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
Has anyone actually had experience with the IRS coming after someone for unfiled returns when they were owed money? My cousin was in a similar situation (5 years unfiled) but never heard anything from the IRS. I always figured they only care if you owe them money???
The IRS generally doesn't pursue people aggressively for unfiled returns that would result in refunds - they're more concerned with collecting unpaid taxes. However, there are automated systems that can flag missing returns regardless of whether tax is owed. The bigger issue is the downstream effects. Your son might face problems getting approved for mortgages, student loans, or other financial instruments that require tax return verification. Some government programs also require proof of tax compliance. And if he ever gets audited for a different year, they may expand the audit to include those unfiled years.
I went through this exact situation with my own adult child two years ago - 8 years of unfiled returns! Here's what worked for us: 1. Start with the most recent 3 years FIRST (2024, 2023, 2022) since these can still get refunds. We used TurboTax's prior year versions which made it much easier. 2. Get organized - create a folder for each tax year and gather all documents systematically. The IRS wage transcripts mentioned above are a lifesaver for missing W-2s. 3. Don't try to do all years at once - we did one year per weekend to avoid burnout and mistakes. 4. The good news: since your son had taxes withheld, he likely won't face penalties and is probably owed money for those recent years. 5. For the older years beyond the refund window, we filed them all together after finishing the "money years" first. Total recovery for my child was over $7,000 from just the 3 eligible years! The peace of mind was worth even more. You're being a great parent helping him get compliant. It's overwhelming at first but very doable if you break it down year by year.
Join the conversation
My extension request last year wasn't accepted until April 17th (two days after the deadline) but I still didn't get any penalties because I submitted on April 14th. The IRS system gets super bogged down right at the deadline so delays are normal. Your submission date is what matters!!!!
Thanks for sharing your experience! That's reassuring. Did you get any kind of confirmation email when you initially submitted the extension? I submitted mine but only got a "we received your transmission" email, not an actual acceptance.
I went through this exact same panic last year! Filed my extension on April 14th through FreeTaxUSA and didn't get confirmation until April 18th. I was freaking out thinking I'd get hit with penalties, but everything turned out fine. The key thing to remember is that the IRS considers your extension "filed" the moment you hit submit, not when they send you confirmation. As long as you submitted before midnight on April 15th (which you did on April 13th), you're protected from the failure-to-file penalty. Since you included your estimated tax payment of $2,300 with the extension, you should also be protected from most late payment penalties. The IRS is pretty reasonable about this - they know their system gets overwhelmed right at the deadline. Keep your submission confirmation from TurboTax as proof of your filing date. That timestamp is gold if you ever need to dispute any penalties. You did everything right - try not to stress about it!
Join the conversation
Has anyone successfully used the "Reasonable Basis" safe harbor protection for their S-corp contractor status? My accountant mentioned this as a way to strengthen my classification position with potential clients, but I'm not sure how to effectively communicate this to companies that seem set on using staffing agencies.
The "Reasonable Basis" safe harbor can definitely strengthen your position, but it's not a simple concept to explain to clients. It essentially means that if you have a reasonable basis for treating workers as independent contractors (like following industry practice or relying on past IRS audits), you get additional protection. For S-corps specifically, there's substantial precedent supporting the classification distinction. I've had success creating a simple one-page addendum to proposals that specifically references Section 530 of the Revenue Act and how it applies to incorporated contractors with their own employees (even if that employee is just you as the owner). Including relevant case citations shows you've done your homework.
That's really helpful, thanks! I'll work with my accountant to put together something similar. Do you find that this approach works better with smaller companies or is it effective with larger corporations too?
This is such a frustrating trend that's affecting a lot of us incorporated contractors. I've been dealing with the same issue with my C-corp consulting business - companies that used to hire me directly now insist on going through agencies, even when I can demonstrate that my corporate structure actually provides better classification protection than many agency arrangements. What's particularly maddening is that these companies end up paying MORE for the same work (agency markup + my rate) while getting less direct communication and flexibility. I've started including a brief "Independent Contractor Classification FAQ" with my proposals that explains how incorporated contractors differ from sole proprietors in terms of classification risk, but it's an uphill battle against blanket policies. The education aspect is key - most hiring managers genuinely don't understand that when you're working through your own S-corp or C-corp, you're technically an employee of your corporation, which creates the separation they're looking for. Has anyone had success getting procurement or legal departments to review and approve exceptions to "agency-only" policies?
Join the conversation
Another aspect to consider is whether your bracelets have a message or theme that ties directly to your exempt purpose. The "substantially related" test looks at whether the activity contributes importantly to accomplishing your exempt purpose (other than just through generating income). For example, if you're an environmental nonprofit and the bracelets say "Save the Oceans" and include educational info about ocean conservation, that strengthens your case that they're related to your exempt purpose. But if they're generic bracelets that don't tie to your mission, that's harder to defend. Also worth noting that net income from the activity matters too - if you're barely breaking even on the bracelets, the IRS is less likely to be concerned even if it might technically be unrelated business income.
Thanks for this insight! Yes, our bracelets have our organization's name and this year's event theme which is directly tied to our mission of supporting literacy in underserved communities. The bracelet says "Read Together 2025" which is our campaign slogan. We're expecting to make roughly $4,500 from the sales (charging $15 for bracelets that cost us $5 to make). Would an amount like that even be worth the IRS's attention? I've heard there might be some minimum threshold before they care.
That messaging connection to your literacy mission definitely strengthens your position that this is substantially related to your exempt purpose. The bracelets are promoting your specific campaign and mission, not just generic merchandise. Regarding the amount, there is a reporting threshold - you only need to file Form 990-T if your gross unrelated business income is $1,000 or more. However, that's a moot point if the activity qualifies as related to your exempt purpose, which yours seems to. The $4,500 profit margin isn't large enough to likely trigger special scrutiny, but it's always the nature of the activity rather than the amount that determines if UBIT applies.
Don't forget about the fragmentation rule with UBIT! The IRS will look at each activity separately, not your organization as a whole. So even if 99% of what you do is clearly related to your exempt purpose, that 1% unrelated activity could still trigger UBIT. Also, there's a misconception that if you use the profits for your exempt purpose, it exempts you from UBIT. That's not true - it's about the nature of the activity generating the income, not what you do with the proceeds.
Is there a specific percentage of total income that nonprofits should stay under to avoid UBIT becoming an issue? Like if this bracelet fundraiser is less than 10% of their total annual revenue, does that make it less likely for the IRS to care?
There isn't really a specific percentage threshold that creates a "safe harbor" from UBIT. The IRS evaluates each unrelated business activity on its own merits regardless of what percentage of total revenue it represents. However, you're right that smaller amounts tend to get less scrutiny in practice. The key factors are still: 1) Is it regularly carried on? 2) Is it substantially related to your exempt purpose? 3) Does it meet any specific exceptions? What matters more than the percentage is documenting why the activity IS related to your exempt purpose. In Mason's case with literacy-focused bracelets saying "Read Together 2025," that's a much stronger position than if they were selling generic merchandise that happened to raise money for literacy programs. The fragmentation rule Lorenzo mentioned is important though - even small unrelated activities can technically trigger UBIT if they don't qualify for an exception, regardless of your organization's overall mission focus.
Ethan Wilson
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - be careful of predatory "tax schools" that charge a fortune and promise jobs. I fell for one that cost $2k and their "guaranteed job placement" was just referring everyone to H&R Block who would have hired us anyway with their free training.
0 coins
Yuki Tanaka
•Seconding this warning. Look for programs through community colleges or professional associations instead. I wasted money on one of those tax schools too and ended up learning more from free IRS materials.
0 coins
Morita Montoya
This is such great timing for this question! I actually made the transition from retail to tax preparation about 5 years ago and it was one of the best career moves I've made. Here's my practical roadmap based on what worked for me: **Start with the basics:** Get your PTIN first (as others mentioned) - it's required and shows you're serious. Then dive into the IRS Publication 17 (Your Federal Income Tax) - it's free and comprehensive. **Timeline for getting hired:** If you start studying now, you can absolutely be ready for next tax season. Most tax prep companies start hiring in October/November for the January-April rush. Focus on individual returns first - that's 90% of what you'll see at entry-level positions. **Best bang for your buck:** The IRS Annual Filing Season Program is gold standard and FREE. Combine that with practice software (many companies will train you on their specific software anyway). **Real talk on the work:** It's seasonal and intense during tax season, but the pay is significantly better than retail. I went from $12/hour in retail to $18/hour my first tax season, and now I'm at $28/hour with my EA credential. The attention to detail and customer service skills you've developed in retail actually translate really well to tax prep. You've got this! Feel free to ask if you want more specific advice on any part of the process.
0 coins
Morgan Washington
•This is incredibly helpful! I'm curious about the seasonal nature of the work - what do most tax preparers do during the off-season (May through December)? Do you work another job, or are there enough year-round opportunities in tax prep to make it sustainable as a full-time career? Also, how challenging was it to transition from the $18/hour starting wage to where you are now at $28/hour - was that mainly through getting the EA credential or building up a client base?
0 coins