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 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!
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
As someone who's dealt with these forms for years, here's what's worked for me: For Form 3520, Part I is only if you created or transferred to the trust. Part II reports transfers to the trust. Part III is for distributions you receive. For 3520-A, you need the Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement (page 3). The beneficiary statement is only needed if there are other beneficiaries besides yourself. For the numerous trades, I create an Excel spreadsheet with columns: Date, Description, Proceeds (USD), Cost Basis (USD), Gain/Loss. Then I add a summary row at the bottom showing totals. Label it "Attachment 1: Trading Activity" and reference it on the forms. Also, make sure to check the "foreign trust" box on Schedule B of your 1040!
This is really helpful, thank you! One more question - for the 3520-A Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement, it asks for the trust's income. Is that just my net capital gains/losses for the year, or do I need to include something else?
The trust's income would include your net capital gains/losses plus any other income the trust generated, such as interest, dividends, or other investment income. So don't just limit it to your trading activity - make sure to include any interest or dividends that the TFSA earned during the year as well.
Emma Davis
Has anyone else found that their tax software completely fails with these forms? I tried using three different popular programs and none of them properly handled form 3520-A for my foreign trust.
YES! I tried using TurboTax and it was a disaster for these forms. I ended up having to fill them out manually. Even my accountant said most software isn't properly set up for foreign trust reporting because it's relatively uncommon.
Join the conversation
Sadly, your coworker's view is pretty common. I teach basic finance at a community college, and I do a whole lecture about this exact misconception. About half my students come in thinking tax refunds are free government money. The bigger problem is that this thinking leads to poor financial decisions. People who see refunds as "bonus money" tend to spend it frivolously rather than recognizing it's part of their annual income that could have been better used throughout the year. I use a simple exercise: I ask students if they'd loan me $100 every month with the promise I'll give them $1200 back at the end of the year. They all say no. Then I explain that's exactly what they're doing with the IRS when they overpay throughout the year. The lightbulbs usually start going on at that point!
Do you have any simple resources I could share with people who think this way? My dad is convinced the government "gives" him money every year and gets annoyed when I try to explain otherwise.
I recommend the IRS's own Tax Withholding Estimator on their website, which visually shows how withholding relates to your final tax bill. There's also a YouTube channel called "Two Cents" that has a great 5-minute video called "Tax Refunds Explained" that uses simple graphics to show how the money flows. For some people, seeing their own numbers makes the biggest difference. Have him look at his W-2 form, Box 2 (Federal income tax withheld) and compare that to his refund amount. If his refund is less than what's in Box 2, that clearly shows he's just getting his own money back. If it's more, that's when tax credits are coming into play.
Omg your coworker is not alone š My roommate legitimately thought the same thing until last year! She would always talk about how she was gonna "win big on her taxes" and I was like... that's not how any of this works! She kept insisting that because she "got back more than she paid in" it must be free money. What she didn't understand was that the withholding shown on her paystub wasn't her total income - it was just what was taken for taxes. She thought her entire paycheck was "what she paid in" so when she got a refund it seemed like bonus money. It took me sitting down with her actual paystubs and tax forms to show her the math. The look on her face when she finally understood was priceless. Now she's all about adjusting her W-4 to get more money throughout the year instead!
Julia Hall
ā¢Wait I'm confused. Are people here saying I should be getting less money back at tax time? I look forward to my refund every year to pay off holiday debt. If I change my withholding doesn't that mean I might end up OWING money??
Join the conversation
Have you considered meeting with a tax professional to run the numbers both ways? We did this last year and found out we'd save about $4,300 by getting legally married, mostly because of the income disparity. Our situation was similar - I make about $220k and my partner makes around $75k with one child. The marriage penalty mainly hits when both spouses earn similar high incomes, but in cases like yours and mine, there's often a marriage BONUS because the lower bracket of the higher-earning spouse gets pulled down. Plus don't forget about estate planning benefits - if something happens to either of you, being legally married provides significant advantages for inheritance, social security benefits, etc.
Thanks for the suggestion! Did the tax pro charge a lot for that analysis? And did they look at things beyond just the immediate tax year impact?
Our tax accountant charged $250 for the analysis, which seemed reasonable considering the potential savings. And yes, they did a multi-year projection showing how the benefits would likely increase over time as our income gap continued. They also looked at retirement planning implications, which was super helpful. For example, being married gives you more flexibility with spousal IRAs and potentially higher contribution limits depending on your specific retirement plans. The estate planning advantages were just explained as additional benefits beyond the immediate tax savings.
Yara Assad
Just a quick word of warning - make sure you're thinking about the FUTURE as well as your current situation. My wife and I got married when there was a big income gap (I made 3x what she did) and it was great tax-wise. Fast forward 5 years, she got a massive promotion and now we're both high earners, so we're paying that marriage penalty we initially avoided.
Olivia Clark
ā¢That's a really good point. Tax situations can change dramatically with career advancement. Have you guys considered filing separately now that you're both high earners?
Join the conversation
Don't sleep on Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax). It's completely free for federal AND state returns, and handles most tax situations including self-employment. I've used it for the past two years after switching from TurboTax. The interface is clean and straightforward, and they don't try to upsell you because there's nothing to upsell - it's already free! The only limitation is they don't support multiple state returns, foreign income, or some less common forms like Form 2555.
How does Cash App make money from this if it's completely free? Are they selling your data or something?
Great question! They make money through the broader Cash App ecosystem. The tax service helps bring users into their platform, where they can earn revenue from other financial services like their Cash Card, bitcoin trading, and instant deposits. They explicitly state in their terms that they don't sell your tax data to third parties. Their business model is about creating a comprehensive financial platform rather than making money directly from tax preparation.
Darcy Moore
Has anyone tried TaxSlayer? My brother-in-law recommended it but I'm curious about real experiences before switching from TurboTax.
Dana Doyle
ā¢I used TaxSlayer last year. It's definitely cheaper than TurboTax ($29.95 for federal + state when I used it), but the interface feels a bit dated. Got the job done though and my refund was exactly what I expected. The questions weren't as clear as TurboTax, so I had to google a few things to make sure I was entering information correctly.
Darcy Moore
ā¢Thanks for sharing your experience! That price point definitely sounds better than what I've been paying. I'm not too worried about the interface as long as it gets the job done correctly. Did they try to upsell you throughout the process like TurboTax does?
Samuel Robinson
I just wanna point out that Safe Harbor for Small Taxpayers is different from the $2,000 de minimis safe harbor that's also available. Make sure you know which one you're trying to use. The de minimis one is for small equipment purchases, while the Small Taxpayer Safe Harbor replaces both repair costs AND depreciation.
0 coins
Camila Castillo
ā¢There's also a Safe Harbor for Rental Real Estate that's different from the Small Taxpayer Safe Harbor. I mixed these up last year and it was a mess. FreeTaxUSA doesn't clearly distinguish between them in the interface.
0 coins
Brianna Muhammad
ONE MORE THING to consider: if you elect Safe Harbor for Small Taxpayers in FreeTaxUSA, you are COMMITTING to using it for that property (building + land) for ALL FUTURE YEARS unless you get IRS permission to change or you no longer qualify. This is important! Don't just elect it because it seems easier now if your situation might change.
0 coins
Nathaniel Stewart
ā¢Wait, really? I didn't know it was a permanent election! That changes things a lot for me. I was planning to do some major renovations next year that I'd want to depreciate normally. Is there any flexibility at all with this?
0 coins
Brianna Muhammad
ā¢I should clarify - it's not permanently permanent. You're electing it annually, but you must apply it consistently to the same building+land. So you can stop using it if you no longer qualify (like if your gross receipts exceed $10,000 or your building's unadjusted basis exceeds the threshold). If you're planning major renovations next year, those would actually increase your unadjusted basis, which might make the Safe Harbor less valuable since your deduction is limited to 2% of that basis. But you could potentially still qualify and elect it again next year - it would just be calculated on the new higher basis.
0 coins