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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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Have you checked if you qualify for first-time penalty abatement? If you haven't had tax issues in the past three years, you might be able to get the penalties removed (though you'd still owe the actual tax). Call the IRS and specifically ask about "first-time penalty abatement" - saved me about $80 when I was in a similar situation.
I had no idea this was even a thing! Do you know if there's a specific form I need to fill out to request this? And does it matter if I've already set up a payment plan?
You don't need a specific form - you can request it by phone when you call the IRS. Just specifically ask for "first-time penalty abatement" and explain that you've had a good compliance history. They'll check if you qualify right on the call. It doesn't matter if you've already set up a payment plan - you can still request the abatement. The payment plan is for the total amount, but if they approve your abatement request, they'll reduce the total and adjust your payments accordingly. Be aware this only removes penalties, not interest or the actual tax owed, but it can still save you a decent amount.
For next year, make sure you do a "paycheck checkup" mid-year! I put a reminder in my calendar for June to review my withholding. I grab a recent paystub, use the IRS withholding calculator, and adjust if needed. Helped me avoid surprises for the past few years.
Do you just use the calculator on the IRS website? I've tried that before and found it super confusing with all the questions about dependents and deductions.
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One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're self-employed, you should definitely be making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid this problem in the future. Pay as you go through the year (April, June, Sept, and Jan of the following year) and you won't end up with a huge bill at tax time. I learned this the hard way too. Got hit with a $8k tax bill my first year of self-employment and couldn't pay it all at once. Now I put aside 25-30% of every payment I receive and make quarterly payments. No more surprises!
Do you set aside a separate bank account for this? I've tried to do quarterly payments but always end up spending the money I should be saving for taxes.
Yes, I have a separate savings account specifically for taxes! This was game-changing for me. Every time I get paid, I immediately transfer 30% to this account. I don't even think of that money as mine - it's already the government's money that I'm just holding temporarily. Some banks let you create sub-accounts with different names, which helps mentally. I named mine "NOT MY MONEY - TAXES" to remind myself not to touch it except for quarterly payments. Having it separate from your main checking account removes the temptation to spend it.
Don't forget that if you paid penalties and interest on your 2023 taxes, those are treated differently than the tax itself. While the $13,500 tax payment isn't deductible on your 2024 return, any interest you paid on late taxes might be deductible if you itemize. Penalties are never deductible though. If you paid through the IRS payment system, you should be able to see the breakdown of what portion was tax, what was penalty, and what was interest. Might be a small silver lining!
Wait really? Interest on tax payments can be deducted? That's amazing, I paid about $400 in interest because I was on a payment plan. Do you know which form this goes on?
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Just wanted to add something important about your credit card debt - while you're tackling the tax issues, don't ignore this! Credit card interest compounds quickly and can become a bigger problem than the taxes. Consider calling your credit card companies and asking about hardship programs. Many have options they don't advertise that can lower your interest rate or even pause payments temporarily while you get back on your feet. Just be honest about your situation.
That's a great point. I've been ignoring my credit card statements because they stress me out, but that's obviously making things worse. Have you had any personal experience with these hardship programs? I'm wondering how understanding they actually are.
I went through this myself during 2020. I called all three of my credit card companies - two offered to reduce my interest rate by about half for 6 months, and one actually gave me a 3-month payment pause without additional interest accumulating. The key is to call before you miss payments. They're much more willing to work with you if your account is still in good standing. Be prepared to explain your situation briefly and have a specific request in mind. Sometimes they'll offer options right away, but other times you need to directly ask "Do you have any hardship programs available?" or "Can you reduce my interest rate while I get back on track?
For the medical bill concern, I'd recommend pulling your credit reports ASAP. You can get free weekly reports from all three bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com (the only government-authorized source). If you find the bill in collections, don't panic! Medical collections have less impact on your credit score than other types of debt, and new scoring models even ignore paid medical collections.
Adding to this - if you do find a medical collection, call the collection agency and ask for "debt validation" before you pay anything. They're required by law to prove the debt is yours. I've had medical bills dropped completely because they couldn't provide proper documentation.
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One tip nobody's mentioned yet - if you made under $58,000 last year, you might qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit even as a single person with no kids. Check if you're eligible! Could mean several hundred dollars in your refund. Also, don't forget to check if you're eligible for any education credits if you were in school part of last year before graduating. The American Opportunity Credit can be worth up to $2,500 and Lifetime Learning Credit up to $2,000 depending on your education expenses.
Thank you for this! I had no idea about the Earned Income Tax Credit. My income from June-December was only about $25,000 since I started mid-year. Would I still qualify even though my annual salary is higher?
Yes, the EITC is based on your actual income earned during the tax year, not your annualized salary. Since you only worked part of the year and earned about $25,000, you would likely qualify for some amount of EITC. The exact amount depends on your filing status and a few other factors, but it could add several hundred dollars to your refund. When you file, make sure whatever software or service you use checks your EITC eligibility with your actual earned income for the year.
Make sure you're filing as independent if your parents aren't claiming you! This was my biggest mistake my first time. My parents had always claimed me, but we didn't communicate clearly and we BOTH ended up claiming me which caused a huge headache with the IRS. Check with your parents about this asap! The rules are basically if you provided more than half of your own financial support and didn't live with them for more than half the year, you should file independently.
This happened to my sister! The IRS sent letters to both her and my parents, and they had to figure out who should actually claim her. Took months to resolve.
Carmen Ortiz
Here's what our CPA firm is doing for clients with this issue: 1. We're creating a workpaper that clearly separates business meals into two categories: pre-1/1/2023 (100% deductible) and post-12/31/2022 (50% deductible) 2. For clients with good recordkeeping, we're using the actual dates of each meal 3. For clients with less detailed records, we're doing a pro-rata allocation based on 9 months at 100% and 3 months at 50% The IRS hasn't specifically addressed this fiscal year issue in any publications I've seen, but the calendar-specific language in the original legislation is pretty clear that the enhanced deduction ends 12/31/2022.
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Andre Rousseau
•Have any of your clients using the pro-rata approach been audited yet? I'm worried that might be seen as too simplified if the actual spending pattern wasn't evenly distributed throughout the year.
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Carmen Ortiz
•None of our clients using this approach have been audited yet. You raise a valid concern though. If a client's business is seasonal or their meal expenses fluctuate significantly throughout the year, a pro-rata allocation wouldn't be appropriate. In those cases, we recommend either analyzing the actual receipts or using a reasonable allocation based on their business patterns (like quarterly sales figures or similar metrics that would correlate with business meal activity).
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Zoe Papadakis
Has anyone heard if Congress might extend the 100% meal deduction? I heard rumors they might bring it back since restaurants are still struggling in many areas. Would hate to spend hours implementing a split approach if they're just going to retroactively extend it again.
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Luca Marino
•I haven't seen any serious legislation proposed to extend it. There was some industry lobbying from restaurant associations, but it doesn't seem to have gained traction. I'd proceed with the split approach rather than counting on a retroactive extension.
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