has anyone tried going to the better business bureau or maybe even small claims court for something like this? i feel like if enough people are being overcharged it might be worth a class action lawsuit?

I just went through a very similar situation with a major online retailer earlier this year. They had been overcharging me sales tax for my county - turns out their system was applying the highest possible combined rate in my state instead of my actual local rate. Here's what worked for me: First, I researched the exact tax rate for my zip code using my state's Department of Revenue website. Then I gathered all my receipts and statements going back as far as I could (ended up being about 18 months worth). I calculated the total overcharge, which was around $180. Instead of calling their general customer service line, I found their corporate tax department email through their investor relations page. I sent a detailed email with my calculations, copies of receipts, and a link to the official tax rate for my location. They responded within a week and processed a full refund. The key is bypassing regular customer service and going straight to people who actually understand tax compliance. Most companies will fix these issues quickly once their tax department gets involved because they don't want problems with state tax authorities.

From what I understand, the PayPal 1099-K reporting has nothing to do with sales tax at all. It's purely about reporting income to the IRS. When I sell stuff on eBay using PayPal, I get a 1099-K if I exceed $600 in total sales for the year. I just need to report that income on my taxes. Sales tax is a completely separate issue that depends on state laws and whether I'm considered a business seller. Sounds like your seller is either confused or trying to get you to help pay their income taxes, which is definitely not your responsibility!

This sounds like a classic case of seller confusion between sales tax and income tax obligations. As others have mentioned, these are completely separate issues. The seller's concern about PayPal reporting to the IRS relates to Form 1099-K income reporting, not sales tax. When PayPal reports transactions over $600 annually, they're telling the IRS about the seller's income - the seller will need to pay income tax on that money, but that's entirely their responsibility. For sales tax, most individual sellers don't meet the thresholds required to collect it. Each state has different rules, but casual sellers typically don't qualify as businesses requiring sales tax collection. Even if they did, sales tax must be collected at the time of sale - they can't come back after the fact asking for more money. You've already paid the agreed amount. Don't let them pressure you into paying extra for what sounds like either their confusion about tax obligations or an attempt to get you to help cover their income tax burden. That's not how any of this works!

Protip: Account transcript updates every Tuesday and Friday morning around 6am EST. Save yourself the stress and just check those days

Also make sure you're looking at the right section of the Account Transcript - the 846 code will be in the transactions section with a date next to it. If you see code 150 (tax return filed) but no 846 yet, it just means they're still processing. The refund date on the 846 code is usually the actual deposit date, so that's the golden number you're hunting for!

Don't forget to look at the W-2 at tax time! Box 12 with code DD will show the total cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. This isn't taxable itself but can help you figure out the value. Also, if your state recognizes domestic partnerships for tax purposes (like California), the state tax implications might be different from federal.

The math on this can be pretty eye-opening! To break it down simply: you're looking at two separate tax hits. First, the $230 premium comes out of her paycheck post-tax (so she's paying income tax on money that then goes to premiums). Second, whatever amount the employer contributes toward your coverage gets added to her taxable income as "imputed income." A rough estimate: if the employer contributes around $400-500 monthly for your coverage, that's an extra $4,800-6,000 in taxable income per year. At a 22% tax bracket, that's roughly $1,056-1,320 in additional federal taxes annually, plus state taxes if applicable. You can get the exact employer contribution amount from her benefits summary or by calling HR. Once you have that number, multiply by her marginal tax rate to see the real tax cost. It's often 2-3 times higher than just the premium amount, which explains why her paycheck took such a big hit!

Just FYI - many assisted living facilities will provide a letter at tax time that breaks down what portion of the monthly fee is for medical care versus the residential portion. For my grandmother, about 40% of her monthly payment was deemed medical care by the facility. However, if your parents qualify as "chronically ill" as you're trying to determine, you can potentially deduct much more. We ended up getting a proper certification from her doctor as mentioned above, and were able to deduct about 85% of the total cost since most of the services were deemed medically necessary for someone meeting the chronically ill definition.

Based on everyone's experiences shared here, it sounds like you're in a similar situation to what many others have faced. The key seems to be getting proper medical documentation that supports the "substantial assistance" requirement, regardless of how the facility describes the level of help. Since your parents have arthritis affecting their ability to dress themselves (needing help with socks, shoes, and buttons), I'd recommend getting their doctor to complete Form 2652 specifically documenting that they require substantial assistance with both bathing and dressing due to their medical condition. The fact that they physically cannot complete these tasks without help due to arthritis should qualify as "substantial assistance" even if the facility calls it "moderate." The medical necessity aspect seems to carry more weight with the IRS than the exact terminology used by care facilities. Given that we're talking about potentially significant deduction amounts, it's probably worth the effort to get the proper medical certification and documentation in place.