The 1099-G builder prepares supported government-payment statements from the reporting payer’s actual records. Keep unemployment compensation, state/local tax refunds, grants and other applicable categories separate, and select the correct 2025 or 2026 layout. Report gross amounts and actual withholding distinctly; the PDF does not determine every recipient’s taxable income or complete agency filing.
Reviewed October 29, 2026 · The tool uses the March 2024 original for 2025 payments and the December 2026 revision for 2026 payments. The new family-leave field applies only to the latter.
The 1099-G government-payment builder organizes a reporting unit’s statement. A recipient with a missing or inaccurate agency form should request the agency’s record or correction rather than create a form purporting to be issued by that government unit.
What does a 1099-G statement identify?
It identifies the reporting payer, recipient, actual calendar-year amounts and the applicable government-payment categories. Different boxes can have different tax consequences. A form headed “government payments” is not a conclusion that every number is fully taxable in the same way.
Gather the agency or other authorized reporting payer’s payment ledger, recipient identification, actual withholding and any relevant tax-refund-year record. Use the appropriate identifier and address information rather than copying an unrelated employer’s payroll record.
Our unemployment payment-record guide explains why benefit statements and employee pay stubs are different documents. A 1099-G is also distinct from a complete current-benefit history needed for another purpose.
The tool supports 2025 and 2026, but the originals differ. The March 2024 continuous-use original supports the tool’s 2025 route, while the December 2026 revision contains the new 2026 fields. Match both the calendar year and the applicable layout.
Review the reporting obligation and exceptions in the applicable official instructions. A private form builder does not turn a private business into an unemployment agency or establish that a grant belongs on a government-payment statement.
How do gross benefits and withholding differ?
Assume a fictional agency pays $7,800 of reportable unemployment compensation during 2025 and actually withholds $780 of federal income tax. There are no other deductions, repayments or payment adjustments in the example.
| Record or field | Amount | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 unemployment compensation | $7,800 | Reportable gross benefit amount. |
| Box 4 federal withholding | $780 | Actual withholding record, reported separately. |
| Cash received | $7,020 | $7,800 − $780; no other reductions assumed. |
Box 1 is not reduced to $7,020 merely because that is the cash deposited. The $780 is not an additional benefit either. It is a separately reported withholding amount.
The IRS unemployment-compensation topic explains the general federal tax treatment and related reporting. A recipient’s actual tax is determined from the return; $780 of withholding is not proof that the final tax on the benefits is exactly $780.
If benefits were repaid or adjusted, review the agency record and the applicable year’s repayment procedure. Do not apply this no-repayment illustration to a different payment history or subtract the same repayment twice.
Which year belongs in Box 3?
The statement’s calendar year is when the reportable payment, credit or offset occurs. Box 3 identifies the tax year to which the Box 2 state/local income-tax refund relates when it differs from the current reporting year.
For example, a $450 state income-tax refund paid in 2025 for tax year 2024 belongs to the 2025 payment-year record with 2024 identified for that refund. It is not moved onto a 2024 payment-year statement simply because it relates to an earlier return.
The 1099-G instructions call for no Box 3 entry when the refund relates to the current tax year and separate forms for refunds relating to different earlier tax years. The builder follows that distinction.
| Refund record | Amount | Payment year | Related tax year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earlier refund A | $450 | 2025 | 2024; separate applicable statement. |
| Earlier refund B | $120 | 2025 | 2023; another applicable statement. |
| Combined refund ledger | $570 | Both paid in 2025 | Not one combined Box 2 amount assigned to only one prior year. |
The ledger total helps reconcile cash records, but it does not eliminate the year-specific statement requirement. Also avoid repeating an unrelated unemployment amount on each refund form merely because the recipient appears on both records.
Is every state income-tax refund taxable to the recipient?
No. A personal state/local income-tax refund can depend on the prior federal deduction and whether it produced a tax benefit. The payer’s Box 2 amount is not automatically the amount the recipient includes in federal income.
For the fictional $450 refund, assume the recipient took the federal standard deduction for 2024 and had no federal deduction or tax benefit from the refunded personal state income tax. Under those facts, that refund is not included merely because a 1099-G was issued.
If the recipient itemized, the taxable portion still requires the applicable tax-benefit review; it is not always the full refund. IRS Publication 525 explains recovery rules and taxable versus nontaxable income.
The trade-or-business-income checkbox concerns the relevant Box 2 refund treatment. It does not classify every other government payment as business income. Keep any business deduction and recovery history separate from the simple personal-refund example.
Our Schedule 1 preparation guide covers relevant additional-income destinations, but those entries should use the amount actually taxable after the required review.
What is the new 2026 family-leave field?
The December 2026 revision adds Box 10 for the applicable family-leave benefits paid by state paid-family-and-medical-leave programs. The tool enables that field only for 2026 and renumbers the state-information boxes for that revision.
Do not place a 2026 family-leave amount into the 2025 form simply because the payer and recipient are the same. Also do not assume every employer leave payment, medical-leave benefit or reimbursement belongs in the new family-leave box. Review the actual program and reporting rule.
The official 2026 instructions connect the new box to the state-program reporting guidance. The builder records the supplied classification; it does not determine the benefits’ legal character from a payment description alone.
How should grants, agricultural and other entries be handled?
RTAA payments, taxable grants, agriculture payments and market gain have separate fields. Use the reporting payer’s actual categories and amounts, including any applicable exclusions or special rules. A payment called a grant is not automatically a taxable grant for this box.
Do not total every benefit into unemployment compensation to simplify the statement. Separate categories can lead to different recipient reporting and supporting records.
Enter actual federal and state withholding, not an estimated tax rate. State payer identifiers differ from the federal EIN. The tool supports up to two state entries; verify each jurisdiction’s source amounts instead of copying the same withholding twice.
Check the account number and corrected flag against the actual reporting task. A flag changes the PDF presentation but does not perform the required agency correction or notify the recipient.
What if the statement reports benefits the recipient never received?
Contact the issuing agency and follow its correction or identity-theft procedure. Do not report an unreceived fraudulent benefit as genuine income merely to match an erroneous statement. The IRS unemployment identity-theft guidance explains the response to an incorrect benefit record.
Keep the agency correspondence and corrected records with the tax workpapers. An independently edited PDF is not proof that the agency changed its own report.
The reviewed download includes all six pages. Recipient and state Copies 1, B and 2 receive the entries; red Copy A is not populated. Agency filing, recipient furnishing, corrections and withholding payments remain separate.
Review all relevant copies, the actual payment year, refund-related tax year, box classification and gross/withholding distinction. Check the applicable filing and furnishing deadlines for that year and payer.
The recipient then completes the appropriate return using actual taxable amounts and withholding. Our Form 1040 guide addresses that separate preparation. Read the current preview and price before buying; blank official forms remain free from the IRS.
1099-G preparation questions
Does a recipient’s bank deposit equal Box 1 unemployment compensation?
Not necessarily. The example’s gross $7,800 differs from $7,020 cash after actual withholding.
Does a refund relating to 2024 always go on a 2024 payment-year form?
No. A refund paid in 2025 has a 2025 payment-year record and the applicable earlier-year identification.
Can two different prior refund years be combined under one Box 3 year?
Follow the separate-form requirement for the different earlier tax years.
Is a personal state income-tax refund always federally taxable?
No. Review the prior federal deduction and tax benefit before determining inclusion.
Does the 2026 family-leave field apply to 2025 statements?
No. Use the correct reporting-year original and applicable payment category.
The Check Stubs Online Editorial Team reviewed both supported layouts and primary government-payment guidance. The original examples check $7,800 − $780 = $7,020 cash and $450 + $120 = $570 in the ledger while preserving the separate earlier refund years and recipient tax-benefit review.