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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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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!
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Former tax preparer here. If you want to learn enough to handle your own taxes and maybe help friends/family, I recommend a three-pronged approach: 1) Take a basic tax course from H&R Block or Liberty Tax. They're designed to teach beginners, and while they're focused on preparing returns for clients, you'll learn a ton about common tax situations. 2) Read "J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax" - it's updated annually and explains tax concepts in plain language with tons of examples. 3) Practice with last year's returns. Get copies of your previous returns and try to recreate them from scratch using what you've learned. This hands-on practice is where real learning happens.
Are the H&R Block/Liberty courses expensive? Is it worth it compared to just using the free IRS materials someone mentioned above?
The tax courses typically run between $200-400 depending on your location. They're more comprehensive than the free IRS materials and include guided practice with an instructor who can answer questions. The VITA training mentioned above is great for basic returns, but the paid courses go deeper into things like investment income, small business issues, and rental properties. If your situation is simple (W-2 income only, standard deduction), stick with the free materials. If you have investments, freelance income, or rental property, the paid course is worth considering.
Caleb Bell
Don't overthink this. I spent years trying to "become a tax expert" and realized what I really needed was just to understand MY specific tax situation. Focus on learning the parts that apply to you. If you're a W-2 employee with some investments, learn about capital gains taxes and retirement account rules. If you freelance, learn about self-employment tax and business deductions. The IRS website actually has surprisingly good resources under their "Tax Tips" section. Start there before spending money on courses.
This is exactly right. I wasted $350 on a tax course only to realize 80% didn't apply to me. What software do you recommend for someone who wants to learn while doing their own taxes but with some guidance?
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Yuki Tanaka
CashApp Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) is completely free for federal AND state returns. I've used it for 3 years now with W-2s and 1099s without problems. The interface is clean and it handles self-employment income pretty well. TaxAct is another good option that's cheaper than TurboTax/H&R Block but still very comprehensive. Their interface for handling 1099 income is actually better than TurboTax in my opinion.
Carmen Diaz
ā¢Does CashApp Taxes handle cryptocurrency transactions? I did a bit of trading last year along with my regular job and some freelance work, so I need something that can deal with all of that.
Yuki Tanaka
ā¢CashApp Taxes has basic support for cryptocurrency transactions, but it's somewhat limited. You'll need to enter your transactions manually or import a summary from your exchange. For more complex crypto situations with lots of trades, you might want a more specialized solution. For your combination of W-2, freelance, and crypto income, TaxAct might actually be the better choice. Their crypto reporting tools are more robust and they integrate with several popular crypto exchanges for easier importing. They've really improved their crypto support over the last couple years as it's become more common.
Don't sleep on OLT (OnLine Taxes)! It's $9.95 for both federal and state which is crazy cheap. I've used it for years with W-2s and 1099-MISC income. Interface looks like it's from 2005 but it gets the job done accurately.
AstroAce
ā¢Have you ever had your return audited using OLT? I'm always worried the cheap options might miss something or not be as thorough.
Just checked out OLT - that price is insane! But their website looks super dated. Does it handle Schedule C for self-employed people well? And how's the user experience? I don't mind basic interface if it works properly.
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One important thing to note that hasn't been mentioned yet - the timing of your return of excess contribution matters a lot. If you withdraw excess contributions before your tax filing deadline (including extensions), you won't be taxed on the earnings from those contributions. But if you miss that deadline, you'll have to pay a 6% tax on the excess amount for each year it remains in your account. So even though your distribution wasn't coded properly, the fact that you took it within the same tax year is good!
Does the timing issue apply differently for Roth vs Traditional IRAs? I have a similar situation with both types of accounts and I'm confused about which deadlines apply to each.
The timing rules are actually the same for both Roth and Traditional IRAs. For both types, you need to withdraw excess contributions (and any earnings on those contributions) by your tax filing deadline including extensions (typically October 15th) to avoid the 6% excise tax penalty. The main difference is in how the earnings are treated. For Traditional IRAs, the earnings are generally taxable in the year you make the withdrawal. For Roth IRAs, the earnings are also taxable if you withdraw them, but they may additionally be subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you're under 59Ā½ and don't qualify for an exception.
Has anyone used Form 5329 for this type of situation? I'm wondering if I need to file that along with my tax return when dealing with the improperly coded distribution.
Yes, you'll likely need Form 5329. I had a similar situation and had to use it to report the excess contribution and show that I had taken corrective action by removing it, even though it was incorrectly coded as a normal distribution. This helps avoid the 6% excise tax on excess contributions.
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Aidan Hudson
Have you looked into filing Schedule C with your taxes? When I was a contractor, I was able to deduct a ton of expenses related to my work - part of my internet bill, phone, computer depreciation, even a portion of rent for my home office space. The self-employment taxes still suck (that 15.3% hits hard), but deductions can really bring down your taxable income. Don't forget to look into the Qualified Business Income deduction too - it lets you deduct 20% of your net profit in most cases.
Thanks for this! Would I just list "temp worker" as my business on the Schedule C? And for the home office, do I need to have a dedicated room or can it be like a desk in my bedroom? I'm worried about getting audited if I claim too much.
Aidan Hudson
ā¢You can list "Telecommunications Contractor" or something similar as your business. For home office, the IRS prefers a dedicated space, but it doesn't have to be an entire room - a dedicated desk area that's used regularly and exclusively for work can qualify. Just measure that specific area for your deduction calculation. Don't worry too much about an audit if you're claiming legitimate expenses. Just keep good records of your expenses and be reasonable with your deductions. For example, don't claim 100% of your internet if you also use it for personal stuff - 30-50% is more reasonable depending on how much you use it for work.
Zoe Wang
Regardless of the contractor situation, make sure you're setting aside money for next year's taxes! This was my biggest mistake when I first started getting 1099 income. You should be making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties.
This is such important advice! I learned this the hard way too. The IRS expects you to pay as you earn throughout the year. I got hit with penalties my first year as a contractor because I didn't know about quarterly payments.
Miguel Ramos
Quick question for anyone who's done this: if the entire $6000 was excess, does Vanguard just close your Roth IRA completely? Or do they just remove the money but keep the account open?
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Zainab Ibrahim
ā¢They just remove the money and any associated earnings - they don't close your account. I had this exact situation with Vanguard last year, and my account stayed open with a $0 balance after the removal.
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StarSailor
Word of warning from someone who procrastinated on fixing an excess contribution - the 6% penalty really adds up over multiple years. Don't wait to fix this! I ended up paying almost $1100 in penalties because I waited over 3 years to correct mine.
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