Can't reach IRS? Claimyr connects you to a live IRS agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the IRS
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the IRS drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls ā which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Nia Williams
This entire thread perfectly captures why I've become a reluctant expert in tax law despite just wanting to play some online poker and slots occasionally. What strikes me most is how the IRS has created a system that's almost designed to be incomprehensible to regular people. I went through something similar last year - ended up with a net profit of about $1,200 but had to report over $28,000 in "gambling winnings" and then itemize $26,800 in losses. Lost my standard deduction and ended up owing more in taxes than if I had just lost the money outright. The absurdity is mind-blowing. What really bothers me is that there's no educational resources from the IRS about this. They'll audit you for getting it wrong, but they won't explain how to get it right. I had to piece together information from forums like this, conflicting advice from different tax preparers, and hours of research just to file my return. The bonus situation you described is particularly insane. You're essentially being taxed on turnover, not profit. It's like being required to pay income tax on your gross salary before any deductions, but then being allowed to "deduct" the money you spent on rent and food - except you lose your standard deduction for the privilege. At this point I think the only winning move is what several people mentioned - just avoid online gambling entirely until Congress fixes this mess. The entertainment value isn't worth becoming an unpaid IRS compliance specialist.
Dylan Wright
ā¢Your point about being taxed on turnover rather than profit really hits the nail on the head. It's like the IRS decided to tax grocery stores on every dollar that flows through their registers, not their actual profit margins. The system makes absolutely no sense from a business or economic perspective. What's particularly maddening is that this creates a situation where you can literally be worse off financially for winning money. I've seen people in forums who turned down casino bonuses specifically because they knew the tax implications would eat up any potential profit. When the tax system actively discourages people from accepting promotional offers from legitimate, regulated businesses, something is fundamentally broken. The lack of educational resources you mentioned is spot-on. The IRS publishes detailed guidance on everything from depreciation schedules for farm equipment to the tax treatment of cryptocurrency, but gambling? You get a few paragraphs that were clearly written in 1960 and never updated for the digital age. I've honestly started keeping a spreadsheet of hours spent on gambling-related tax prep versus my actual winnings. Last year, if I valued my time at minimum wage, I would have been better off working a part-time job at McDonald's than dealing with the administrative nightmare of reporting $800 in net gambling income. Until they fix this, I'm joining the "cash casino trips only" crowd. At least then I can track sessions instead of individual button clicks.
Chloe Martin
This thread is incredibly validating - I thought I was losing my mind trying to figure out this system. I'm a newcomer to online gambling and had no idea what I was getting into tax-wise. I started with sports betting last fall, nothing crazy, maybe $50-100 bets here and there. Had some good streaks, some bad ones, ended up ahead about $400 for the year. Seemed simple enough until I started looking at my tax obligations. Turns out I have over 3,000 individual transactions to sort through because apparently every single winning bet counts as taxable income, even if I lost the next five bets. I won a $200 bet on Monday, lost $250 on Tuesday through Friday, but I still have to report that $200 win as income. It's completely divorced from financial reality. What really gets me is that I'm a teacher - I don't exactly have spare time to become a tax expert or money to hire a CPA. I spent my entire winter break trying to make sense of spreadsheets instead of relaxing. And for what? To properly report $400 in winnings that will probably cost me more in tax prep time than I actually won. Reading about people avoiding online gambling entirely because of the paperwork is making me seriously reconsider whether this hobby is worth it. I just wanted to add some excitement to watching games, not become an unpaid IRS data entry clerk. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone in this administrative nightmare.
Welcome to the club nobody wants to join! Your experience as a newcomer really highlights how predatory this system is - the gambling sites are happy to take your action, but they don't warn you about the tax nightmare you're signing up for. Your situation with sports betting is particularly frustrating because it's such a clear example of how disconnected the tax code is from reality. You're absolutely right that having to report individual winning bets while your overall results are what actually matter financially makes zero sense. It's like being required to report every green traffic light as "transportation income" while ignoring that you were just trying to get to work. As a teacher, you're dealing with the double whammy of having limited time AND limited resources to handle this mess. The fact that you spent your winter break - time you desperately need to recharge - doing tax prep for $400 in winnings is exactly the kind of absurd outcome this broken system creates. You're definitely not alone, and honestly, your instinct to reconsider whether it's worth it is probably the right one. A lot of us here learned the hard way that the entertainment value of online gambling gets completely destroyed by the administrative burden. The house edge is bad enough without adding an IRS paperwork tax on top of it. If you do decide to continue, definitely look into some of the tools others mentioned in this thread to at least minimize the pain of tax season. But there's no shame in walking away from this bureaucratic nightmare entirely.
Join the conversation
Emma Morales
I just went through this exact situation last month! When you have two W-2s like this from the same employer, it's usually because of a mid-year change in tax jurisdictions (which matches your husband's office move). Here's what worked for me: Use the Federal/State W-2 as your primary form in TurboTax. This has all your complete federal wage and tax information. The City/Local W-2 is supplementary and should only be used for the local tax sections. For Box 12 specifically, the differences you're seeing make sense: - The lower Code C amount ($390 vs $1,350) on the City/Local form reflects the reduced life insurance benefit calculation after the move - The Code D difference ($10,900 vs $11,800) shows 401k contributions were slightly different between the two periods - Code AA only appears on the Federal/State form because that's where the complete annual Roth 401k contribution total is reported TurboTax's import feature will likely only grab the Federal/State W-2, so you'll need to manually enter the city tax amounts in the local tax section. Don't worry about "double reporting" - the software keeps federal and local separate. Just make sure you're using the right form for each section!
This is really helpful! I'm dealing with something similar where my employer changed our benefits mid-year. Just to clarify - when you say to use the Federal/State W-2 as the primary form, does that mean I should enter ALL the Box 12 codes from that form into TurboTax's main W-2 section? And then only use the City/Local form for the specific local tax fields? I want to make sure I'm not accidentally mixing information from both forms in the wrong places.
Exactly right! For the main W-2 entry in TurboTax, use ALL the Box 12 codes and amounts from the Federal/State W-2 (so that would be Code C: $1,350, Code D: $11,800, and Code AA: $24,200). This gives you the complete annual totals for all your pre-tax deductions and benefits. Only use the City/Local W-2 amounts when TurboTax specifically asks for local/city tax information in its separate local tax section. Those reduced amounts reflect the partial year when city taxes applied, but your federal return needs the full annual amounts. The key is that TurboTax treats federal and local taxes as completely separate calculations, so there's no risk of double-counting as long as you're putting each form's information in its designated section.
This is exactly the kind of confusing situation that can happen with mid-year employment changes! You're right to be cautious about which W-2 to use. From what you've described, the Federal/State W-2 should be your primary document for filing. The fact that it has complete state information and higher Box 12 amounts suggests it reflects your husband's full annual earnings and deductions. The City/Local W-2 with lower amounts makes perfect sense given that he stopped paying city taxes in July when the office moved. Those reduced Box 12 amounts (like the $390 vs $1,350 for Code C) reflect the partial year when city taxes applied. When you use TurboTax, enter the Federal/State W-2 as the main W-2 for your husband. If TurboTax asks about local taxes (which it should since you'll indicate he had some city tax withheld), that's when you'd reference the City/Local W-2 for those specific local tax fields. The electronic import feature will probably only pick up one W-2, so you may need to manually verify the local tax information. But this approach should ensure you're reporting the complete annual federal amounts while properly accounting for the partial year of city taxes.
Join the conversation
Quick question for the group - does anyone use any specific tax software that handles day trading well? I tried using TurboTax last year and it was a nightmare with all my trades!
Zara Ahmed
ā¢I've had good experiences with TradeLog for tracking trades and then importing to TaxAct. Much better than TurboTax for active traders and way cheaper than paying an accountant to sort through thousands of trades.
This is such a common confusion for new traders! I went through the exact same thing when I started trading full-time. The key thing to understand is that your LLC structure doesn't change the fundamental tax treatment of trading profits - they're still considered capital gains, not business income subject to self-employment tax. However, I'd strongly recommend getting professional help to navigate this properly. As others mentioned, while your trading profits won't be subject to SE tax, you need to be careful about separating any other business activities (like if you start offering trading courses or signals). Also, make sure you're tracking all your trading-related expenses properly - home office, equipment, data feeds, etc. can all be deductible. One thing to keep in mind for next year: if you do qualify for TTS, you'll want to make that election by the filing deadline. It won't change the SE tax situation, but it will give you better expense deductions and allow you to deduct trading losses above the $3k capital loss limit. Definitely start making quarterly estimated payments based on your expected annual profits - the IRS doesn't care that you're not paying SE tax, they still want their income tax!
Yara Nassar
ā¢This is really helpful! I'm just starting out with day trading and had no idea about the TTS election deadline. When exactly do I need to make that election - is it by April 15th of the following year, or is there a different deadline? And do I need to have been trading for a full year before I can elect TTS, or can I make the election based on partial year activity? Also, you mentioned tracking trading-related expenses - are there any specific records I should be keeping beyond just receipts? I want to make sure I'm documenting everything properly from the start.
Join the conversation
Miguel Ortiz
called them yesterday and the lady said there experiencing delays due to high volume rn. might take up to 14 business days smh
ugh thanks for the heads up. wish theyd post that on their website
Dylan Baskin
Been waiting on my Kansas refund for 12 days now and starting to get worried. Filed electronically on Jan 28th, got accepted same day, but still nothing in my account. Called their hotline twice and just got the generic "processing takes 7-14 business days" message. Really hoping it shows up soon since I need it for some bills. Anyone else experiencing longer delays this year?
@Dylan Baskin Have you tried checking the Kansas Department of Revenue website with your SSN and exact refund amount? Sometimes the online portal shows more detailed status info than what you get over the phone. Also, double-check that your bank account info was entered correctly on your return - even a small typo can cause delays or rejections that might not show up immediately.
Teresa Boyd
ā¢@Dylan Baskin I feel your pain! Same thing happened to me last year - filed early, got accepted right away, then radio silence for weeks. Turns out Kansas had some system issues that year that caused major delays. The good news is it did eventually come through, just took almost 3 weeks instead of the usual 7-10 days. Might be worth filing a trace if you hit the 21 day mark, but honestly sounds like they re'just swamped right now. Hang in there!
Louisa Ramirez
Has anyone successfully gotten the IRS to issue a determination letter after resolving a fraudulent 1099 situation? I went through this last year and even though everything got resolved, I'm worried about potential audits in the future if they think I'm not reporting income.
0 coins
TommyKapitz
ā¢Yes! Make sure to specifically request a "Letter 5071C" after you submit all your documentation. This is the IRS identity theft verification letter that confirms your case has been resolved. I keep copies of mine with my tax records just in case.
0 coins
Issac Nightingale
I'm dealing with something very similar right now - got a fraudulent 1099-K from PayPal showing transactions I never made. The amount of detailed information everyone has shared here is incredibly helpful. I've already set up the IP PIN and filed the FTC report, but I wasn't aware of Form 14039 or the Letter 5071C that TommyKapitz mentioned. One additional step I'd recommend - document everything with screenshots and dates. I've been keeping a spreadsheet tracking every phone call, email, and form submission with timestamps. This has already been useful when different representatives ask for the same information multiple times. Also, has anyone had experience with multiple fraudulent 1099s from different platforms? I'm worried this might not be an isolated incident and want to be proactive about checking other payment platforms where my information could have been used.
0 coins
Benjamin Kim
ā¢Your documentation approach is spot on - that spreadsheet will be invaluable if you need to reference specific conversations or timelines later. Regarding multiple platforms, yes, this is unfortunately common. The same stolen identity information can be used across PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and other payment processors. I'd recommend proactively checking with all major platforms to see if accounts have been opened in your name. Most have fraud departments that can search by SSN and alert you to unauthorized accounts. Also consider placing fraud alerts with ChexSystems (the banking equivalent of credit reports) since these scammers often open bank accounts to link to the payment platforms. The more comprehensive you are now, the less likely you'll be dealing with surprise 1099s from other sources next year. Keep that documentation system going - it's one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself throughout this process!
0 coins