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 – 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
Hey, just wanted to chime in with real numbers from my experience switching from W-2 ($75k) to 1099 ($103k) last year. After all the math, I'm taking home about $4,200 more per year as a 1099, but I'm working way more hours and don't have paid vacation anymore. For me, the biggest advantages were: 1. I can contribute over $30k to my Solo 401k vs the $20.5k limit I had as an employee 2. Being able to deduct my home office, new computer, software, and even part of my cell phone bill 3. Having more control over my schedule The biggest downsides: 1. Paying quarterly estimated taxes (easy to mess up) 2. No employer health insurance (I'm paying $487/month now on the marketplace) 3. Unpaid vacation and sick days 4. Constantly worrying about documentation for deductions
Thanks for sharing your real numbers! This is super helpful. How hard was it to set up the Solo 401k? And did you find good health insurance on the marketplace?
Setting up the Solo 401k was pretty straightforward! I went with Fidelity and the whole process took maybe 2 hours total, mostly filling out forms. The contribution limits are amazing - you can put in up to $20,500 as the "employee" contribution and then an additional "employer" contribution of up to 25% of your net self-employment income up to a combined total of $61,000 for 2022. For health insurance, I found a decent Silver plan on the marketplace. It's not as good as my old employer plan but it's workable. The premium is $487/month but I get to deduct 100% of that on my taxes as a self-employed person, which helps soften the blow. Plus, depending on your income, you might qualify for premium tax credits that can significantly reduce the cost.
One thing to consider that hasn't been fully addressed is the stability factor. As a W-2 employee, you have some job protection and unemployment benefits if things go south. As a 1099 contractor, you can be let go at any time with zero notice and no unemployment safety net. I'd also recommend getting a solid contract in place that clearly defines the scope of work, payment terms, and termination clauses. Make sure you understand whether this is truly a contractor role or if you're just being misclassified to save the company money on benefits and payroll taxes. The $24k difference ($92k vs $68k) sounds attractive, but remember you'll lose employer-paid benefits like health insurance, 401k matching, paid time off, and potentially other perks. When I made a similar switch, I calculated that my employer benefits were worth about $18k annually, so factor that into your comparison. If you do decide to go the 1099 route, definitely set aside 25-30% of each payment for taxes immediately. Open a separate business checking account and treat it like it's not your money - because it's not, it belongs to the IRS!
Join the conversation
One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you have tax liens already filed against your property, bankruptcy gets more complicated. Even if the underlying tax debt qualifies for discharge, pre-existing tax liens can survive bankruptcy and remain attached to your property. Also, make sure your bankruptcy attorney knows tax law or works with someone who does. I filed bankruptcy in 2023 and my attorney missed some nuances about my tax situation that ended up costing me. Not all bankruptcy attorneys understand the tax implications deeply enough.
Do tax liens show up on credit reports? And if the tax debt gets discharged but the lien remains, what does that actually mean in practice?
Tax liens no longer appear on credit reports as of 2018 when the credit bureaus removed them from reports. Good news on that front! If your tax debt gets discharged but the lien remains, it means you don't personally owe the debt anymore, but the lien still attaches to any property you owned when the lien was filed. In practice, this means you'll still need to deal with the lien if you want to sell the property. The lien effectively makes the property itself responsible for the debt, even though you personally aren't. It's confusing but important - you might be "debt free" but your house might not be!
Don't forget about state taxes! Everyone's talking about IRS debt but state tax debt has different rules for bankruptcy discharge. Some states follow the federal rules, others have their own standards that make discharge harder. Also, keep filing your current taxes on time even while dealing with bankruptcy. New tax debt created during or after bankruptcy definitely won't be discharged.
Thanks for bringing up state taxes. Does anyone know if tax penalties can be discharged more easily than the actual tax debt itself? I've heard the rules are different.
Yes, tax penalties and interest often have different discharge rules than the underlying tax debt! Generally, penalties related to dischargeable taxes can also be discharged if they meet the same timing requirements. However, penalties for fraud or willful evasion can never be discharged. Interest that accrued before the bankruptcy filing on dischargeable taxes is usually also dischargeable. But interest that continues to accrue during the bankruptcy process typically isn't. This is why Chapter 13 can be beneficial - it often stops penalty and interest accrual during the repayment period, even on non-dischargeable tax debt. The key is understanding which penalties you're dealing with. Failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties on old enough returns might qualify, but trust fund recovery penalties or fraud penalties won't.
Join the conversation
Form 926 is literally the worst! I had to file one last year when I transferred some crypto to a foreign exchange and the form is insanely complicated. Took me forever to figure out.
Crypto transfers to foreign exchanges don't typically require Form 926 unless you're actually transferring ownership of the crypto to the exchange itself (not just using the exchange). You might have filed unnecessarily. Form 926 is for transferring property to foreign corporations in exchange for stock or as a contribution to capital.
Great question! Based on the information you've provided, you should be in the clear regarding Form 926. With only a 0.00003% ownership stake in the PTP, you're well below the 5% threshold that would trigger Form 926 filing requirements for partnership-mediated transfers to foreign corporations. The key thing to understand is that Form 926 requirements for transfers through partnerships have specific ownership thresholds precisely to avoid burdening small investors like yourself with complex reporting requirements. The partnership itself handles the heavy lifting on foreign reporting at the entity level. However, I'd echo what others have mentioned - do keep an eye on your K-1 supplemental information for any PFIC reporting requirements (Form 8621). These can apply regardless of ownership percentage and are easy to miss if you're not specifically looking for them. PTPs sometimes invest in foreign funds that qualify as PFICs, and the reporting requirements are completely separate from Form 926. Your instinct to double-check is smart though - foreign reporting penalties can be steep, so it's always better to be cautious when you're unsure!
This is really helpful advice! I'm new to investing in PTPs and had no idea there were so many potential foreign reporting requirements to watch out for. The distinction between Form 926 and Form 8621 requirements is particularly useful - I would have assumed they were related but it sounds like they're completely separate issues. I'm definitely going to carefully review my K-1 supplemental information when I get it. Is there a specific section or heading I should look for regarding PFIC investments, or do they sometimes hide this information in footnotes that are easy to miss?
Join the conversation
Has anyone here actually had problems filing with printed copies of W-2s instead of originals? I'm curious because I've been doing that for years (I always scan my W-2s and print copies to file) and never had an issue. I don't think the IRS actually cares as long as all the information is legible.
I've filed with printed copies twice with no problems. I think the main thing is that the copies need to be complete and readable. They just need the information, not necessarily the original paper. As long as your Form 4852 matches the info on the W-2 photos, you should be fine.
I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! I'm working in Japan and had to file by mail for the first time. One thing I learned that might help - when you print out the photos of your W-2s, make sure they're printed at full size and as high quality as possible. If the photos are blurry or the text is too small to read clearly, that could cause processing delays. Also, I'd suggest including a cover letter explaining your situation briefly - something like "I am currently working overseas and only have access to digital copies of my W-2 forms. I have completed Form 4852 as a substitute and am including printed copies of the original W-2 photographs for verification." Keep it simple and professional. One more tip - double-check that all the information from your W-2 photos matches exactly what you entered on Form 4852. Even small discrepancies in dollar amounts or employer info could trigger questions from the IRS. Good luck with your filing!
Rudy Cenizo
Is it possible theres legit extra work for your K-1s that would justify additional fees? Like if you have complex allocations or multiple classes of stock or something? Just playing devils advocate here
0 coins
Natalie Khan
•While complex allocations could theoretically justify some additional work, it's still fundamentally part of preparing an 1120S. It's like saying "I'll charge you extra for calculating depreciation" - that's just part of preparing a complete tax return. Most small S-Corps have straightforward K-1s that directly flow from the 1120S information. There's minimal additional work involved. If there truly are complex special allocations or multiple stock classes (rare for small S-Corps), the accountant should specify that upfront rather than surprising you with additional fees after preparing the main form.
0 coins
QuantumQuester
This is definitely not standard practice and you're absolutely right to question it. I've been through this exact situation with my S-Corp and it's frustrating when accountants try to unbundle services that should naturally go together. The Form 1120S is essentially meaningless without the accompanying K-1s - it's like preparing half a tax return. The whole point of S-Corp taxation is the pass-through treatment, which requires the K-1s to properly allocate income, deductions, and credits to shareholders. Your accountant already has all the information needed to prepare the K-1s from completing the 1120S. I'd suggest having a direct conversation with your accountant about why they consider this a separate service. If they can't provide a compelling reason (like unusually complex allocations), you might want to shop around. Most reputable tax professionals include K-1 preparation as part of their S-Corp package because they understand it's a required component, not an optional add-on. Don't let them nickel and dime you on what should be standard service. Your car analogy is spot-on.
0 coins