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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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One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that having multiple jobs often means you can deduct more expenses than with a single job. With my single corporate job, I had almost no deductions. Now that I have three different gigs (rideshare, web design, and weekend retail), I can deduct mileage, home office for the web design, part of my phone bill, etc. Just make sure you keep REALLY good records of which expenses go with which job. I use different credit cards for different jobs to make it easier to track. Trust me, it's a lifesaver come tax time!
Rajan Walker
ā¢Do you need to have a dedicated space for a home office deduction, or can you use your living room/kitchen table etc. for different jobs? I'm thinking about taking on freelance work but don't have a separate room I can use exclusively.
For a home office deduction, the IRS requires that the space be used "regularly and exclusively" for business. This means you need a dedicated space - it doesn't have to be an entire room, but it needs to be a specific area used only for work. A corner of your living room can qualify, but only if that specific section is used solely for business and nothing else. If you're tight on space, even a dedicated desk that's never used for personal activities could potentially qualify. Just be aware that home office deductions can be a red flag for audits, so make sure you take photos of your setup and keep excellent records of your business use of the space.
Something no one's mentioned yet - if you go with multiple 1099 jobs instead of a W-2 position, you can potentially save on taxes by setting up an S-corp! I did this when I started juggling multiple freelance gigs that totaled about $85k. Instead of paying self-employment tax on the full amount, I paid myself a "reasonable salary" of about $55k (which is subject to FICA taxes) and took the rest as distributions which aren't subject to self-employment tax. Saved me thousands compared to straight 1099 work! Don't DIY this though - definitely talk to a tax pro first. There are costs to maintaining the S-corp that might not make it worth it if your income isn't high enough.
What's the minimum income level where this S-corp approach makes sense? I'm making about $65k from various gigs and wondering if it's worth the hassle.
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One thing to be careful about - make sure you're tracking your miles properly! The IRS can be really picky about mileage logs during an audit. You need to record: - Date of each trip - Starting and ending location (addresses) - Business purpose - Starting and ending odometer readings or total miles I learned this the hard way when I got audited two years ago. I lost thousands in deductions because my log wasn't detailed enough.
Sasha Reese
ā¢Is there an app you recommend for tracking all this? Seems like a lot to keep up with when you're doing multiple rides a day.
I personally use MileIQ now, but there are several good ones - Stride, Everlance, and Hurdlr are all popular with drivers. Most of them use GPS to automatically track your trips and let you swipe to categorize them as business or personal. Then you can export a detailed report at tax time that meets IRS requirements. The key is consistency - start using it from day one and categorize your trips daily or weekly at the latest. It only takes a few minutes once you get in the habit.
Has anyone calculated how the self-employment tax impacts this? Even if your income tax is near zero, you still have to pay SE tax right? I heard it's like 15% which would eat up a lot of the benefit.
Yep, self-employment tax is 15.3% on your net earnings (after expenses like mileage but before the standard deduction). So in the original example, if you had $38k in income and $22,925 in mileage deductions, you'd have $15,075 in net earnings. The SE tax would be about $2,306 (it's actually calculated as 15.3% of 92.35% of your net earnings). So while your income tax might be super low, you'd still owe that $2,306 for SE tax. One small benefit is you get to deduct half of your SE tax on your 1040, which lowers your income tax a tiny bit more.
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14 Something nobody's mentioned yet - your work-study income of $3500 IS earned income already! Work-study is treated as employment income because the student has to work for it. So that portion is definitely earned income and counts toward the earned income requirements for tax credits. Only the $2000 scholarship/grant would potentially be unearned income if it's taxable. Just wanted to make sure that was clear since it affects your calculations.
1 Oh that's an important point I hadn't considered! So are you saying that the $3500 work-study might already be enough earned income to maximize our Additional Child Tax Credit without needing to make the scholarship taxable?
14 It depends on your total tax situation and other income. The refundable portion of the Additional Child Tax Credit is calculated as 15% of earned income above $2,500, up to the maximum credit amount. So with $3,500 work-study, that's $1,000 above the $2,500 threshold, which would give you $150 in refundable credit (15% of $1,000). If you need more than $150 of the refundable portion, then you might consider other options, but making the scholarship taxable won't help since it's not earned income. And as others pointed out, it could hurt your Premium Tax Credit. Your best bet is to run the calculations both ways with actual tax software to see which approach gives your family the best overall result.
3 Just a heads up - for 2025 the filing threshold for dependents with unearned income is actually $1,300, not $1,250 like someone mentioned above. But the point still stands - if you make the $2000 scholarship taxable, your son would need to file. Another thing to think about - if your son doesn't need to file but you're considering having him file anyway to get some withholding back, that ALSO makes his income count toward the household income for Premium Tax Credit. The rule is that household income includes income of anyone REQUIRED to file a return, not just anyone who does file.
22 Thanks for the correction on the threshold! Do you know if there's a way to calculate exactly how much including his income would reduce the Premium Tax Credit? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it.
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Don't forget about the Qualified Business Income deduction! It's a huge tax break for self-employed people that lets you deduct up to 20% of your net business income. Also look into setting up a SEP IRA or Solo 401k - you can contribute WAY more than a regular employee 401k and the tax savings are amazing. I'm a contractor too and I put away almost 25% of my income tax-free this way.
Can you explain how the QBI deduction works in simple terms? I tried reading about it online but got lost in all the technical jargon.
QBI deduction is basically a 20% discount on your taxable business income. So if you made $50,000 profit from your contracting work after all expenses, you get to deduct another $10,000 (20% of that profit) before calculating your income tax. You don't even need to itemize to get this deduction! There are some limitations if your income gets above $170,050 (for single filers in 2024), but for most beginning contractors, you'll qualify for the full 20%. The deduction appears on your 1040 after you calculate your business income on Schedule C - you don't need any special forms if you're a simple sole proprietor. It's essentially free money the government is giving to small business owners and self-employed folks.
random but important tip: save like 30% of everything u make for taxes!!! i learned this the hard way my first year as a contractor and ended up owing $8,400 i didn't have. now i auto-transfer 30% of every payment to a separate savings account so i don't touch it. also track ur phone bill if u use it for work calls! and any apps/software u buy for work. easy to forget those smaller things.
StarSurfer
ā¢Agree 100%! I got absolutely destroyed my first year as 1099. Now I use a separate business checking account and put my "tax money" in a high-yield savings account so at least I earn some interest on it while waiting to pay the IRS.
Alina Rosenthal
Something that nobody's mentioned yet - if your kid is just filing a simple return with only W-2 income, you can use most tax software's free version for them. I set up separate accounts for both my teenagers and walked them through filing their own returns last year. Great learning experience for them and super easy since they just had basic W-2 jobs.
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Kristian Bishop
ā¢That's a great idea! Which tax software did you find easiest for teenagers to use? I'd like to start teaching my kids about taxes too.
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Alina Rosenthal
ā¢I found FreeTaxUSA to be the simplest for my kids. The interface is clean without a bunch of upsells that confuse them. TurboTax also has a free option that works fine for basic W-2 income, but they push paid upgrades more aggressively which frustrated my teens. The key was sitting with them the first time and explaining each section. Now my 18-year-old handles it completely on her own, and my 16-year-old only needs a little guidance. It's definitely worth the time investment to teach them this life skill early!
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Finnegan Gunn
Don't forget about potential state filing requirements too! Federal and state rules for dependents can be different. My daughter didn't need to file a federal return based on her income, but our state required her to file because the threshold was lower. Found this out the hard way last year and had to scramble to submit her state return before the deadline.
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Miguel Harvey
ā¢This is so true. I'm in California and our state threshold is different from federal. Worth checking your specific state requirements early!
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