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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!
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- 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 :)
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Zoe Gonzalez
You should check if you qualify for VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). They offer free tax prep services if you make under about $60k. They can help with prior year returns too including 2022 W2's. Just google "VITA tax help" plus your city name to find locations. They're legit IRS-certified volunteers.
Ashley Adams
ā¢Do these VITA places have actual tax pros or just volunteers? I'm nervous about having someone who doesn't really know what they're doing handle my taxes, even if it's free.
Zoe Gonzalez
ā¢They're volunteers but they're all IRS-certified and have to pass tax law training. Many are accounting students, retired tax professionals, or people who work in finance who volunteer their time. Each return also gets quality reviewed by a second volunteer before it's submitted. They're especially good with straightforward tax situations like W2 income. I volunteered with them for two years and the training was really comprehensive. For complex situations involving businesses or complicated investments, you might want a paid professional, but for basic W2 filing, they're absolutely qualified.
has anyone used turbotax for 2022 W2s? their commercials say "free" but I've heard they charge for everything. any free alternatives that actually stay free?
Aaron Lee
ā¢TurboTax is notorious for advertising "free" but then charging for almost everything. I've used FreeTaxUSA for the past 4 years including for a late 2022 W2 filing and it's actually free for federal (like $15 for state). Way more honest than TurboTax.
TurboTax is the WORST for this! They've been sued multiple times for their deceptive "free" marketing. They have a truly free version that's hard to find on their site, and they'll try to upsell you at every step. For basic W2 filing, use FreeTaxUSA or Cash App Taxes instead - they're actually free unlike TurboTax.
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Yara Khalil
Former tax preparer here - just to add another clarification about the April 15 deadline: if you owe money and can't pay the full amount, still file on time! The penalty for filing late (5% per month up to 25% of unpaid taxes) is much worse than the penalty for paying late (0.5% per month up to 25%). And if you're getting a refund, there's actually no penalty for filing late, though you generally only have 3 years to claim your refund. But why wait for money that's yours?
Keisha Brown
ā¢What about if I know I need to file an extension? Does that need to be done by 11:59pm on the 15th too? And is there any downside to filing an extension?
Yara Khalil
ā¢Yes, the extension request (Form 4868) must also be filed by 11:59pm local time on April 15th. Electronic is best because you get immediate confirmation. The main downside to an extension is that it only extends the time to file your paperwork, not to pay what you owe. You still need to estimate what you might owe and pay that by April 15th to avoid penalties and interest. If you're getting a refund, there's no downside at all to filing an extension. And having an extension actually slightly reduces your audit risk according to some statistics, though that shouldn't be your main reason for filing one.
Another thing that confuses people - if you e-file, you get confirmation right away, but if you mail your return, the POSTMARK date is what counts, not when the IRS receives it. So if you're mailing on April 15th, make sure to go to the post office and get it postmarked that day!
Amina Toure
ā¢This saved me last year! My local post office has a self-service kiosk that's open until midnight, and the postmark from that counts as official. Double check your local post office hours if you're cutting it close.
Great tip about the self-service kiosk! Not all post offices have them though, so definitely check ahead of time. And remember that private delivery services like FedEx or UPS can also be used, but the IRS only accepts certain types of delivery services as "timely filed" - there's an official list on the IRS website. One more thing: if you're mailing a payment with your return or extension, use Form 1040-V for the payment. Makes processing faster and ensures your payment gets properly credited to your account.
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Nia Harris
The real issue might be that your employer has classified you incorrectly in their payroll system. I had this happen - was categorized as "exempt" somehow and wasn't having nearly enough withheld despite having filled out my W4 correctly. Check your paystubs and look for these potential issues: - Very low federal withholding compared to your salary - Missing FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) - Any mention of "exempt" status If you spot any of these red flags, talk to your HR or payroll department immediately. It could be a simple database error that's causing your withholding to be way off.
Omar Hassan
ā¢I just double-checked my paystubs and I do see federal withholding, but it's definitely low compared to my salary - only about 8% is being withheld when it should probably be closer to 15% based on my tax bracket. I don't see any "exempt" status listed though. Is there any other terminology I should look for that might indicate a payroll system error?
Nia Harris
ā¢An 8% withholding rate definitely sounds like a setup issue. Besides "exempt," look for terms like "NRA" (non-resident alien), "AEIC" (advanced earned income credit), or any checkboxes marked for "multiple jobs" or "spouse works" on your W4 information that your employer has on file. Sometimes the issue is simply that an old W4 from years ago is still in the system with outdated allowances. Since the W4 form changed completely in 2020, any form from before that might be causing problems with current calculations. Ask HR if they can show you what W4 information they currently have in the system for you - it might be something from years ago that needs updating.
GalaxyGazer
Does it matter which tax software I use to file if I know I'm going to owe this much? I usually use TurboTax but wondering if there's a better option when you know you're going to owe a lot.
If you're going to owe, I'd recommend FreeTaxUSA over TurboTax. TurboTax charges extra for everything, especially when you owe and need to set up a payment plan. FreeTaxUSA is literally free for federal (state is $15) and handles payment plans without extra charges. Same accuracy, way less cost when you're already facing a big tax bill.
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Andre Dupont
Don't forget to check if your state has its own free filing portal! Many states now offer their own free filing systems separate from the IRS Free File program. I live in Massachusetts and used their free MassTaxConnect system to file my state return after doing federal through FreeTaxUSA. Saved me the $15 state filing fee. Also, if your income is under $60,000, look into VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) programs in your area. They'll prepare your taxes completely free with trained volunteers. I used them for years before I started doing my own taxes.
Zara Rashid
ā¢Thank you for this suggestion! I had no idea states might have their own free filing options. I'm in California - does anyone know if they offer something similar?
Andre Dupont
ā¢Yes, California absolutely has a free filing option! It's called CalFile and it's available directly through the California Franchise Tax Board website. It's completely free for eligible California taxpayers and handles most common tax situations. Just go to ftb.ca.gov and search for CalFile. Many other states have similar programs - Illinois has MyTax Illinois, New York has their own free filing options too. It's definitely worth checking your state's tax department website before paying for state filing through a third-party service.
Just wanted to add that if you're switching away from TurboTax, make sure you have copies of your previous years' returns! Some of the free options don't store your old returns for as long, and you might need information from last year's return to file this year's (like your AGI for verification).
This is super important advice. I switched from TurboTax last year and forgot to download my previous returns first. Made things way more complicated when I needed to reference something. Get those PDFs saved somewhere safe before you cancel!
Emma Garcia
I'm a bit late to this discussion but wanted to add something important that others haven't mentioned. The new bill also increases the refundable portion of the CTC, not just the lookback provision. Starting in 2024 (but NOT retroactive to 2023), the refundable portion will be calculated per child rather than per family. So for 2023 returns, a family with no income still won't benefit from the CTC. But in 2024, a parent could potentially use their 2023 income to qualify if they had income then but not in 2024. And the per-child calculation means families with multiple children will see a bigger benefit. The bill also gradually increases the maximum refundable amount from $1,600 per child to $1,800 in 2025, $1,900 in 2026, and $2,000 by 2027. Just wanted to add this since it affects the long-term planning aspect for families.
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Ava Kim
ā¢Do you know if the age requirements are changing too? Currently it's under 17, but I've heard rumors they might extend it for older dependents like they did during COVID.
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Emma Garcia
ā¢The age requirement is staying the same under the current proposal - children must be under 17 at the end of the tax year to qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The temporary expansion during COVID that included 17-year-olds is not part of this new legislation. What's staying consistent is the income phase-out thresholds - $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for married filing jointly. The credit begins to reduce by $50 for each $1,000 of income above these thresholds.
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Ethan Anderson
Has anyone actually read the bill text? I'm looking at it now and it specifically states that the lookback provision (using prior year income) applies "beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023." That means it starts with 2024 tax year. There's no language in the bill making anything retroactive to 2023. So if you're filing 2023 taxes in the next few months, the old rules still apply - need earned income to get the refundable portion. I think the confusion comes because sometimes we mix up tax years with filing years. The 2023 tax year (which we file in early 2024) is different from the 2024 tax year (which we'll file in early 2025).
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Carmen Diaz
ā¢Thank you! This is exactly what I was trying to figure out. So my ex who didn't work in 2023 won't be able to claim the CTC for the kids for the 2023 tax year, even with these new changes coming? But potentially for 2024 taxes she could use her 2023 income (if she had any) to qualify?
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Ethan Anderson
ā¢That's exactly right. For the 2023 tax return that your ex will file in the coming months, she would need earned income in 2023 to benefit from the refundable portion of the CTC. The new changes won't help for this coming tax season. For the 2024 tax year (which will be filed in early 2025), the new rules would take effect. At that point, she could potentially use either her 2023 income OR her 2024 income to qualify for the CTC, whichever is more beneficial. But for the return she's about to file for 2023, the current rules still apply.
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