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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!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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Ava Garcia
Check if your CPA is trying to claim the Qualified Business Income deduction (QBI) from Section 199A. Its technically on Form 8995 or 8995-A but flows to Schedule 3. The QBI deduction can be up to 20% of qualified business income but you need to have business income to claim it. Some sketchy tax preparers try to classify W2 income as business income to claim this deduction, which is straight up wrong and will get you in trouble. If your income doubled this year to around $75k, that would explain the ~$15k deduction (20% of $75k).
Miguel Silva
ā¢But QBI doesn't go on Schedule 3 line 8, it goes on Form 1040 line 13 as a deduction from taxable income. Schedule 3 line 8 is for credits and other payments, not deductions. I think this is something else.
Khalid Howes
This is a serious red flag situation that you need to resolve immediately before filing. A $14,999 deduction on Schedule 3, Line 8 for someone with only W2 and investment income is highly unusual and potentially fraudulent. Schedule 3, Line 8 is specifically for "Net premium tax credit" - this is related to health insurance marketplace premium tax credits. If you don't get health insurance through the marketplace or if you're not eligible for premium tax credits (which most high earners aren't), this deduction shouldn't exist at all. The fact that your CPA won't respond to emails about this is extremely concerning. Here's what I'd recommend: 1. Demand the complete return with ALL schedules and forms immediately 2. Don't sign or file anything until you understand every line 3. Consider reporting this to your state's board of accountancy if the CPA continues to be unresponsive 4. Get a second opinion from another tax professional This could be anything from a data entry error to intentional fraud. Either way, you're legally responsible for everything on that return once you sign it. The IRS will come after YOU, not your CPA, if there are problems. Given that your previous preparer only had a $140 foreign tax credit on line 20, this massive jump to $14,999 without any major life changes is a huge warning sign. Trust your instincts here.
This is exactly the kind of situation that makes me nervous about hiring tax preparers. The fact that your CPA went radio silent when you started asking questions is a massive red flag - any legitimate professional should be eager to explain their work, especially on something this significant. I'm curious though - you mentioned this is specifically for "Net premium tax credit" on Line 8, but I thought premium tax credits were usually for people who got advance payments and then had to reconcile them at tax time. If OP is a high earner, wouldn't they typically be above the income limits for marketplace subsidies anyway? Either way, the advice about demanding the complete return is spot on. Never sign anything you don't fully understand, especially when it involves this much money. The IRS doesn't care if your CPA made the mistake - you're the one who signed it.
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Quick question about filing requirements - even if my NRA LLC doesn't have US-source income, do I still need to file anything with the IRS? I've heard conflicting things about Form 5472 requirements.
Yes, there are filing requirements even without US-source income. If your LLC is treated as a "disregarded entity" and is 25% or more foreign-owned, you must file Form 5472 along with a pro-forma Form 1120 annually. This is required under relatively new regulations, and the penalties for non-filing are steep ($25,000+ per violation). This filing requirement applies even if you have zero US-source income and owe no US tax. It's primarily an information reporting requirement to track foreign ownership of US entities.
Drake
One thing that helped me navigate this maze was understanding that the IRS has specific guidance in Publication 519 for nonresident aliens. It breaks down the source rules pretty clearly - for services, it's generally where you physically perform the work that determines the source, not where your client is located. However, there's an important exception many people miss: if you have a regular place of business in the US and the income is attributable to that office, it becomes US-source even if some work is performed abroad. Since you mentioned working from outside the US with a Wyoming LLC, this likely doesn't apply to you. Also worth noting that even though your LLC might not have US-source income, you'll still need to be careful about state filing requirements in Wyoming. While they don't have state income tax, there may still be annual report filings required to maintain your LLC's good standing.
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GalaxyGazer
Just FYI, for 2025 the Social Security wage cap is $168,600 (someone above mentioned this), but wanted to clarify that the Medicare portion of FICA (1.45%) applies to ALL of your income no matter how high. Then there's that additional 0.9% Medicare tax that kicks in after $200k if ur single. I earn about 230k and the Medicare tax is the one that surprises ppl when they get to higher income levels. U never stop paying it no matter how much u make!
Is there a wage cap for the additional 0.9% Medicare tax? Or does that also apply to all income above the $200k threshold with no limit?
Amara Okafor
ā¢There's no wage cap on the additional 0.9% Medicare tax - it applies to ALL income above the threshold ($200k for single filers, $250k for married filing jointly) with no upper limit. So if you make $500k, $1 million, or more, you'll pay that extra 0.9% on every dollar above the threshold. This is different from the Social Security tax which stops at $168,600. The regular 1.45% Medicare tax also has no cap, and then this additional 0.9% just keeps going on top of that for higher earners. It's one of the ways the tax system becomes more progressive at higher income levels.
Something that helped me when I was in a similar situation (around $250k) was understanding that FICA taxes are actually handled quite differently if you have multiple employers during the year. If you switch jobs mid-year like I did, each employer withholds Social Security tax separately up to the wage cap. So you might end up overpaying Social Security tax if your combined wages from both employers exceed $168,600. The good news is you can claim the excess as a credit on your tax return - you don't have to wait for the IRS to process a separate refund. This was a nice surprise when I filed my taxes after switching jobs halfway through 2024. I got back about $1,200 in excess Social Security tax that had been withheld. Just something to keep in mind if your career situation changes during the tax year!
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Zoe Gonzalez
Just be prepared for your ex to potentially file incorrectly anyway. My ex filed as married filing separately even though we were divorced by year-end and it caused my return to be rejected when I tried to e-file as single. It was a nightmare to fix. Maybe reach out to your ex proactively and explain the December 31st rule, or have your tax preparer do it. Might save you both a headache later.
Ashley Adams
ā¢The same thing happened to me! How did you resolve it? Did you have to file a paper return?
This is such a common source of confusion! I went through almost the exact same situation two years ago. The key thing to remember is that the IRS doesn't care how long you were married to your ex during the year - only your marital status on December 31st matters for filing purposes. Since you were legally married to your new husband on December 31st, you can absolutely file jointly with him. Your ex will need to file as single, not married filing separately, because he was divorced on December 31st. The "married filing separately" status only applies to people who are actually married to each other on the last day of the tax year. I'd suggest getting this information directly from the IRS or a tax professional to share with your ex, since he seems confused about the rules. It might help avoid any filing errors that could cause problems for both of you later. Good luck!
Amelia Martinez
Just a practical tip from someone who had to deal with this exact situation - if you end up having to fill out the W-8BEN-E as an individual (which is not ideal but sometimes unavoidable with PayPal), here's what worked for me: Part I: Fill out your personal information, using your name as the "organization" name Line 3: Check box for "Individual" Part III: Only complete if your country has a tax treaty with the US Parts IV-XXVIII: Leave completely blank Part XXX: Sign and date as an individual PayPal accepted this even though it's technically the wrong form. Their system is notoriously inflexible about these things.
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Ethan Clark
ā¢This is super helpful! One question though - for Part II (Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits), what if I'm not sure if my country has a tax treaty with the US? Would claiming benefits incorrectly cause problems?
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Javier Cruz
ā¢Great question! You can easily check if your country has a tax treaty with the US by looking at the IRS Publication 901 or searching "US tax treaty [your country]" on the IRS website. Most major countries do have treaties, but it's important to verify. If you're not sure, it's actually safer to NOT claim treaty benefits rather than claim them incorrectly. The worst that happens if you don't claim them is you might have slightly higher withholding (which may not even apply if you have no US income anyway). But claiming benefits you're not entitled to could potentially cause bigger issues. For your situation as a non-US freelancer with no US connections, you probably wouldn't need to worry about treaty benefits at all since there's likely no US-sourced income to apply them to.
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Sadie Benitez
I went through this exact same PayPal nightmare about 6 months ago! What finally worked for me was a combination of the approaches mentioned here. First, I tried the Claimyr service to get through to an actual PayPal representative - it took about 40 minutes but I finally reached someone who understood the issue. The rep explained that their system automatically flags certain accounts for W-8BEN-E based on transaction patterns, even for individuals. She walked me through two options: either convert my account type (which would take 5-7 business days and require re-verification) or complete the W-8BEN-E using the individual approach that Amelia outlined. I chose the second option since I needed my account restored quickly. Following her guidance, I filled out the form exactly as suggested - used my personal name as the organization, checked "Individual" on line 3, and left most sections blank. The key thing she emphasized was being consistent with how I originally set up my account. Form was accepted within 24 hours and my account was fully restored. Sometimes you just have to work within PayPal's flawed system rather than fight it!
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Rachel Clark
ā¢Thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is exactly the kind of real-world solution I was hoping to find. It's frustrating that PayPal's system is so rigid, but at least there's a clear path forward. I'm going to try the Claimyr approach first to see if I can get someone who actually understands the situation, and if that doesn't work, I'll follow the W-8BEN-E workaround you described. Really appreciate you taking the time to detail the whole process - this gives me hope that I can get this resolved without weeks more of back-and-forth!
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