# California tags up with PUA recipients - Prove self employed status or pay back the cheese



## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Got the below email today from EDD. This is not as bad as it first appears. They are auditing the dates 01/01/2019 and 03/15/2020, which is just the time frame leading up to the pandemic. They're not asking for proof that one was looking for work during the later stages of the pandemic, when proof of looking for work was required. So it appears that they are requiring proof of your employment status leasing up to the commencement of PUA.
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Hi TRON,

Even though your Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits have ended, federal rules require you to provide documentation to prove that you were, or planned to be, self-employed or employed at some point between 01/01/2019 and 03/15/2020.

Go to the *Upload Employment Documents* section on the homepage to upload your documents.

*If you do not provide the required documentation*, you may have to repay any benefits determined to be an overpayment. An overpayment is when you receive benefits you are not eligible for. A potential overpayment could be all benefits you received, including the PUA benefits and the additional $300 added to your benefits each week. We will add a 30% penalty if we determine that you intentionally gave false information or withheld information to receive benefits.

You have until February 09, 2022, to submit documents. You can request more time if you have good cause. Log in to UI Online and select *Request More Time* in the Upload Employment Documents section on the homepage.

If your documents meet federal requirements, we will send you a notice confirming your eligibility. If we determine you were not eligible for benefits, we will send you a _Notice of Determination for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance_ (DE 8598PUA-D), which you can appeal. If applicable, you will also receive a _Notice of Potential Overpayment_ (DE 1447) and/or a _Notice of Overpayment _(DE 1444), in addition to information on waivers. For more information, visit Overpayment and Penalties.

Thank you,

Employment Development Department
State of California


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

The documentation link indicates what documents are accepted. I went ahead and uploaded Federal tax forms. Ran into two hitches:

1) Got an error stating that the PDF document being uploaded was in the "XFA" format and could not be accepted. Whatever the hell that means. I had originally saved the IRS sourced PDF after filling it in. So the State doesn't like what the Feds are doing. lol. To fix it I opened the PDF and printed the document to "PDF Creator", a free PDF program I happened to have installed on my desktop computer. That PDF was accepted.

2) The EDD site does not specify which tax documents are required. I just uploaded Schedule C. Waiting now to see if that is accepted.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

I know here we just had to submit our schedule C so you should be fine. They're asking for your income information for the official approval status. Basically you need to prove that you are self-employed prior to the pandemic. Otherwise everyone was going to start saying they were self-employed LOL so you got to prove you aren't business as a self-employed person leading up to the pandemic. They should have asked for this a long time ago. I'm guessing the feds are probably holding back their money until they get all the proper documentation. If they need proof of you looking for work that would be later on in the process and that's only if your name gets called up for an audit


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## andyohoh213 (Sep 1, 2021)

_Tron_ said:


> The documentation link indicates what documents are accepted. I went ahead and uploaded Federal tax forms. Ran into two hitches:
> 
> 1) Got an error stating that the PDF document being uploaded was in the "XFA" format and could not be accepted. Whatever the hell that means. I had originally saved the IRS sourced PDF after filling it in. So the State doesn't like what the Feds are doing. lol. To fix it I opened the PDF and printed the document to "PDF Creator", a free PDF program I happened to have installed on my desktop computer. That PDF was accepted.
> 
> 2) The EDD site does not specify which tax documents are required. I just uploaded Schedule C. Waiting now to see if that is accepted.


Did you upload your 2020 1040's or 2019?


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

No 1040's. Just Schedule C for '19 and '20. I only added '20 because I was not on PUA all year, and had some self-employed income. 2019 seems the key year.


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## memberberry (Nov 8, 2021)

Soon as my free cheese ran out got a new number and deleted my email, they never had my real address so good luck & like shaggy it was'nt me, get the info from Uber they the ones who begged for it, they have all the records... I don't exist anymore : ) I'm just a dumb Uber driver can't be bothered with all this fancy paperwork and math. I had to wait a year+ while Joel Olsteen, The Los Angeles Lakers and every millionaire/billionaire was busy giving their 3rd round of free cheese back only because they were exposed, not because they wanted to while the plebs were still waiting for their 1st.


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## AcSlater (Oct 22, 2019)

The message freaked me out even tho I didn’t fraud the gov. I told the truth and I’m still worried…

while there are actually people that frauded ppp and pua for hundreds of thousands.

well
I know many of you say your submitting schedule c, but they didn’t specifically request that. There are other things a person can submit according to their site. I posted a screen shot.

Do you think we can submit something else like a business license , tax id, or business bank statement to show that your really self employed?

I do ride share and have a online business as well. The pandemic did hurt both as my online sales were non existent after Covid hit. And rideshare you guys know the story.

so I actually do have a business license, fed tax id, invoices, and business receipts. Not sure if there is anything to show for rideshare tho like that.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

AcSlater said:


> The message freaked me out even tho I didn’t fraud the gov. I told the truth and I’m still worried…
> 
> while there are actually people that frauded ppp and pua for hundreds of thousands.
> 
> ...


Well if it says you can submit any one of those, I would guess you could submit any one of those. I think for the most of us, the taxes were the easiest 🤷‍♀️


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

_Tron_ said:


> Got the below email today from EDD. This is not as bad as it first appears. They are auditing the dates 01/01/2019 and 03/15/2020, which is just the time frame leading up to the pandemic. They're not asking for proof that one was looking for work during the later stages of the pandemic, when proof of looking for work was required. So it appears that they are requiring proof of your employment status leasing up to the commencement of PUA.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Hi TRON,
> 
> ...


All that is needed is to have a certain amount of income (for my state, I think it was only $1K) entered in the 1040 Schedule C (and SE). Yes, doing so now (i.e., as an amended return) might raise some flags, but the smart CHEESE recipient would have done on his 2019 filing. An ant could claim that he had some pax on the side (i.e., not through U/L) that he gave his contact info to, and that he only knows his pax as "Bob", etc., and doesn't keep track of the address.

If I were a CA resident, I would complain to my state rep that a Schedule C form is proof enough of being self-employed.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

memberberry said:


> Soon as my free cheese ran out got a new number and deleted my email, they never had my real address so good luck & like shaggy it was'nt me, get the info from Uber they the ones who begged for it, they have all the records... I don't exist anymore : ) I'm just a dumb Uber driver can't be bothered with all this fancy paperwork and math. I had to wait a year+ while Joel Olsteen, The Los Angeles Lakers and every millionaire/billionaire was busy giving their 3rd round of free cheese back only because they were exposed, not because they wanted to while the plebs were still waiting for their 1st.
> View attachment 625682


If you didn't give your "real address", then you had de facto committed fraud. Did you use your real Social Security number? If so, unless you're living "off-grid", they will find you eventually.


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