Can't reach IRS? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
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
7 Have you considered a 401k loan instead of a withdrawal? If your plan allows it, you can typically borrow up to 50% of your vested account balance (up to $50,000). The benefits are huge compared to a withdrawal: - No taxes or penalties - Repay the loan with interest to yourself - Usually 5 years to repay through payroll deductions The downside is if you leave your job, you'd need to repay the full amount pretty quickly (usually 60-90 days) or it converts to a distribution with all the penalties and taxes.
12 How does the interest work though? Like if I'm paying interest to my own account, isn't that just moving money from one pocket to another?
7 The interest works in your favor actually. When you pay interest on a 401k loan, that interest goes back into your own account. So yes, you're essentially paying yourself, which is much better than paying interest to a bank or credit card company. The interest rate is typically prime rate plus 1-2%, so around 6-8% currently. This money gets added to your 401k balance, so in a way, it forces you to contribute a bit extra to your retirement. The only real "cost" is the potential investment growth you miss out on for the money while it's out of your account.
4 Another option to consider - if you're buying your first home or have qualifying education expenses, you might be able to avoid the 10% penalty (though you'd still pay income tax on the withdrawal). Just as a data point, I took out about $3k last year for qualified education expenses and only had to pay the income tax portion.
9 Do medical bills count for avoiding the penalty? I have some medical debt I'm trying to clear.
Join the conversation
From a client perspective, I HATE phone calls, but I do appreciate a text or email reminder. Phone calls feel pushy and sales-y to me, especially from a business relationship that only happens once a year. I've actually switched tax preparers before because one kept calling me multiple times trying to "check in" when an email would have been fine.
Do you think age plays a factor in this preference? I wonder if older clients prefer the phone calls while younger ones prefer digital communication. Maybe tax preparers should note communication preferences in their systems?
Age might be a factor for some, but I think it's more about personality and individual preferences than a strict generational divide. I'm in my 50s and strongly prefer text/email, while my 28-year-old daughter likes talking on the phone for business matters. I think you hit the nail on the head with your second point - tax preparers should definitely ask clients about their preferred contact method and make a note in their system. A simple field in the client database would solve this whole issue. Good communication is about respecting how people want to be communicated with.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I actually appreciate the reminder calls from my tax person. I'm super busy and taxes aren't exactly top of mind until suddenly it's April 10th and I'm panicking. Last year I got a friendly call in February from my CPA's office and it prompted me to get organized early.
I feel exactly the same way! My tax situation is complicated with rental properties and self-employment, and I always need that nudge to start gathering documents. My preparer sends one email in January and then one phone call in February if I haven't scheduled yet. Perfect system.
Join the conversation
Did your preparer have you sign the return before filing? They're required to get your signature on Form 8879 which confirms you've reviewed the return. Always check your return before signing!
They did have me sign, but honestly I just glanced at the refund amount and signed the authorization. I didn't go through all the forms because I trusted them to do it right. Lesson learned - I'll definitely review everything carefully from now on.
Make sure you save all your communication with the preparer about fixing this issue! If the IRS ever questions you about it, having evidence that you took immediate steps to correct the error once you discovered it will help show you weren't trying to claim credits you knew you weren't eligible for.
Join the conversation
Something important nobody mentioned - make sure you mail each tax year in separate envelopes! I filed 4 years of back taxes and put them all in one big envelope to save on postage. Big mistake! The IRS lost two of my returns in processing and I had to refile them. Also if you owe money, include separate checks for each year and write the tax year and your SSN on each check. Makes it much less likely for payments to be misapplied.
Thanks for this tip! I hadn't even thought about how to physically submit multiple years. Do they need to be sent to the same address or are there different addresses for back tax returns?
For most people, all prior year returns go to the same IRS processing center based on your state. The addresses are listed in the instructions for each year's 1040 form. But double-check each year's instructions separately because they do occasionally change the processing centers. If you end up owing for any year, I'd recommend sending those returns certified mail with return receipt. It costs a bit more but gives you proof of when you filed, which can be important for penalty calculations.
Don't forget about state taxes too! Most people focus on federal back taxes but forget they need to file state returns too. Some states have shorter statutes of limitations and higher penalties than the IRS.
This! I got caught up on federal but forgot about state taxes. The state came after me with WAY worse penalties than the feds did. They even put a lien on my bank account which the IRS never did.
Ugh, good point. My state's tax system is completely separate from federal, isn't it? So I'll need to go through this whole process twice basically - once for federal and once for state.
Lena Kowalski
Quick question - has anyone had success getting their employer to actually change how they're reporting these benefits? I'm dealing with something similar where my employer reports our "shift meals" as taxable tips and I'm worried about approaching them.
0 coins
Lena Kowalski
•That's really helpful advice about the approach. I'll definitely try framing it as helping them be compliant rather than accusing them of anything shady. Did you have to talk to your direct manager or did you go to HR/payroll directly?
0 coins
DeShawn Washington
•I started with my direct manager who then connected me with our payroll person. In smaller companies, going directly to whoever handles payroll can be more efficient. The payroll person was actually relieved because she had inherited the system from someone else and wasn't sure if it was correct. She made the change starting with the next pay period.
0 coins
Mei-Ling Chen
Don't most POS systems automatically calculate tips separately from regular wages anyway? I'm confused how the employer would even set this up in their payroll system. Seems like they're going out of their way to miscategorize it.
0 coins
Sofía Rodríguez
•Yeah, that's what makes this suspicious. POS systems and payroll software typically have separate classifications for tips vs. employer-provided benefits. Someone would have had to deliberately choose to classify these meal vouchers as tips. At my restaurant, our meal credits show up as "non-monetary compensation" on our pay stubs, definitely not as tips.
0 coins