Can't reach IRS? Claimyr connects you to a live IRS agent in minutes.
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
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 – 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!
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
Don't forget about the other benefits of claiming your college student as a dependent! If you meet the tests, you could qualify for: 1) Head of Household status (better tax rates than single) 2) AOTC or Lifetime Learning credit for education expenses 3) Higher income limits for certain deductions 4) Possibly child tax credit if they're under 17 for part of the year But remember your child can't claim their own exemption if you claim them as a dependent. My son and I actually calculate it both ways each year to see which saves our family more in total.
For the education credits, if I'm claiming my daughter as a dependent, do I have to be the one who claims the education credit even if she paid some of her tuition herself from her 529 plan?
Yes, if you claim your daughter as a dependent, you're the only one who can claim the education credits for her - even if she paid some expenses herself. The person who claims the dependent gets the education credits, period. However, for 529 plan withdrawals, they need to be coordinated with education credits. You can't claim expenses paid with tax-free 529 funds for the education credit (that would be double-dipping). So you'd want to document which portion of the tuition was paid from taxable funds versus 529 funds.
The qualifying child tests can be confusing! Here's what helped me figure it out for my college kid: Relationship: Your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or descendant of any of these Age: Under 19 OR under 24 and full-time student for at least 5 months of the year Residency: Lived with you for more than half the year (temporary absences for education count as time living with you) Support: Child didn't provide more than half of their own support Joint Return: Child isn't filing a joint return (unless it's just to claim a refund) The tricky part for college students is calculating "support" - scholarships don't count as the student providing their own support!
What counts as "support" exactly? Does paying for their phone bill and car insurance count? What about if my son uses student loans to pay for his housing?
Join the conversation
Quick tip for anyone doing energy efficiency upgrades: SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS and get detailed documentation from your contractor! I learned this the hard way last year. The contractor should itemize exactly what materials were used, their energy ratings, and installation costs. The IRS can request proof up to 3 years later (or longer if they suspect issues). Also, take before and after photos of the work. This isn't strictly required but has saved several friends during verification questions. And remember that the Inflation Reduction Act significantly expanded these credits, so the information you might find from pre-2023 could be outdated.
Does the contractor need to specifically write "energy efficient" or the R-value on the receipt? Mine just says "installation of insulation" without any specifics about the type or rating.
Yes, you definitely want more detail than just "installation of insulation." The receipt or invoice should specify the type of insulation, the R-value, and ideally confirmation that it meets the required standards for the tax credit (which for insulation means it meets the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code standards). If your contractor hasn't provided this level of detail, I strongly recommend contacting them to request an updated invoice with the specifications. You should also ask for the manufacturer's certification statement that the product qualifies for the tax credit. These documents are crucial if you're ever audited, and many people get their credits denied simply because their paperwork was insufficient.
Does anyone know if there's a deadline for installing these improvements to qualify for the 2025 tax year? I'm planning to do insulation in my attic but wondering if I should rush to get it done before a certain date.
Energy efficiency credits are claimed in the year the installation is completed. So if you want it on your 2025 taxes (filed in 2026), the installation needs to be finished by December 31, 2025. But honestly, with how backed up contractors are these days, I'd schedule it ASAP rather than waiting until the end of the year!
Join the conversation
I'm a tax preparer (not a CPA, but I do this professionally) and see this issue a lot. The discrepancy is almost certainly about different starting points for state vs federal income. Most states start with your federal AGI and then make adjustments, but some states have their own definition of income that might be closer to your Social Security wages (boxes 3/5) than your federal wages (box 1). Without knowing your state, I can't tell you which software is correct, but I'd recommend: 1. Look at the actual forms each software is generating, not just the final numbers 2. Check your state's tax department website for info on how they define taxable income 3. If you contributed to retirement accounts, that's often where the difference shows up Don't just pick the one with the better outcome - the IRS and state tax authorities share data, so discrepancies will eventually be flagged.
Thank you for this detailed explanation! I checked both forms like you suggested and found that H&R Block was adding back in my 401k contributions for state purposes while TaxSlayer wasn't. After checking my state's website, turns out H&R Block is doing it correctly - my state doesn't allow 401k deductions the same way federal does. Makes sense now why the numbers were different. Really appreciate your help!
You're welcome! I'm glad you were able to track down the difference. The 401k contribution adjustment is one of the most common causes of this exact discrepancy. Different states handle retirement contributions very differently - some follow federal rules, while others tax them differently. Now that you know, you can also check if there are any state-specific credits or deductions you might qualify for that neither software automatically found. Many states have unique credits that people miss because tax software doesn't always prompt for them.
Why are taxes so complicated?? It makes no sense that two supposedly professional tax software programs give totally different results. How is the average person supposed to know which one is right?? 😡 Seriously considering just paying an accountant next year even though I've always done my own taxes. This is giving me a headache.
I switched to using an accountant three years ago and it was the best decision ever. Yes, it costs more than tax software, but my accountant has saved me way more than her fee each year by finding deductions and credits I didn't know about. Plus she handles any weird situations like this so I don't have to stress about it.
Join the conversation
We just implemented a hybrid approach at our company that seems to be working well. Rather than counting lines of code (which is problematic for all the reasons you mentioned), we: 1. Had each development team estimate the percentage of maintenance vs. new development for their area 2. Set up time tracking codes that developers use when logging hours 3. Created a review process where tech leads and finance meet quarterly to review the classifications 4. Document everything with written justifications for how we classified each major component Our CPA seemed satisfied with this approach, though she emphasized that we need to be consistent and have solid documentation of our methodology.
I like this approach! For the quarterly reviews, are you finding that classifications change over time? For example, does new development eventually become maintenance in subsequent quarters?
Yes, we've definitely seen that transition from new development to maintenance over time. As features mature, work on them tends to shift from primarily new development to mostly maintenance and refinement. We actually created a simple lifecycle model where new features start as 100% development, then after initial release they transition to a mixed classification, and finally to predominantly maintenance after they've been in production for a certain period. The exact timing varies by feature complexity, but having this framework helps us be more consistent in our classifications over time.
Has anyone figured out how to handle open source contributions under Section 174? Our developers contribute to open source projects as part of their job, and I have no idea if that should be classified as R&E or something else entirely.
This is actually a nuanced question. Open source contributions can potentially qualify as R&E if they're related to your business and provide some benefit to your company's products or services. The key is whether these contributions represent research or experimentation that might lead to development of new products or improvements to existing ones.
Demi Hall
Just want to share my experience as a church financial administrator. There are two different scenarios for church employees: 1) If the church participates in FICA (like OP's does), the employer and employee each pay half of Social Security and Medicare taxes, just like any other job. The employee files taxes normally with their W-2. 2) If the church opts OUT of FICA, the employee still gets a W-2 but must pay self-employment taxes using Schedule SE if they earn over $108.28 for the year. Ministers have completely different rules though! They're always considered self-employed for Social Security/Medicare purposes, even if they get a W-2.
0 coins
Mateusius Townsend
•Wait, I'm confused about ministers. My husband is a youth pastor with a W-2, but the church takes out income tax AND social security/medicare. Does he still need to pay self-employment tax?
0 coins
Demi Hall
•For your husband's situation, it depends on whether he's officially ordained, licensed, or commissioned as a minister. If he is, then the church shouldn't be withholding Social Security and Medicare - ministers are exempt from FICA withholding and must pay self-employment tax regardless of W-2 status. If your husband is not officially considered a minister for tax purposes but just a regular church employee, and the church is withholding FICA taxes, then he files like a normal employee and doesn't need to pay self-employment tax.
0 coins
Kara Yoshida
Does anyone know if church employees can opt out of paying Social Security taxes altogether? I heard some religious workers can file for exemption.
0 coins
Khalid Howes
•Regular church employees cannot opt out of Social Security taxes. The exemption you're thinking of only applies to ministers, members of religious orders, and Christian Science practitioners who file Form 4361 for exemption based on religious opposition to public insurance. To qualify, they must be conscientiously opposed to receiving public insurance benefits and must belong to a religious organization that provides care for its dependent members.
0 coins