My position was paid through the church, they are exempt from paying into unemployment

Q) my teaching position was paid through the church which said that they are exempt from paying into unemployment. My tax accountant doesn’t feel that this makes sense that I would be turned away from collecting unemployment. How can I collect unemployment?

A) This is an unfortunate situation as generally, churches are not required to pay unemployment taxes because they are exempt from the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. However, not paying the tax means church employees will not be eligible to collect unemployment benefits. Please follow up with your local unemployment office for any service available in your situation.