taxes on short-term disability

I am in California.

My employer has a short-term benefits plan that replaces the default one in California. I pay a certain amount out of my paycheck for this plan.

I had a baby last October, and as a result, I was on short term disability. My benefits paid me 70% of my salary during that time, but it did not go on my W2 income. They also told me that this was a great benefit that my company was doing -- even though it is at only 70%, that is not taxable.

Now I read on this site that disability benefits are taxable. Can anyone clarify this for me? Naturally I'm pretty upset about this as I did not plan for it.

Thank you,
Ellen

[abezon]

Sick pay where you pay the premiums is not taxable to you. If your employer pays them, it's taxable. If you both pay, some of the sick pay may be taxable. The insurance company should have sent you a W-2 by now if any of the benefits were taxable.

Thank you for the reply. I definitely did not get a W2 from my insurance company. I also finally got through to someone in our benefits department that assured me that it was not taxable. I'm lucky she was willing to take a stand and not just refer me to my tax advisor. It is impossible to tell from my paychecks who is actually paying the premiums, though apparently it is me.

Thanks again,
Ellen