I've been doing gig work (DoorDash and Instacart) while on UC for about 4 months and completely understand your frustration! The system definitely wasn't designed with modern gig work in mind. Here's what's been working for me: When filing weekly certifications, I put "Self-Employed - Independent Contractor" as the job title and use my home address for employer info. For earnings, I report my NET income after deducting business expenses (primarily mileage at $0.655/mile). I use the Stride app to automatically track my miles - it's been a game changer since I used to forget to manually track everything. The biggest tip: when you call UC, immediately ask to speak with someone who handles "independent contractor" or "self-employment" cases. Regular reps often have zero training on gig work, but the specialized ones understand it completely. This saves you from those painful conversations where you're trying to explain what DoorDash is to someone who's never heard of it! Also remember that the $260 threshold is based on your NET earnings after business deductions, not gross. So even if you make $400 gross but drive enough miles to deduct $150, you'd only report $250 net and stay in partial benefits territory. Keep detailed records of everything (date, platform, gross earnings, miles driven) just in case, but in 4 months I've never been asked to provide documentation. The key is being super consistent with how you report it each week. Once you get your system down, it actually works pretty well for maintaining some income while job hunting!

I've been doing gig work (mainly DoorDash with some Uber Eats) while on UC for about 2 months and this thread is a goldmine! I was getting so frustrated trying to explain to UC reps what app-based delivery work even is - one rep literally asked me for my "employee handbook" from DoorDash 🤦‍♂️ Here's what's working for me now: I use MileIQ to auto-track mileage (super important for that $0.655/mile deduction), keep a simple weekly log of gross earnings, and always report NET income after expenses. When filing, I put "Self-Employed - Food Delivery" as employer with my home address. The game changer was definitely learning to ask for reps who handle "independent contractor" cases right off the bat. Saves so much time versus trying to educate regular reps about what gig platforms are! One thing I'm still figuring out - for those doing multiple apps, do you find certain platforms are better for staying under that $260 net threshold? I've noticed DoorDash seems to have more short-distance orders which means less mileage deduction compared to Uber Eats longer trips. Wondering if anyone else has noticed patterns like this for maximizing your partial benefits while staying compliant. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice you can't get from UC's website!

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same situation! Just hit my 26th week and have about $350 left in my balance with my benefit year ending 2/15/2025. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that partial payment weeks don't count toward the full 26-week limit! I had one week where I did some gig work and reported reduced earnings, so based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I should be able to file for that remaining balance. It's so frustrating that PA UC doesn't explain this clearly anywhere on their website. You'd think something this important would be spelled out in plain English instead of leaving everyone guessing. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - this thread is going to save me so much stress and confusion! @Charlie Yang definitely sounds like you're good to file this Sunday based on all the similar success stories here.

This whole thread has been amazing - thank you all for sharing your experiences! As someone who just joined this community and is dealing with PA UC for the first time, I had no idea how confusing their system could be. I'm currently at week 23 with about $600 still showing in my balance, and I had two weeks where I worked part-time and got reduced payments. Reading everyone's stories about successfully collecting remaining balances after partial payment weeks is such a relief! It's honestly shocking that PA UC doesn't explain this partial week rule clearly on their website - I've been stressing about potentially losing money that's rightfully mine. @Charlie Yang it definitely sounds like you should be good to file this Sunday based on all the similar success stories here. Really grateful to have found this community where people actually help each other navigate these confusing government systems!

I just went through this exact situation 2 weeks ago! My PA UC payment got sent to my old PNC account that was closed. Treasury mailed my check on a Thursday and it arrived the following Tuesday - so 4 business days. I'm in Delaware County which is pretty close to Bucks. The waiting is definitely nerve-wracking especially when bills are due! One thing I learned is that you can actually call your local USPS office and ask if they have any "accountable mail" (that's what they call certified/treasury checks) in your name. They were able to tell me mine was out for delivery that morning which gave me peace of mind. Also make sure your husband updates his banking info in BOTH places on the UC website like others mentioned - I made that mistake too and the next payment almost had the same issue. You should definitely get it by early next week if not sooner!

I'm going through something very similar right now! My UC payment also went to a closed account and I'm waiting for the Treasury check. It's been 4 business days since they said it was mailed and I'm getting really anxious too. Reading everyone's experiences here is actually making me feel a lot better - sounds like 5-7 business days is pretty normal. The tip about calling the local post office to ask about "accountable mail" is genius, I'm definitely going to try that tomorrow if mine doesn't come today. Also really glad to learn about needing to update banking info in TWO places on the UC website - I definitely only did it in one spot so I would have had this same problem again next week! Thanks everyone for sharing your timelines and tips, this thread is super helpful for those of us dealing with this stressful situation.

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now! My weekly benefit amount is $462 but I only received $415.80 this week. Based on everyone's responses here, it sounds like this is the 10% federal tax withholding that just kicked in (462 x 0.9 = 415.80). Like many of you, my first two payments were the full amount and then boom - sudden deduction on week 3. It's really frustrating that PA UC doesn't give you any heads up about when this will start! I was about to call them but after reading all these experiences, I think I'll just leave the withholding in place. Better to deal with smaller payments now than a huge tax bill next April. Thanks everyone for sharing - this thread saved me hours of phone frustration!

I had the EXACT same experience! My weekly benefit is $397 and I got $357.30 this week - that 10% tax withholding hitting on week 3. I was so confused because like everyone else here, my first two payments were full amounts. I actually spent way too much time checking my claim status thinking there was an error. After reading all these responses, I'm relieved to know this delayed tax withholding thing is just how PA UC operates. It would save everyone so much stress if they just sent a simple notification like "Starting with your next payment, federal tax withholding will begin" or something. But I guess that's too much to ask! Keeping the withholding though - learned from my friend's mistake when she owed $1,800 at tax time after her unemployment year.

I just filed my claim on February 20th and was going through this exact same confusion until I found this thread! I was literally about to call PA UC thinking I had messed up my filing somehow when I saw my waiting week wouldn't start until this Sunday. Reading everyone's experiences here has been such a huge relief - it's clear that the Sunday-Saturday rule catches almost everyone off guard. The way you all explained it as "fixed calendar blocks" and the train schedule analogy really helped it click for me. I was honestly losing sleep thinking I was going to lose a whole week of benefits! Now I understand it's just their weird timing system and I'm not actually missing out on anything. It's frustrating that PA doesn't explain this simple rule upfront - they could save so many people from unnecessary panic with just one sentence on the filing page. Thanks to this amazing community for breaking down what should have been explained from the start! Going to stay consistent with my weekly certifications and make sure I document all my work search activities properly.

I just filed my claim on February 22nd and was having this exact same confusion! I was literally refreshing my dashboard every few minutes thinking something was wrong when I saw my waiting week wouldn't start until this Sunday. Reading through all these experiences has been such a relief - it's clear that PA's Sunday-Saturday rule is a universal source of confusion. The train schedule analogy finally made it click for me too - you can't count a partial journey as a complete trip! I was honestly ready to call and re-file everything because I thought I had messed up. It's incredible that PA doesn't just put a simple one-sentence explanation about this on their filing page - they could prevent so much unnecessary stress. Now I understand I'm not actually losing benefits, just dealing with their weird calendar system. Going to make sure I file all my weekly certifications consistently and keep detailed records of my work search activities from day one. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - this thread has been absolutely invaluable for understanding what PA should have explained upfront!