To stop unemployment benefits in Illinois, file your next biweekly certification through IDES and report that you’ve returned to work, including your gross earnings and days worked. You can certify online through your IDES claimant account or by phone through Tele-Serve. Once your reported earnings exceed your weekly benefit amount, the system stops issuing payments and your claim closes on its own.
Report Your Return to Work Right Away
IDES asks claimants to notify the agency as soon as they start working again, not after the first paycheck arrives. The agency cross-references active claims against state and national new-hire databases, so a delay between your start date and your report can look like fraud even when it wasn’t.1Illinois Department of Employment Security. 10 Things You Should Know
The cleanest way to report is through your next scheduled certification. When you enter earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount, the system recognizes you’re no longer eligible and stops the payments. If your certification date is still a few days out and you’ve already started, don’t wait it out. Log in as soon as the system allows.
What You Need for Your Final Certification
Before you certify, gather a few details from the new job so the numbers are accurate:
- Gross wages earned during the two-week certification period, before taxes, Social Security, insurance, or any other deductions. Include hours worked even if the paycheck hasn’t hit yet.
- The specific days you worked during each week of the period.
- Your new employer’s legal name and mailing address as they appear on tax documents, plus your start date.
Gross wages are the number that matters, because that’s what IDES uses to decide whether you’re still owed a partial payment. Under 820 ILCS 405/402, your weekly benefit is reduced by the portion of your wages that exceeds half your weekly benefit amount. If your weekly benefit amount is $400 and you earned $700 in a given week, IDES subtracts the amount over $200, which is $500, leaving nothing to pay out for that week.2Illinois General Assembly. 820 ILCS 405/402 – Reduced Weekly Benefits Once earnings consistently clear that threshold, payments end.
Getting the figures right also prevents overpayments. If IDES pays more than you were owed, the agency will come after the difference, and the recoupment process is not something you want to deal with.
How to Certify Online
Log in to your IDES claimant account using ILogin. From the dashboard, select the option to certify for benefits. The system walks you through questions covering each week in the certification period.3Illinois Department of Employment Security. FAQs For Claimants – Section: Certification and Receiving Benefits
The key question asks whether you worked during the period. Answer yes, then enter your gross earnings for each week and the days you worked.4Illinois Department of Employment Security. Certification Question Modal When earnings exceed your weekly benefit amount, the system calculates a zero-dollar payment for that week. If both weeks show full employment, this certification is effectively your last.
After you submit, the system produces a confirmation screen. Print it or save it as a PDF. That page is your proof of when you reported your return to work if any dispute comes up later.
How to Certify by Phone
If you’d rather not use the online system, call the Tele-Serve line at 312-338-4337. The line runs Monday through Friday, 3:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.5Illinois Department of Employment Security. Teleserve
You’ll need your Social Security number and the PIN you created the first time you called Tele-Serve. The prompts mirror the online questions. Enter your gross earnings and work days using the keypad. At the end of the call, the system reads out a confirmation number. Write it down and keep it with your records.
Can You Just Stop Certifying?
If you simply stop certifying, the claim eventually goes dormant on its own. IDES requires certification every two weeks, and after a period of non-activity the system flags the claim as inactive.6Illinois Department of Employment Security. Reg UI Benefits Timeline
This works, but it isn’t the recommended approach. Going silent means IDES has no record of when you returned to work, which leaves a gap in your file. If the new-hire database later shows you started a job during a week your claim was still active, you could face questions about why you didn’t report. The cleaner path is to file that final certification with your new employment details and let the system close the claim based on reported earnings.
Your benefit year continues running in the background either way. It expires 52 weeks after you originally filed, whether or not you’re still collecting.7Illinois Department of Employment Security. Benefit Year Ending Any remaining balance doesn’t roll over. If the year ends with unused funds, that money simply goes unclaimed.
If the New Job Falls Through
Stopping benefits doesn’t permanently close the door. If you lose the new job within your original benefit year and still have a balance, you can file what IDES calls an additional claim to restart payments. This is not the same as filing a brand-new claim. Log in to your IDES account, select “File My Unemployment Claim” under the Individual Home menu, and the system walks you through re-establishing eligibility within your existing benefit year.8Illinois Department of Employment Security. Additional Claims
You’ll update your last day of work and last employer information. In some cases, the certification process itself will prompt you to file the additional claim based on your answers. Once approved, you resume certifying every two weeks.
If the benefit year has already expired, IDES reviews whether you qualify for a new claim through what’s called a Transitional Claim. You generally need enough wages earned since your original claim to requalify.7Illinois Department of Employment Security. Benefit Year Ending
What Happens If You Don’t Stop Benefits Properly
Collecting benefits after you’ve returned to work is one of the most common ways claimants end up with an overpayment on their record, and IDES treats these situations seriously. If the agency finds you received money you weren’t entitled to, you’ll owe the full amount back.
The consequences depend on whether IDES considers the overpayment fraudulent. For non-fraud overpayments, meaning an honest mistake or a misunderstanding about when to stop certifying, IDES can recoup the overpaid amount from any future unemployment benefits you file for within five years. You may be able to request a waiver of repayment if you received the money without fault and repayment would cause undue hardship.
Fraud overpayments are different. If IDES finds you knowingly made a false statement or deliberately hid that you were working, the overpayment can be recouped at any time with no statute of limitations. The agency can also recover the money through a lawsuit filed in the name of the State of Illinois.
A fraud finding can also disqualify you from future benefits. IDES cross-references its records when you file a new claim, and an unresolved overpayment will delay or block payment on any later filing. The simplest way to avoid all of this is to file that final certification the moment you start working again.
Taxes After Your Claim Ends
Unemployment benefits are taxable income at both the federal and state level. After your claim ends, you’ll need the total amount you received during the tax year in order to file accurately.
IDES sends Form 1099-G to every claimant who received benefits during the previous year. Paper copies are mailed by the first week of February, and electronic copies show up in your IDES claimant account around the same time. You can request a mailed copy by calling Tele-Serve at 312-338-4337 and selecting the claim status option. The form shows total benefits paid before any tax withholding, along with any federal or state taxes withheld.9Illinois Department of Employment Security. 1099-G Tax Form
If you opted into federal tax withholding while collecting benefits, IDES withheld a flat 10% from each payment.10Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4V Voluntary Withholding Request Depending on your total income for the year, that 10% may not cover your full tax liability, especially if you also earned wages from a new job in the same year. Many people who collected for part of the year and worked for the rest end up owing additional tax at filing time. If you didn’t opt into withholding, set aside a portion of the benefits you received to cover the eventual bill.