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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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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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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 – 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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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.
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One thing no one has mentioned is that capital gains DO count toward your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which can affect things like premium tax credits for healthcare, certain deductions that phase out at higher income levels, and even Social Security taxation. So while your capital gains won't push your ordinary income into a higher bracket, having a large capital gain in a single year can still have ripple effects on other parts of your tax situation.
Can you explain more about how this might affect Social Security? I'm planning to sell a rental property next year and I'm already receiving Social Security benefits.
For Social Security, if your combined income (your adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits) exceeds certain thresholds, more of your Social Security benefits become taxable. For 2025, if you're filing single and this combined income exceeds $25,000, up to 50% of your benefits may be taxable. Above $34,000, up to 85% can be taxable. For married filing jointly, those thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000 respectively. So a large capital gain could definitely push you over these thresholds, causing more of your Social Security to be taxed.
Does anyone know if selling ONE rental property vs selling MULTIPLE would have any different tax implications? I'm considering selling either one large property or two smaller ones.
The tax rate would be the same whether you sell one property or multiple properties in the same year. However, selling multiple properties might give you more flexibility with timing - you could spread the sales across different tax years to potentially keep yourself in a lower capital gains bracket each year.
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FreeTaxUSA handles 1099-SA forms in their completely free version. I've been using them for years with my HSA and never paid a dime for federal filing. They only charge like $15 for state filing. TurboTax is notorious for making you upgrade for basically any form beyond a W-2.
Do they handle both the 5498-SA and 1099-SA forms? I have both because I contributed to my HSA and took distributions in the same year.
Yes, they handle both forms. The 5498-SA (which shows your contributions) and the 1099-SA (which shows distributions) are both covered in their free federal filing. They use Form 8889 to reconcile everything related to your HSA. You'll see a specific section for HSA accounts where you can enter both your contributions and distributions. Just make sure you have your 1099-SA handy to enter the distribution amount and the correct box number (usually Box 1 shows total distributions, and Box 2 shows earnings on excess contributions if applicable).
Just a warning - make sure all your HSA withdrawals were actually for qualified medical expenses! I learned the hard way last year that non-qualified HSA withdrawals are subject to income tax PLUS a 20% penalty if you're under 65. I used some HSA money for gym equipment thinking it was health-related and got hit with both taxes and the penalty.
Ouch! Did you have to pay a lot? I'm paranoid about this because I used my HSA card at a pharmacy where I bought both prescription meds and some other non-medical stuff on the same transaction.
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Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you never actually took any money out of your HSA during the tax year, you won't get a 1099-SA form at all. That form is only for reporting distributions (money taken out of the account). If you just had money going in through your employer but never used it, there's no 1099-SA needed.
Wait, that might be my situation! I had the HSA through work but I don't think I ever actually used any of the money from it. Does that mean I don't need this form after all?
If you never withdrew any money from your HSA during the tax year, then you won't receive a 1099-SA and don't need to worry about reporting distributions. The only thing you'd need to report is the contributions that went into the account, which should already be reflected on your W-2 in Box 12 with code W. Just make sure you truly didn't use the HSA funds. Some people have HSA debit cards and might have used them for medical expenses without realizing they were accessing their HSA.
Just an FYI - if you did receive distributions from your HSA, you'll need to fill out Form 8889 with your tax return. This is where you reconcile your contributions and distributions. Don't skip this form or you might trigger an audit!
Form 8889 is seriously confusing tho. Does anyone know if standard tax software like TurboTax handles this correctly? I'm worried about making mistakes.
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Don't forget about quarterly estimated tax payments for 2023! This was my biggest mistake my first year as a contractor. Since taxes aren't withheld from your payments, you need to make quarterly payments if you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes. The due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 (of the following year). You can use Form 1040-ES to calculate and pay these. If you don't make these payments on time, you'll get hit with penalties even if you pay everything by April 15th next year.
This is super helpful! How do I figure out how much to pay each quarter though? My income isn't consistent at all - some months I make a lot more than others depending on projects.
You have a couple of options. The safest approach is to estimate your annual income and divide your expected tax liability by four. But since your income fluctuates, you can also use the "annualized income" method (Form 2210, Schedule AI), which lets you make payments based on what you've actually earned by each quarterly due date. A simpler approach many freelancers use is to set aside 25-30% of each payment you receive, then use that money for your quarterly payments. This usually covers both income tax and self-employment tax for most people. Adjust the percentage if you find you're consistently over or underpaying.
Has anyone used TurboTax for filing with contractor income? I'm wondering if it's worth paying for the Self-Employed version or if I should just hire an accountant this first year to make sure everything's done right?
I used TurboTax Self-Employed last year for my design business and it worked pretty well. It walks you through all the deductions and explains what qualifies. The only tricky part was figuring out the home office deduction but they have a calculator for that too. Definitely cheaper than an accountant if your situation isn't super complicated.
Mateo Gonzalez
Make sure you're also aware of state filing requirements, not just federal! Each state has different rules for foreign-owned LLCs. I almost got hit with penalties in California because I didn't realize I had to file a separate state form even though my Nevada LLC had no physical presence in California. Where is your LLC registered? Some states are much more tax-friendly than others for foreign owners. Delaware and Wyoming are popular for Canadian owners because they have simpler requirements.
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AstroAlpha
•My LLC is registered in Delaware. I think that's why the company I worked with only mentioned federal forms... Do you know if Delaware has any special requirements for foreign-owned LLCs with no physical presence in the state?
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Mateo Gonzalez
•Delaware is actually one of the better states for your situation. They don't require a separate state income tax return for LLCs that don't have physical operations in Delaware. You'll still need to pay the annual Delaware franchise tax ($300 for most small LLCs) to maintain your business registration, but that's separate from income tax filing. Just make sure you've paid that annual franchise tax - Delaware will revoke your LLC status if you miss payments. They send the notice to your registered agent, so sometimes foreign owners miss these notifications if they're not in regular contact with their agent.
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Aisha Ali
Don't forget the bank account filing requirements! If your US LLC has bank accounts, and the aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) as a foreign owner. This is separate from your tax filing but the penalties for not filing are extreme.
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Ethan Moore
•This is super important. My friend got hit with a $10,000 penalty for not filing FBAR even though he didn't owe any taxes. The IRS and Treasury Department don't mess around with foreign account reporting.
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