Some Georgians told they owe thousands in taxes on unemployment benefits they didn’t get

ATLANTA — Some Georgians have gotten tax forms in the mail showing they owe money for thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits that they have never applied for or never received.

It’s a problem that has come up for a second year in a row and is even happening to some of the same people all over again.

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Channel 2′s Justin Gray talked to retired MARTA bus driver Martha Gamble, who got a 1099 IRS form showing she owes thousands in taxes for unemployment benefits -- but she never filed for unemployment.

Gray was at Gamble’s home Wednesday, almost exactly a year after Channel 2 visited her the first time.

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“I have definitely been retired,” Gamble said. “Have not filed no type of unemployment wouldn’t even think about it.”

Gamble thought the problem was resolved after Channel 2 Action News stepped in last year, but then she got a new 1099 for more than $5,000 in 2021 benefits.

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“The Georgia Department of Labor just keeps wanting to give me money that is not mine,” Gamble said. “It belongs to somebody, but not Martha Gamble.”

The Georgia Department of Labor said Georgians could get 1099s for benefits they did not receive if someone stole their identity and filed in their name, or if an employer mistakenly filed on their behalf.

That’s what GDOL commissioner Mark Butler said has happened for the past two years to Martha Gamble.

“We have another situation where in this particular person where the employer continued to file where they were told not to,” Butler said. “And she gets a surprise 1099: the money was paid out in her name.”

If you got a 1099 for unemployment benefits incorrectly, Butler said there is a section of their website where you can go to return the benefits, report fraud and get information on how to report the problem to the IRS.

“You are not on the hook for these taxes if you never received the money or if you didn’t want the money -- or if you didn’t’ know it has been filed on your behalf,” Bulter said.

Gamble said she just wants the problem to go away.

“I’m just so tired, so sick and tired, so now just all I want is someone please just correct it so I can go on with my retirement,” Gamble said.

The GDOL has been under fire during the pandemic for long processing times for benefits and the fact that people say it is nearly impossible to get someone on the phone.

On Wednesday, a group of lawmakers blasted the GDOL at the Capitol, saying the time delays on appeals -- sometimes of nearly a year -- are unacceptable.

Butler said that lawmakers are using politics to put unrealistic pressure on his office.

“To say that we should be able to handle these tens of thousands of appeals filed in some cases on a daily basis in just 30 days is really unrealistic and is putting a political spin on something that is physically impossible to do,” Butler said.

Butler said that as of October, offices are open again to the public, which should help with communication and customer service.

Here’s what you can do if you get a 1099 in error.

State says people who were given unemployment in error still need to pay taxes on it Several people who spoke with Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln said they tried for months to return money they said the Department of Labor sent them in error.

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