Pay nothing until a live IRS agent is on the phone with you.
Can't reach IRS? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
$0 upfront. We only hold your card.
No live agent, no charge.
$9.99 is charged only once a live IRS agent is on the phone with you.
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
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
What nobody's mentioning is the Qualified Business Income Deduction (Section 199A) which gives most self-employed people a deduction equal to 20% of their qualified business income. This is available regardless of whether you're a sole proprietor or have an S-corp. It's basically a tax break designed for small business owners.
Does the QBI deduction apply if you're doing gig work like DoorDash? I'm confused about whether that counts as a "qualified" business.
Yes, gig work like DoorDash typically qualifies for the QBI deduction. Any income you report on Schedule C as self-employment income generally qualifies, with some exceptions for certain service businesses at higher income levels. The deduction is calculated as 20% of your net business income after expenses, so make sure you're tracking all your mileage and other business expenses to maximize your deduction. For most gig workers, this ends up being a significant tax savings without requiring any special business structure or additional paperwork.
Just to complicate things further - if your business is making really good money (like over $100k profit), you probably DO want to look into an S-Corp. I saved over $13k in self-employment taxes last year by switching from sole prop to S-Corp for my consulting business.
Totally this! My accountant had me switch to an S-Corp once I hit about $80k in profit and I'm saving a ton on SE taxes. But for smaller businesses its probably not worth the extra hassle and fees.
Join the conversation
Important note that nobody has mentioned yet - if you end up having to pay taxes as if you were a 1099 contractor for 2023, make sure you deduct all your business expenses! That includes a portion of your phone bill if you use it for work, home office deduction if applicable, mileage, work supplies, etc. This can help offset some of the extra tax burden.
How do you properly document these expenses if you didn't track them throughout the year? I'm in a similar situation and I use my personal computer and cell phone for work all the time, but I don't have any special receipts or anything.
You can still claim those expenses even without perfect documentation. For things like cell phone and internet, determine what percentage is used for work (be reasonable and honest) and deduct that percentage of your bills. Pull your statements from 2023 to calculate the total. For a home office, measure the square footage of your dedicated work space compared to your total home size. That percentage can be applied to rent/mortgage, utilities, etc. For computer equipment you already owned, you can deduct the business-use percentage based on current fair market value if you started using it for business in 2023. Going forward, keep better records - a simple spreadsheet works, along with taking photos of receipts. Remember, in an audit you need to prove these were legitimate business expenses, so some documentation is better than none.
Has anyone actually succeeded in getting their employer to pay back taxes after being misclassified? My employer just agreed to make me W2 going forward but refuses to do anything about 2023 where I paid way too much in taxes.
I had partial success. Filed the SS-8 and 8919 forms, and after the IRS determination (took like 8 months), my employer had to pay their share of FICA taxes. They were annoyed but ultimately it worked out. We're still on good terms. The key was being super professional about it and framing it as "just following tax law" not a personal issue.
Join the conversation
Has anyone used TaxAct or TurboTax for filing multiple years of back taxes with 1099 income? I'm in a similar situation and wondering which software handles this best.
I used TurboTax for 3 years of unfiled 1099 taxes last year. It worked ok but you have to buy each year separately which adds up fast. They don't make it super clear how to find the previous year versions either - you have to specifically search for "TurboTax 2019" etc. on their site. The business version is what you need for 1099s, which is their most expensive tier.
Thanks for the info! That's helpful to know about having to buy each year separately. Did you find the business version was worth it in terms of finding deductions for your 1099 income? I'm trying to decide if the higher cost is justified compared to cheaper options.
One important thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're trying to catch up on unfiled 1099 taxes, make sure you're keeping your current year tax obligations on track too! For 1099 income, you should be making quarterly estimated tax payments. One of the biggest mistakes I made when catching up on my back taxes was ignoring my current year, which just created another problem. Set up those quarterly payments while you're sorting out the past years.
Join the conversation
Just to add a bit more detail since I work in HR - the 1095-C form has three parts: 1. Your employer and personal info 2. Info about the coverage your employer offered 3. Covered individuals (if your employer is self-insured) Your husband probably got this from his large employer. The 1095-B is similar but comes from insurance companies or government programs. As others mentioned, you don't file these forms with your taxes, but keep them for your records in case the IRS has questions about your health coverage.
Do you know if these forms matter for the Premium Tax Credit? My sister gets insurance through the marketplace and she's trying to figure out if these forms affect her refund.
Great question! The 1095-B and 1095-C forms themselves don't directly impact the Premium Tax Credit. However, if your sister receives insurance through the marketplace, she should receive Form 1095-A, which IS needed to claim the Premium Tax Credit. The 1095-A is different from the B and C versions and contains essential information for calculating the Premium Tax Credit on Form 8962. So while the B and C forms are just for your records, the 1095-A is actually needed for filing if you got marketplace insurance and want to claim the credit.
I actually threw mine away last year thinking they were junk mail lol. Nothing bad happened! But now I know to keep them with my records just in case.
Same! I tossed mine and then panicked afterward. Called the IRS and they said it wasn't a big deal as long as I had health insurance. The forms are mostly for their records.
Diego Rojas
I went through something similar with deducting my real estate licensing courses from my rental income. The key question the IRS asked me during a review was whether I was already established in the business BEFORE taking the courses. Since I had owned and managed rental properties for 3 years before starting the courses, I was able to successfully argue that I was improving skills in my EXISTING business, not preparing for a new one. Make sure you have documentation showing you were already operating as a landlord before starting your MBA.
0 coins
CosmicCaptain
•That's really helpful! I've been operating my rental properties for about 4 years now, so sounds like I'm in a similar situation to yours. How detailed did you have to get with your documentation? Did you keep syllabus info for each course to show relevance?
0 coins
Diego Rojas
•Yes, documentation was crucial. I kept copies of all course syllabi and highlighted specific modules that directly related to property management, tenant relations, and real estate finance. I also maintained a simple log noting when and how I applied specific concepts from my courses to my rental business. For example, when I redesigned my lease based on contract law principles from a course, I documented that change with dates and notes. The IRS didn't ultimately request all of this during my review, but having it ready demonstrated I was serious about the legitimate business purpose. Also keep records showing your rental business was established before starting courses - tax returns showing rental income, business licenses, property management records, etc.
0 coins
Anastasia Sokolov
Don't forget that if you're taking these courses to move into a different type of real estate business (like going from residential landlord to commercial property development), the IRS might consider this qualifying for a new trade or business, which would make the expenses non-deductible. Also, if your MBA would qualify you for a substantial promotion at a job unrelated to your rental properties, that could also disqualify the deduction. The "same general type of work" test is crucial here.
0 coins
Sean O'Donnell
•This is an important distinction. I tried deducting real estate courses a few years back and got audited because they determined I was using the education to expand into commercial real estate when I had only been managing residential properties before. The expansion was considered a new business category by the auditor.
0 coins