Claimants who requested paper statements from UIA should receive them in the mail by end of January.

It’s time to start thinking about filling out tax returns. If you collected unemployment benefits in 2023, your year-end tax statement is now available online.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has posted to every claimant’s Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account their individual 1099-G, or "Certain Government Payments," tax statement. If you requested a paper statement, it should arrive in the mail by the end of January.

The UIA is generating more than 224,000 total tax forms, which you’ll need as you fill out your state and federal tax returns. 

It’s easy to view your tax statement online. Follow these steps:

1. Log into MiWAM.
2. Click on the "I Want To" heading.
3. Click on the "1099-G" link.
4. Click on the 1099-G letter for the 2023 tax year and save a copy for your records.

For more information on how to download the form, visit UIA's Your 1099-G Tax Form webpage.

The form shows the total amount of benefits that were paid to you and how much was withheld for state and federal taxes. However, you may have received a lesser amount than is shown due to automatic deductions, such as to repay a benefits overpayment or to fulfill court-ordered payments. 

If you believe your form is incorrect, request a revised statement by downloading and submitting a Request to Correct Form 1099-G.

If you received a tax form but did not apply for unemployment benefits in 2023, you could be a victim of identity theft. If you believe that to be the case, fill out and submit a Statement of Identity Theft.

New customer-focused resources

Timely access to the tax forms is one way the UIA is providing exemplary customer service under Director Julia Dale, whose goal is to transform the agency into a national model of fast, fair, and fraud-free service. UIA has partnered with the Detroit nonprofit design studio Civilla to launch the Claimant Roadmap, a resource that easily explains in six steps how to apply for and understand unemployment benefits. Also new are First-time Filer Coaching Sessions, where applicants can talk with a UIA employee to get any filing questions answered. Correspondence to employers and claimants are being redesigned using a human-centered approach to make letters easier to understand.

UIA is in the design phase of its new computer system, which will replace the decade-old MiWAM system used by claimants to file for benefits and employers to pay unemployment taxes. MiWAM uses 2010 technology to address very different needs of 2020 and beyond. The new system, expected to be fully functional in 2025, will incorporate an updated design with robust anti-fraud measures for efficient claims filing and tax processing.

The agency’s Advocacy Program has also been strengthened with the addition of new advocates, who are having their pay boosted by 30 percent. The Advocacy Program provides free legal advice to workers and employers who appeal UIA determinations.

Agency’s sweeping reforms

UIA’s aggressive anti-fraud efforts will be bolstered with the award of a $2,609,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to hire 30 new limited term employees to pursue bad actors and recover federal and state money stolen from taxpayers. The unemployment insurance examiners and regulation agents will work in UIA’s Fraud and Investigations Division through June 2024.

Director Dale recently appointed a Legal Advisor to lead the agency's Legal and Compliance Bureau, which leverages collaborative anti-fraud practices to pursue bad actors. To date, 162 people have been charged, 91 convicted, and 69 sentenced. Working with the state Department of Attorney General, federal prosecutors, and local law enforcement, the UIA puts fraudsters on notice: If you steal money meant for Michigan workers and paid by Michigan businesses, you will be found and prosecuted.

Other transformative actions:

• Launching the UIA Modernization Workgroup, with representatives from labor, the business community and jobless advocates, to advise the agency on significant improvements in how it can better serve Michigan workers and employers. 
• Scoring 100 percent for the third year in a row from the USDOL, meeting the reasonable assurance of quality benchmark for employer audits in 2022, 2021, and 2020.
• Securing a more than $2.3 million equitable access and communications grant from the USDOL Tiger Teams initiative to redesign and simplify how UIA engages with employers and develop a help center for accessing agency services.
• Reassigning staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agency’s case backlogs.
• Revamping the agency’s public website at Michigan.gov/UIA to be more user-friendly and responsive for those accessing services using cell phones or tablets.
• Rebuilding the UI Trust Fund to more than $2.3 billion (and growing), from which weekly benefits are paid to workers.
• Approving more than 76,000 overpayment waivers (with more to come) of state and federal benefits paid during the global pandemic, waiving more than $555 million.
• Halting overpayment collections on claims filed since March 1, 2020, while the agency addresses pending protests and appeals. More than $13 million has been refunded to workers since May 2022.

Need help with a claim or have questions?

UIA Claimant Roadmap First-time Filers Coaching Sessions

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