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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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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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Try looking for a tax professional who's building their client base. I found my accountant when she was just starting her independent practice after leaving a big firm. She charged me $525 for both my personal and small business returns (home bakery). She was building her portfolio and wanted the experience with different types of small businesses. Three years later she still only charges me $625 even though her rates for new clients are much higher now.
GalacticGuru
ā¢How do you find accountants who are just starting out? Is there a website or something? I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for someone like that.
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I actually think $1,100-1,500 isn't outrageous for combined business and personal returns depending on your situation. I paid $1,200 last year and felt it was worth every penny because my accountant found nearly $4,000 in deductions I would have missed on my own. She also helped me set up a better bookkeeping system that's saving me hours each month. Good accountants do more than just fill out forms - they provide tax planning, help with estimated payments, and can advise on business decisions throughout the year. If you're just looking for someone to input numbers once a year, then yeah, go cheaper. But if you want actual tax strategy and support, sometimes paying more is worth it.
100% agree. I cheaped out two years ago ($350 for a budget preparer) and ended up getting audited because they messed up my home office deduction. Ended up paying the original tax plus penalties AND $1,800 to a real accountant to handle the audit. Sometimes cheaper is WAY more expensive in the long run.
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Sophia Russo
I'm going through the same decision with our lake house. One thing nobody's mentioned yet is the 14-day rule. If you rent it for 14 days or less during the year, the rental income is completely tax-free and you don't even have to report it! You'd still get all the second home deductions too. This might be a better option depending on how you plan to use the property. We only rent ours out during a local festival when rates are super high, making about $9k in just two weeks, and we don't have to pay taxes on any of it.
That's interesting! So with the 14-day rule, could we still deduct all the property taxes and mortgage interest on Schedule A as a second home? Also, does the 14-day rule still apply if you're using a property management company or Airbnb to handle the rentals?
Sophia Russo
ā¢Yes, with the 14-day rule, you can still deduct all eligible property taxes and mortgage interest on Schedule A as a second home, subject to the usual limits like the SALT cap. It's basically treated just like a second home for tax purposes, but you get the bonus of tax-free rental income. The 14-day rule absolutely still applies even if you use a property management company or Airbnb. The rule is based on the number of days rented, not how you manage the rental. So you can use Airbnb or a management company and still qualify for tax-free income as long as the total rental period is 14 days or less per year.
Evelyn Xu
Quick advice from someone who's owned several vacation rentals: Be super careful about community/HOA restrictions! Many gated communities have strict rules about rentals, including minimum stay requirements (often 30 days) or rental caps. Make sure you check your CC&Rs before making any decisions. Nothing worse than buying a property planning to rent it out and then discovering the HOA forbids short-term rentals.
True story - my parents bought in a golf community in Florida last year and the HOA changed their rental rules 3 months later. Now they can't rent for less than 90 days which ruined their whole investment strategy!
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One important thing that hasn't been mentioned is the tiebreaker rules the IRS uses when both parents claim the same dependent. Even as the custodial parent, it's good to know these: 1. If only one person is the child's parent, they get priority 2. If both are parents, the parent who lived with the child longer during the year gets priority 3. If time lived with both is equal, the parent with higher AGI gets priority 4. If neither parent can claim the child, the person with higher AGI gets priority As the custodial parent, you should win under rule #2, but having documentation of the time the kids lived with you is super important!
Connor Byrne
ā¢Are these tiebreaker rules still relevant if there's a court order specifying who claims the children? My divorce decree states I get to claim our daughter in even years and my ex in odd years, but I've heard different things about whether the IRS actually follows these orders.
The IRS doesn't automatically enforce divorce decrees or court orders about who claims dependents - they follow tax law first. However, a court order can be enforced if the custodial parent completes Form 8332 (Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent) transferring the right to claim the dependent to the non-custodial parent. Without that signed form, the IRS will generally allow the custodial parent to claim the child regardless of what the divorce decree says. This often surprises people. If your decree says you get to claim in even years but you're not the custodial parent, your ex would need to complete Form 8332 for those years to make it work for tax purposes.
Yara Elias
Just fyi - I got absolutely destroyed when my ex and I both claimed our kid. We both thought we had the right (I was custodial parent but our decree said he could claim in odd years). IRS froze both our refunds for 8 months and we both had to submit tons of documentation. I would highly recommend getting this sorted BEFORE you file rather than dealing with the headache afterward. And definitely don't count on an extension to "lock in" anything - it really doesn't work that way.
Did you ever get your refund? I'm going through this exact situation right now and it's been 6 months with no resolution.
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Evelyn Kim
Don't forget to check if you qualify for the home sale exclusion too! If you lived in the inherited house as your primary residence for at least 2 of the 5 years before selling, you might be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly). This is ON TOP OF the step-up in basis. So even if you had some gains after the step-up, you might not owe any taxes at all. My brother inherited mom's house, lived in it for 3 years, then sold it for a $75k gain over the stepped-up value and didn't owe a penny in capital gains.
Diego Fisher
ā¢Does the exclusion apply if you inherited only a portion of the house? My sister and I each inherited 50% of our parents' home, but only I lived in it.
Evelyn Kim
ā¢That's a great question! If you owned 50% of the home and lived in it as your primary residence for the required time period, you can exclude up to $250,000 of your portion of the gain. Your sister, however, wouldn't qualify for the exclusion on her 50% if she didn't live there. So in this scenario, you would get the step-up in basis on your inherited 50%, plus the potential exclusion if you met the residency requirements, while your sister would only get the step-up in basis on her 50%.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you're keeping track of any improvements your grandmother made to the property!! If she added a new roof, remodeled kitchens/bathrooms, finished a basement, etc., those costs increase her original basis! My tax guy said people forget this all the time and end up paying more in capital gains than they should.
This is actually incorrect advice for inherited property. With the step-up in basis, improvements made by the previous owner don't matter. The basis becomes the fair market value at date of death, which already incorporates the value of any improvements.
Nia Jackson
Just to add some practical advice - make sure you keep excellent records of your self-employment income if you're claiming EITC. The IRS scrutinizes EITC claims more heavily than almost anything else. For your Uber deliveries, keep logs of all your mileage, maintenance costs, phone expenses, etc. These not only reduce your self-employment tax but can help verify your legitimate business activity if the IRS questions your EITC claim.
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Freya Pedersen
ā¢Thanks for this advice! Do you know if the IRS is more likely to audit returns with EITC claims from self-employed people versus regular employees? I'm keeping all my delivery app summaries and expense receipts, but wondering if I should be doing anything else to protect myself.
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Nia Jackson
ā¢Yes, unfortunately self-employed EITC claims do face higher audit rates than W-2 employee claims. The IRS has historically focused more attention on self-employment income because it's self-reported rather than verified by an employer. For additional protection, I recommend keeping a simple business journal that notes your work days and hours alongside your app summaries. Also maintain separate bank accounts for business versus personal use if possible. Having a consistent pattern of deposits that match your reported income is very helpful during an audit. Finally, consider using accounting software specifically for self-employed workers that can categorize your expenses properly - this organization makes a huge difference if you're ever questioned.
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NebulaNova
I made a mistake on my taxes last year regarding EITC and self-employment. Does anyone know a good free tax software that handles self-employment and EITC correctly? I used FreeTaxUSA last time and it didn't really explain the EITC stuff well for my Doordash income.
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Mateo Hernandez
ā¢I've had good luck with Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax). It's completely free even with self-employment and handles EITC well. The questions about Schedule C income for EITC purposes were pretty clear and it walked me through everything.
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