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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!
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Freya Larsen
Has anyone else noticed that Go2 Bank seems to have a lot of these "surprise" limitations? My cousin had issues with them restricting transfers above $10k without additional verification, which caused him to miss a house deposit deadline. Their customer service was completely unhelpful too.
YES! I had a similar experience with withdrawals! They limited me to $3k per day without warning when I needed to pay for emergency home repairs. When I called customer service, they said I should have read the "digital disclosures" that apparently I agreed to. Never again.
This is really concerning to hear. I've only had the account for about 6 months and haven't tried to make any large transactions until this tax payment. Now I'm definitely reconsidering keeping my money there. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Omar Zaki
I had the opposite problem last year - my bank processed my large tax payment but then froze my account for "suspicious activity"! Took three days to get it unfrozen. For payments this large, I've learned to call the bank BEFORE making the transaction to let them know it's coming and to confirm any limits. Saves a lot of headache. Pro tip: If you're cutting it close to the deadline, you can also file Form 4868 for an automatic extension to file (though you still need to pay the estimated amount by the original deadline to avoid penalties).
Chloe Taylor
ā¢Does Form 4868 help if you've already calculated your taxes and know the exact amount? I thought that was just for extending the filing deadline, not the payment deadline?
Omar Zaki
ā¢You're exactly right - Form 4868 only extends the filing deadline, not the payment deadline. You still need to pay your estimated tax by the original due date to avoid penalties and interest. However, filing the extension can still be useful in this situation because it gives you more time to sort out the payment issues and properly file your return without the additional pressure of the filing deadline. If there are any complications with the split payments or processing time, at least you won't have the added stress of rushing to complete your return at the same time.
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Beth Ford
Pro tip on fixing your withholding: If you and your spouse both work, the simplest way to handle it is to check the box in Step 2(c) of the W-4 form that says "If there are only two jobs total..." This basically tells your employer to withhold at a higher single rate. It's not perfectly precise but it's way better than what you were doing. Or if you want to be more accurate, use the IRS Withholding Estimator tool and it'll give you the exact extra amount to put on line 4(c) for additional withholding per paycheck.
Thanks! Is there any downside to just checking that box instead of doing the more complicated worksheet? I'm worried about overwithholding now and giving the government an interest-free loan.
Beth Ford
ā¢The main downside is that it might withhold slightly more than necessary, which means you'd get a refund instead of owing. For most people, that's preferable to owing a large amount, but you're right that it's essentially giving the government an interest-free loan. If you want to get it more precise, the IRS Withholding Estimator is much easier than the worksheet and gives more accurate results. You just enter your and your spouse's income, current withholding, and expected deductions. It then gives you specific numbers to put on your W-4. I recommend redoing this calculation mid-year to make any needed adjustments.
Have you thought about asking for an extension? Filing Form 4868 gives you until October to FILE, but important note - it DOESN'T give you an extension to PAY. You'd still need to pay what you estimate you owe by April 15 to avoid additional penalties and interest.
This is actually not great advice. An extension doesn't help when you already know you owe money. The extension is just for filing paperwork, not for paying. If anything, filing ASAP and setting up a payment plan is better because then you have official arrangements with the IRS.
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Don't overthink this at the beginning. I started freelancing 2 years ago and stressed WAY too much about the perfect setup. Just keep good records, save 30% of everything you make for taxes (seriously, in a separate savings account), and track your business expenses. You can file as a sole proprietor with a Schedule C. Don't rush into forming an LLC until you really need it.
The 30% saving advice is so important! I only saved 20% my first year and got hit with a huge tax bill I wasn't prepared for. Plus penalties for underpaying throughout the year!
Paolo Marino
One quick tip that helped me when starting out - if your client is willing to hire you as a temporary W-2 employee instead of a contractor, there are pros and cons to consider. As a W-2, they handle all tax withholding, pay half your Social Security/Medicare taxes, and you don't deal with quarterly payments. Simpler for you tax-wise. As a 1099 contractor, you get more freedom, can deduct business expenses, and potentially make more money - but have more tax responsibilities. If this is truly a one-off gig, W-2 might be simpler. If you're building a freelance business, starting with 1099 makes more sense long-term.
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Zainab Ahmed
A factor nobody's mentioned yet: if you file separately, you're both responsible only for your own tax returns. If you file jointly, you're both liable for the entire thing. This might matter if you're concerned about audit risk or if there are any questionable deductions on your spouse's side. In my case, my ex-husband had some "creative" business deductions, and I wish I had filed separately! Not saying that's your situation, but worth considering the liability angle.
Connor Byrne
ā¢Isn't there something called "innocent spouse relief" that protects you in situations like that? I thought the IRS had procedures for when one spouse didn't know about the other's tax shenanigans?
Zainab Ahmed
ā¢Yes, there is innocent spouse relief, but it can be extremely difficult to qualify for and prove. You have to demonstrate that you had no reason to know about the underreporting or false deductions, which is a high bar to clear especially for married couples who live together. The process is lengthy and stressful, often requiring professional help. In my experience, it's much easier to just file separately from the start if you have ANY concerns about your spouse's tax situation. Prevention is better than trying to fix things after the fact with the IRS.
Yara Abboud
One thing nobody mentioned - if you're on income-based student loan repayment plans, filing separately can sometimes dramatically lower your monthly payments because they only count your income and not your spouse's. It saved me about $300/month on my payments even though we paid slightly more in taxes.
PixelPioneer
ā¢Wow this is really good to know! I'm on IBR for my loans and didn't even think about how filing status would affect that. Does this work for all income-based repayment plans?
Isabella Costa
Economics PhD student here. Another reason for the flat corporate rate that hasn't been mentioned is capital mobility. Corporations can shift profits between countries much more easily than individuals can relocate. A highly graduated corporate tax would incentivize even more profit-shifting to lower-tax jurisdictions. Most countries use relatively flat corporate rates with various deductions/credits rather than graduated rates precisely for this reason. It's part of why there's been a global push for minimum corporate tax rates internationally - to prevent a "race to the bottom" where countries keep cutting corporate rates to attract business.
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Malik Jenkins
ā¢Interesting point about international competition. Do other major economies like the EU, Japan, etc. also use flat corporate rates? Or are there any examples of major economies successfully using graduated corporate rates?
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Isabella Costa
ā¢Yes, almost all major economies use flat corporate rates. The UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada - all flat rates with various deductions and credits. China has a flat 25% standard rate with reductions for certain industries or regions. There are very few examples of graduated corporate rates in major economies. South Korea has a modestly graduated system with three brackets (10%, 20%, 22%), and the US actually had a slightly graduated system before the 2017 tax reform with brackets of 15%, 25%, 34%, and 35%, though with income phaseouts that effectively flattened it for many corporations. The trend globally has been toward flatter systems with targeted incentives rather than graduated rates.
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Freya Andersen
This is a perfect example of how the system is rigged in favor of corporations! Individuals get stuck with a progressive system where we pay more as we earn more, but corporations just get a flat rate no matter how many billions they make. And then they have armies of accountants finding loopholes to pay even less! Amazon paid $0 in federal taxes some years despite billions in profits! How is that fair when I'm paying 22% of my modest income? The whole "double taxation" argument is BS too since many corporate profits never get distributed to shareholders but instead go to stock buybacks and executive bonuses.
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Eduardo Silva
ā¢Your facts about Amazon aren't quite accurate. While they did pay little federal income tax in some years (2017-2018 notably), that was because they used legal deductions for R&D, stock-based compensation, and carried-forward losses from earlier years when they weren't profitable. They've since paid billions in taxes. The tax code incentivizes certain behaviors like R&D and investment. That's by design, not cheating. And corporate profits that go to executive compensation get taxed as personal income at graduated rates. Stock buybacks now have an excise tax specifically to address that issue.
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