can you sell crafts to make money if on unemployment

by smudge
(Colorado)

I am currently unemployed and would like to know if I could sell some of my crafts without upsetting unemployment.




Hi,

That's a good question.

Where will you be selling your crafts?
Do you report any sales on your tax return?

The following is directly copied and pasted from their FAQ's.

"Working During the Benefit Year

Any employment (full-time, part-time, temporary assignments, short-term contracts, or cash-in-hand jobs, such as mowing lawns and babysitting) must be reported when you request payment through CUBLine Online or CUBLine. Working 32 or more hours in a week is considered full-time employment.

UI benefits cannot be paid for a week during which you work 32 or more hours or for a week in which your earnings are equal to or more than your weekly benefit amount. UI benefits that cannot be paid based on hours or earnings remain available for you to claim during the benefit year.

If you work part-time while continuing to request UI benefits based on full-time earnings, you must continue to seek full-time work and meet all the other eligibility requirements in order to receive partial payment for the week.

You may earn, in gross wages, up to 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount in any given week without affecting UI benefits for that week. Earnings over 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount are subtracted dollar-for-dollar from that week’s UI benefits."

I don't think selling your crafts would be a problem in theory, but what it does have the potential to do when you report it is that your availability for full-time work may be questioned.

I fully understand why they need to know about wages, but crafts??

Oh well, given the information above .. and the ever prominent display of "report unemployment fraud"(anonymously) buttons on all state websites I of course lean toward doing it by the book. Just make sure they know you do it only in your free time and it does not interfere in any way with your job search nor your availability for work.

Mowing lawns??? Are they nuts!!