Pay nothing until a live IRS agent is on the phone with you.
Can't reach IRS? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
$0 upfront. We only hold your card.
No live agent, no charge.
$9.99 is charged only once a live IRS agent is on the phone with you.
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
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
If your combined income for the year is under $73,000, you can use IRS Free File to e-file both your federal and state returns for free! I used it for my two-state situation last year and it worked great. The wizard asks where you lived during the year and guides you through the process for filing multiple state returns.
I tried using Free File for my multi-state return but got super confused with the part-year resident stuff. Ended up making a mistake and had to file an amended return which was a huge hassle. Just be careful if you go this route.
That's a good point about being careful with the part-year resident forms. The trickiest part for me was figuring out how to correctly allocate my income between the two states based on my residency dates. I found that taking it slow and double-checking the state-specific instructions for part-year residents really helped avoid mistakes. Some states have really specific rules about how to divide up income and deductions when you're a part-year resident. I actually called both state tax departments to confirm I was doing it right before submitting.
I notice there's some confusion in the comments above - the original poster mentioned working in Colorado first then Arizona, but one commenter referred to California instead of Arizona. Just wanted to clarify for anyone following along! For your specific situation (Colorado → Arizona), you'll file your federal 1040 to the IRS processing center for Arizona residents since that's your current state of residence. For state returns, you'll need to file a Colorado part-year resident return (not non-resident, since you lived there for part of the year) and an Arizona part-year resident return as well. The key difference between part-year resident and non-resident filing can affect your tax liability significantly, so make sure you're using the right forms for each state. Both Colorado and Arizona have specific rules about how to allocate income and deductions for part-year residents.
Join the conversation
wait so ur telling me these random numbers actually mean something? 🤔 ive been ignoring mine lmaooo
bruh moment 💀
Congrats on getting the 811! That's the code we all want to see 🎉 For anyone else confused by transcript codes, here's a quick breakdown: 424 = under review, 810 = account frozen, 811 = freeze released. The cycle dates and DDD (Direct Deposit Date) are what really matter for timing. Dylan, you should definitely see that money hit your account on 2/24!
Join the conversation
Just a heads up since you're new to self-employment - don't forget you can deduct legitimate business expenses to lower your taxable income! Home office (if you have dedicated space), supplies, mileage for business travel, professional licenses, continuing education, health insurance premiums, etc. This can significantly reduce what you owe. Write down EVERYTHING and keep all receipts. I use a simple spreadsheet + a folder in Google Drive with photos of all receipts. My tax person loves me for being organized lol.
Quick tip to add to this: get a separate credit card just for business expenses. Makes tracking SO much easier at tax time. I was a mess my first year self-employed and it cost me money because I couldn't properly document all my deductions.
As someone who went through this exact transition last year, I completely understand your stress! The good news is that you're not automatically setting yourself up for an audit just by missing quarterly payments. Audits are typically triggered by other red flags like unreported income, excessive deductions, or inconsistent information across tax documents. That said, you definitely want to get current on your estimated taxes soon. Since you've made $57k so far, you're likely looking at owing around $8,000-$10,000 in self-employment tax alone (15.3% of your net earnings), plus regular income tax on top of that. My suggestion: calculate what you should have paid for the quarters you've missed and make a payment ASAP. The IRS actually has a pretty straightforward online tool for estimated tax payments. Even though you're between deadlines, paying now shows good faith and will minimize additional penalties. Also, start setting aside 25-30% of each payment you receive going forward - this saved me from scrambling at tax time. Your accountant should be helping you calculate exact amounts, so maybe push for a more detailed conversation about your specific situation rather than just "it'll be fine.
Join the conversation
A quick tip from experience - make sure you're keeping REALLY good records for your business expenses if you're claiming losses against W-2 income. The IRS tends to flag returns with Schedule C losses, especially in the first few years. I'd recommend keeping separate business checking/credit accounts, keeping all receipts, and writing a brief business plan that shows your intent to make a profit. This helped me when I got a letter asking for more info about my business losses a couple years back.
Would a business credit card statement be enough documentation or do you really need to keep all the individual receipts too? I'm terrible at keeping paper receipts but I do put all my business expenses on a dedicated card.
Credit card statements are a good start, but they're not enough by themselves. The IRS wants to see what specific items you purchased, not just where you spent money. A statement showing you spent $300 at Office Depot doesn't tell them whether you bought legitimate business supplies or personal items. I recommend using a receipt-scanning app that lets you capture receipts immediately and categorize them. For major purchases, keep the original receipts and any documentation that shows the business purpose. For example, if you buy a computer partially for business use, document what percentage is for business versus personal. This level of detail will save you if you're ever questioned, and it's much easier to do as you go rather than trying to reconstruct everything later.
One thing nobody has mentioned yet - if your business loss is really big compared to your W-2 income, you might trigger something called "excess business loss limitation." For 2023, if your total business losses exceed $270,000 (single) or $540,000 (married), the excess gets carried forward instead of offsetting other income. Doesn't sound like you're near that limit, but worth keeping in mind if your business investments grow.
Is this related to the passive activity loss rules? Or is this something different entirely? I always get confused about which losses can offset what types of income.
These are actually two separate limitations that work differently! The excess business loss limitation that Nia mentioned applies to all business losses, regardless of whether you're actively involved or not. It's a newer rule (started in 2018) that limits how much total business loss you can deduct against other income in a single year. Passive activity loss rules are different - they only apply if you're NOT materially participating in the business. If you're actively running your business (working in it regularly and making management decisions), then your losses are considered "active" and can generally offset your W-2 income without passive activity restrictions. For most small business owners who are actively involved in their business, the passive activity rules won't apply. But both limitations could theoretically affect someone depending on their situation and loss amounts.
Avery Flores
Has anyone considered whether insurance proceeds should be reported as income? If you got a settlement for the total loss but then repaired it anyway, that settlement might be taxable if it exceeded your basis in the vehicle.
0 coins
Zoe Gonzalez
•Insurance settlements for personal vehicles usually aren't taxable unless you end up with a gain. Like if your car was worth $10k but somehow insurance paid you $12k, that $2k difference might be taxable. But it's rare for that to happen since cars usually lose value over time.
0 coins
Sofía Rodríguez
Just wanted to add one more point that might be relevant - if you're planning to sell the repaired vehicle in the future, you'll want to keep detailed records of what you spent on repairs. While you can't deduct these expenses now, they could affect your capital gains calculation when you eventually sell the car. For tax purposes, the repair costs you paid out of pocket (after receiving the insurance settlement) would be added to your "basis" in the vehicle. So if you originally paid $15k for the car, got a $10k settlement, then spent $4,800 on repairs, your new basis would be $9,800 ($15k - $10k + $4,800). This could reduce any potential gain if you sell it later for more than that amount. It's a small consolation since you can't deduct the expenses now, but at least those receipts might save you some taxes down the road if the car appreciates or you sell it for more than expected.
0 coins