Family leave$0.00
8 Box 2 is trade or business income (checkbox)
Sample figures for illustration. Your form reflects the amounts you enter.
How it works
Three steps from a government payment to a finished 1099-G
No cross-checking which box takes unemployment versus a refund versus a grant, or second-guessing where family leave goes. Enter the amounts and the generator lays out a completed 1099-G, drops each one in the box that matches it, carries any withholding through, and builds both the recipient copy and the IRS copy.
Add the government payer's details, the recipient's name and taxpayer ID, and the amount for each kind of payment made during the year.
1099-G2026
Preview
2
We place each amount in the right box
The generator puts unemployment, a state refund, taxable grants, family leave, and the rest in the correct box, and carries any federal tax withheld through as a credit.
PDFCopy B
PDFCopy A
E-file
Download 1099-G
3
Review, furnish, and file
Preview the finished form, furnish Copy B to the recipient by the deadline, and e-file or print and mail Copy A to the IRS.
Most 1099-G forms take a few minutes once you have the recipient's details and the payment totals. Sample entries shown; your form uses your real numbers.
Why this generator
Built around the parts of a 1099-G people actually get wrong
The form is short. What trips people up is the sorting and the reading: which box a payment goes in, whether an amount is taxable to the recipient, and that the current revision moved things around and added a family leave box. Those are the parts this page and tool handle.
The right box for the payment
Unemployment, a state refund, taxable grants, and family leave each have their own box. The tool drops each amount in the one that fits, so the recipient reads it correctly.
What's taxable, spelled out
Unemployment in box 1 is taxable, but a refund in box 2 counts only if you itemized last year. This page draws that line clearly so you don't report money you don't owe tax on.
The current form revision
The December 2026 revision added box 10 for family leave and moved state information to boxes 11a through 12. The tool uses the current layout, not last year's.
Withholding carried through
Federal tax withheld in box 4, whether backup withholding or the 10% you elected on unemployment, is carried through so the recipient can claim it as a credit.
Recipient and IRS copies
The generator builds Copy B for the recipient and Copy A for the IRS from one entry, so both obligations are covered in a single pass.
24/7 support
Not sure whether an amount is taxable or which box a payment belongs in? A real person is a chat, call, or email away, any hour.
Interactive guide
Every box on Form 1099-G, explained
The form is a short column of numbered boxes, one for each kind of government payment. Tap or click a box to see what goes in it, whether it's taxable, and the mistake to avoid. This follows the current December 2026 revision.
1099-GCertain Government Payments
TopPayer & recipient details
Above the numbered boxes sits the identifying information: the government payer, meaning the agency that paid you, and the recipient's name, address, and taxpayer ID number, plus an optional account number. The form may show only the last four digits of your TIN for your protection.
Watch forThe payer is the agency, not your old employer. If you got benefits from more than one program or more than one state, you'll receive a separate 1099-G for each, and every one has to be accounted for.
Box 1Unemployment compensation
Box 1 shows the total unemployment compensation paid to you in the year, before any tax was withheld. It includes regular state unemployment and Railroad Retirement Board unemployment. Combine box 1 from every 1099-G you get and report the total on the unemployment line of Schedule 1. The reporting floor is $10.
Watch forThis is taxable income. If the amount is wrong, or you never filed a claim, it may be unemployment identity theft, so don't just report the figure as shown. See the identity-theft note further down before you file.
Box 2State or local income tax refunds
Box 2 shows refunds, credits, or offsets of state or local income tax of $10 or more that you received during the year. It can be taxable to you, but only under one condition, covered in the watch note.
Watch forA box 2 refund is taxable only if you itemized on Schedule A in the year the tax was paid and deducting that state tax lowered your federal tax. If you took the standard deduction that year, you don't report the refund at all.
Box 3Box 2 amount is for tax year
Box 3 identifies the tax year that the box 2 refund relates to, shown as a four-digit year like 2025. There's no entry here if the refund is for the current tax year.
Watch forIf a refund covers more than one tax year, each year comes on its own 1099-G. Match the box 2 amount to the year in box 3 to work out whether, and how much of, the refund is taxable.
Box 4Federal income tax withheld
Box 4 shows federal income tax withheld. That's either backup withholding at 24% on payments in boxes 5, 6, or 7, or voluntary withholding you asked for on unemployment by filing Form W-4V. There's no dollar floor on this box.
Watch forClaim this amount as a payment on your Form 1040, where it counts against what you owe. Any figure in box 4 also means the payer files the form no matter how the other thresholds land.
Box 5RTAA payments
Box 5 shows reemployment trade adjustment assistance payments made to eligible older workers under the RTAA program. Report the amount on the other-income line of Schedule 1 (Form 1040).
Watch forThis box uses the applicable reporting threshold from the IRS, which rose to $2,000 for 2026 payments, up from $600. It's a narrow program, so most recipients never see an amount here.
Box 6Taxable grants
Box 6 shows taxable grants you received from a federal, state, or local program, such as energy grants for conservation or production. State and local grants are ordinarily taxable, and a federal grant is taxable unless the law that created it says otherwise.
Watch forScholarships and fellowships aren't reported here, and lead service line replacement under certain programs isn't income at all. The threshold is the applicable one, $2,000 for 2026 payments.
Box 7Agriculture payments
Box 7 shows taxable Department of Agriculture payments, including USDA subsidy payments and market facilitation program payments made during the year.
Watch forIf you're a nominee who received subsidy payments on behalf of someone else, you file a 1099-G to report the actual owner of the payments, with the amount in this box.
Box 8Trade or business income (checkbox)
Box 8 is a checkbox, not a dollar amount. It's marked when the refund in box 2 is for a tax that applies exclusively to income from a trade or business, rather than a tax of general application.
Watch forA tax on the net income of an unincorporated business can qualify, while a general state income tax does not. The checkbox tells the recipient the refund may be handled differently on their return.
Box 9Market gain
Box 9 shows market gain associated with the repayment of a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan. It's a narrow figure tied to certain farm loan programs.
Watch forMost recipients never see an entry in this box. If you do, it relates to a CCC loan you repaid, and how it's reported depends on your farm accounting.
Box 10Family leave benefits
Box 10 is new on the December 2026 revision. It reports governmental paid family leave benefits, which states pay through their paid family and medical leave programs. Family leave benefits are generally taxable income for federal purposes, though they aren't treated as wages.
Watch forThis box didn't exist on older revisions, where box 10 held state information instead. Medical-leave benefits can be treated differently from family leave, with part sometimes reported on a Form W-2 as third-party sick pay, so check which kind of leave you were paid.
11a–12State information
Boxes 11a through 12 hold the state, the payer's state identification number, and any state income tax withheld. They're used when the payer withheld state tax or a state requires the information.
Watch forOn revisions before December 2026, this information sat in boxes 10a, 10b, and 11. If you're comparing an older form, the numbers won't line up, so read the box labels, not just the numbers.
The basics
What is Form 1099-G?
Quick answer
Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, is an information return a government unit files to report money it paid you during the year. The most common entries are unemployment compensation and a refund, credit, or offset of state or local income tax, but it also covers taxable grants, agricultural payments, reemployment trade adjustment assistance, and, on the current revision, paid family leave. You get a copy so you can report the amounts on your return, and the IRS gets a matching copy.
It's a verification form as much as a receipt. The IRS uses the copy it receives to match what a government paid you against what shows up on your return, so an amount you leave off can trigger a CP2000 underreported-income notice months later. That's why it's worth reading the boxes carefully even when the dollar figures are small.
The catch is that not everything on a 1099-G is taxed the same way. Unemployment in box 1 is almost always taxable. A state refund in box 2 is taxable only if you itemized last year. Grants, RTAA, and family leave are generally taxable. The form's job is to report the amounts; your return is where the tax gets decided, line by line.
One more difference from a W-2: you don't attach a 1099-G to your return. You take the amounts from the boxes and use them to fill in the right lines, mostly on Schedule 1 and your Form 1040. Keep the form with your records in case the IRS asks.
The key idea
A 1099-G tells you what a government paid you. Whether you owe tax on it depends on the box, and for a refund, on whether you itemized. Read the boxes, apply those two rules, and the form is done.
Is it taxable?
Which parts of a 1099-G are taxable to you?
The most common 1099-G question is whether you owe tax on the amount. It depends on the box, and for a state refund, on a rule about last year's return. Here's how the common amounts break down.
Amount on your 1099-G
Taxable to you?
Where it goes
Unemployment compensation (box 1)
Yes
Schedule 1, unemployment line
State or local refund (box 2), if you itemized that year
Yes
Schedule 1, taxable refunds line
State or local refund (box 2), if you took the standard deduction
No
Not reported
Taxable grant (box 6)
Usually
Reported as income
RTAA payment (box 5)
Yes
Schedule 1, other income line
Agriculture payment (box 7)
Yes
Schedule F or other income
Family leave benefits (box 10)
Generally
Reported as income
Federal tax withheld (box 4)
A credit
Form 1040, withholding line
Swipe the table sideways for the full text →
The refund rule, in plain terms: if you took the standard deduction last year, which most filers do, a state refund on your 1099-G isn't taxable and you can leave box 2 off your return. If you itemized and deducted state income tax on Schedule A, some or all of the refund is taxable in the year you received it. The SALT cap can shrink the taxable part, because a state-tax deduction that was capped at $10,000 didn't give you the full benefit in the first place.
The unemployment side is simpler: box 1 is taxable for 2025 and 2026, with no federal exclusion. The one-time $10,200 exclusion applied to 2020 only and hasn't returned. If unemployment left you facing a bill, you can ask the agency to withhold 10% from future payments by filing Form W-4V, or make quarterly estimated payments instead. Either way, all your income is taxable whether or not a form shows up, so the 1099-G decides reporting, not what you actually owe.
Thresholds
How much triggers a 1099-G, box by box
There's no single dollar threshold for the whole form. Each kind of payment has its own floor, and a 2025 law raised several of them for 2026 payments. Here's where each one stands for 2026.
Box
What it reports
Reporting threshold, 2026
Box 1
Unemployment compensation
$10 or more
Box 2
State or local tax refunds
$10 or more
Box 4
Federal tax withheld
Any amount
Box 5
RTAA payments
$2,000
Box 6
Taxable grants
$2,000
Box 7
Agriculture payments
Applicable threshold
Box 10
Family leave benefits
$2,000
Swipe the table sideways for the full text →
Unemployment and state or local refunds stay at $10, the floor they've had for years. What moved is the applicable reporting threshold that governs RTAA payments, taxable grants, and the new family leave box: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted in July 2025, raised it from $600 to $2,000 for payments made in 2026 and later, the same change that lifted the floor on 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC. Agriculture payments in box 7 follow the applicable reporting threshold in the IRS Pub. 1099, so confirm the current figure there before you file.
Box 4 has no floor at all. If a payer withheld any federal tax, whether backup withholding on a grant or the 10% a recipient elected on unemployment, the form is filed regardless of how small the payment was. And when an amount is close to a line, filing anyway is common, since there's no penalty for filing a form you didn't strictly have to.
Try it
Estimate the tax on your 1099-G
Enter your unemployment, any state refund, and the federal tax already withheld, then pick your marginal rate. The tool shows the taxable amount from the form and a rough estimate of what's left to pay or come back. It's a planning figure, not a return.
A rough estimate using one flat marginal rate, not a full return. Your real tax depends on total income, filing status, deductions, and credits. This isn't tax advice.
Estimated tax on this 1099-G
Taxable amount from this form$9,000.00
Estimated federal tax on it$1,080.00
Federal tax already withheld (box 4)$900.00
Estimated still to pay$180.00
If box 4 covers more than the estimated tax, part of it may come back as a refund. Report the amounts on your return, and if you need to produce the form, fill out your 1099-G here.
The state refund line only moves the total when you check the itemized box, because a refund is taxable just in that case. Leave it unchecked and the estimate rests on unemployment alone, which is the situation most recipients are in. If the number left to pay looks uncomfortable, electing 10% withholding on future unemployment with Form W-4V, or setting aside estimated payments, keeps April from becoming a surprise.
The calendar
When Form 1099-G is due
A 1099-G has two deadlines, not one: the copy furnished to the recipient, and the copy filed with the IRS. Here's the calendar, plus the exception most people miss.
Recipient copy · generally January 31
The payer furnishes Copy B to the recipient by January 31. For 2026 forms that date falls on a Sunday, so it moves to February 1, 2027. Most states post an unemployment 1099-G to your online account by late January, so check the state portal rather than waiting for the mail.
IRS copy · end of February on paper, March 31 if e-filed
The payer files Copy A with the IRS by the end of February on paper, or by March 31 if e-filing. For 2026 forms the paper deadline is March 2, 2027, since the usual date lands on a weekend, and the e-file deadline is March 31, 2027. When a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Anyone filing 10 or more information returns of any type combined has to e-file, a threshold that counts every 1099, W-2, and similar form together, not each kind on its own. The IRS is retiring the older FIRE system at the end of 2026, so filings for 2026 and forward go through IRIS, the Information Returns Intake System, which also lets you e-file 1099-series forms at no cost.
If you're a recipient who got benefits but no form ever arrived, don't wait on it. Pull your total from the state's unemployment portal and report it, since the IRS expects the income whether or not you hold the paper. And if a form shows an amount you never received, treat it as a possible identity-theft case before you report anything.
For 2026 and beyond
New for 2026
A fresh form revision and a 2025 law changed a few things on the 1099-G for payments made in 2026. Here's what to keep in mind.
New box 10
Family leave gets its own box. The December 2026 revision adds box 10 for governmental paid family leave benefits, which states pay through their paid family and medical leave programs. These benefits are generally taxable income, though they aren't wages.
State info moves
State boxes were renumbered. To make room for family leave, state information moved from boxes 10a, 10b, and 11 to boxes 11a through 12. On an older form the same details sit under different numbers, so read the labels.
$600 becomes $2,000
A higher applicable floor. The reporting threshold for RTAA payments, taxable grants, and family leave rose from $600 to $2,000 for 2026 payments, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Unemployment and refunds stay at $10.
Match the revision
Use the year's form and rule. The 1099-G is a continuous-use form. The December 2026 revision covers 2026 payments filed in early 2027; earlier years use the earlier revision, with the older box numbers and the $600 floor.
On family leave timing: the IRS gave state paid-leave programs a one-year extension, to 2027, for some updated federal tax reporting rules under Notice 2026-6, so for 2026 the programs keep their current treatment and still issue a 1099-G for family leave benefits. Medical-leave benefits can follow separate rules, with part sometimes reported on a W-2 as third-party sick pay, so confirm which kind of leave you were paid.
Avoid these
The mistakes that trip up a 1099-G
Most 1099-G problems come down to reading the form right, not math. Clear this short list and it goes on your return clean.
Leaving unemployment off
Box 1 is taxable, and the state already reported it to the IRS. Skipping it is the fastest way to a CP2000 notice with tax, penalty, and interest added months later.
Taxing a refund you shouldn't
A box 2 refund isn't taxable if you took the standard deduction that year. Reporting it anyway means paying federal tax on money you don't actually owe tax on.
Reporting a fraudulent form
If you never filed for unemployment, don't report the box 1 amount. A benefit you never received is a sign of identity theft, and reporting it makes the fix harder later.
Missing the box 4 credit
Federal tax withheld in box 4 is a payment you already made. Claim it on the withholding line of your 1040; leaving it off quietly overpays what you owe.
Reading old box numbers
The December 2026 revision renumbered state info and added family leave in box 10. Using last year's map can drop an amount in the wrong place, so read the box labels.
Waiting for a form that doesn't come
If benefits were paid but no 1099-G arrived, get the total from the state portal and report it. The income counts whether or not the paper reaches your mailbox.
One more
Don't overlook state taxes. Some states tax unemployment or a refund differently from the federal rules, and the box 4 withholding is federal only. State withholding, when it applies, sits in the state boxes, so read your state's rules alongside the federal ones before you file.
Filing it
How a Form 1099-G is filed
Recipients don't file a 1099-G; the government agency does. If you received one, your job is to report the amounts on your return. This section is for the payer side and for producing or replacing a copy.
1
E-file through IRIS
You can e-file 1099-series forms at no cost through the IRS IRIS portal, or through commercial software. E-filing is required once you're at 10 or more information returns of any type combined, and it carries the later IRS deadline of March 31.
Required at 10+ returns
2
Paper file by mail
Filing fewer than 10 returns, you can mail paper Copy A to the IRS with a Form 1096 transmittal by the end of February. Use the scannable official Copy A, not a printout of the red form, and keep your records.
Under 10 returns
3
Software or a preparer
Agencies and programs issuing many forms, or handling state copies, can get involved fast. Commercial software or a preparer can batch the filing, manage state requirements, and track the deadlines.
When it's at scale
Where this tool fits
This generator helps you fill out and produce a completed Form 1099-G, both the recipient copy and the IRS copy, that you can review, then e-file or print and mail yourself. It doesn't transmit anything to the IRS, it isn't a substitute for tax software or a tax professional, and it isn't tax advice. You're responsible for the accuracy of the figures and for meeting both deadlines.
Whichever route a payer takes, Copy B has to reach the recipient by their deadline, by mail or, with consent, electronically. Notice that the IRS won't even require the recipient copy if the payer can tell the recipient took the standard deduction in the refund year, since the refund wouldn't be taxable then, but the IRS copy is still filed in every case. If a mistake turns up after filing, send a corrected form with the CORRECTED box checked and an updated copy to the recipient, and fixing it before August 1 keeps any penalty in the lowest tier.
Received unemployment or a state refund?
Those amounts land on your Form 1040 through Schedule 1. Whichever form you need to report or produce, it's a click away, with the same plain-language approach.
The questions people ask most about unemployment, a state refund, the boxes, what's taxable, and the deadlines.
Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, is an information return a government unit files to report money it paid you: unemployment compensation, a state or local income tax refund, taxable grants, agricultural payments, reemployment trade adjustment assistance, and, starting with the December 2026 revision, paid family leave benefits. You get a copy so you can report the amounts on your return, and the IRS gets a copy too.
Because a federal, state, or local government paid you something the IRS tracks. The most common reasons are unemployment benefits during the year and a refund, credit, or offset of state or local income tax from a prior year. Taxable grants, agricultural payments, and paid family leave benefits also come on a 1099-G.
Yes. Unemployment compensation in box 1 is taxable on your federal return. Combine box 1 from every 1099-G you receive and report the total on the unemployment line of Schedule 1 (Form 1040). There's no federal exclusion for 2025, so the full amount counts. You can ask the agency to withhold 10% by filing Form W-4V, or make estimated payments, to avoid a bill in April.
Only sometimes. A state or local income tax refund in box 2 is taxable only if you itemized deductions on Schedule A in the year the tax was paid and deducting that state tax actually lowered your federal tax. If you took the standard deduction that year, the refund isn't taxable and you don't report it. Box 3 shows which tax year the refund relates to.
That's a sign of identity theft, where someone claimed benefits in your name. Don't report the incorrect box 1 amount on your return. Contact the state agency that issued the form and ask for a corrected 1099-G showing zero benefits, report the fraud at irs.gov/idtheftunemployment and to the U.S. Department of Labor, and file your return using only the income you actually received. Don't wait for the corrected form to file.
It depends on the box. Unemployment compensation in box 1 and state or local tax refunds in box 2 are reported at $10 or more. Federal income tax withheld in box 4 is reported no matter the amount. RTAA payments, taxable grants, and paid family leave use the applicable reporting threshold, which a 2025 law raised to $2,000 for 2026 payments, up from $600.
The recipient copy is generally due January 31. The copy filed with the IRS is due by the end of February on paper, or March 31 if you e-file. If a due date lands on a weekend or holiday it moves to the next business day. Anyone filing 10 or more information returns of any type combined has to e-file.
Box 10 is new on the December 2026 revision of Form 1099-G. It reports governmental paid family leave benefits, which states pay through their paid family and medical leave programs. Family leave benefits are generally taxable income for federal purposes, though they aren't wages. On older form revisions, box 10 held state information instead, so match the box numbers to the revision for your year.
It depends on the box. Unemployment in box 1 goes on the unemployment line of Schedule 1. A taxable state refund in box 2 goes on the taxable-refunds line of Schedule 1. RTAA in box 5 goes on the other-income line of Schedule 1. Any federal tax withheld in box 4 goes on the withholding line of your Form 1040, where it counts as a payment against what you owe.
No. The generator builds a completed, downloadable Form 1099-G that you can preview free, then you e-file it through the IRS system or print and mail it. It's a document tool, not an e-file transmitter, so you stay in control of when and how it's filed.
Sources
Where these rules come from
Every box, threshold, and deadline on this page traces back to primary IRS guidance. Verify any of it at the source.
This page is educational and doesn't provide legal, tax, or financial advice, and isn't affiliated with the IRS. A Form 1099-G should reflect the payments a government actually made and the correct recipient details. Rules, forms, thresholds, and penalty amounts change and are adjusted for inflation, so confirm current details against the IRS sources above or a qualified tax professional. The tax estimator is a rough planning figure, not a bill.
Support
Not sure whether an amount is taxable, or which box a payment belongs in? A person answers, day or night
Whether unemployment or a refund is taxable to you, where an amount goes on your return, and which box a payment belongs in all trip people up, so you can reach a person any hour.
Live chat, 24/7
Fastest for a quick question mid-form. Start a chat from any page and keep working on the 1099-G while you wait.
Call us
+1 857 444 9266, any hour. Real answers on the boxes, what's taxable, and the two deadlines.
Email
info@epaystubs.net for anything that needs a written reply, like a taxability question or a state filing detail.
Make sense of your 1099-G
Read the boxes, apply the two rules that decide what's taxable, and report the amounts with confidence. And if you need to produce or replace a 1099-G, let the tool drop each amount in the right box and build both the recipient copy and the IRS copy, ready to review, e-file, or mail.
