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 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!
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
If you still have the TurboTax, I might be interested. My situation is pretty basic - W2 job plus a small side business selling crafts online. Do you think the Home & Business version would be overkill for me? I used the Deluxe version last year but my online sales have increased.
I think the Home & Business would actually be perfect for your situation with the online craft sales. It's specifically designed for people with a small business or self-employment income. The Deluxe version doesn't include all the business expense categories and Schedule C support that you probably need. Let me figure out how to get this to you without violating any terms of service. Might need to check what the other commenter mentioned about transfers not being allowed.
Thanks for the info! That makes sense about the Schedule C support. I didn't realize how many business deductions I might be missing with just the Deluxe version. Please let me know what you find out about transferring it.
Has anyone tried FreeTaxUSA? It's way cheaper than TurboTax and handles all the same forms. I switched last year and it was honestly better than TurboTax for my needs (W2 plus rental property). The interface isn't as pretty but it gets the job done for like 1/5 of the price.
StarStrider
ā¢I second this! Been using FreeTaxUSA for 3 years now. It handles my freelance work and investment accounts perfectly. Federal filing is free and state is only like $15. No idea why people still pay $100+ for TurboTax.
Join the conversation
Not sure if this helps, but I had a similar situation with my daughter at UCLA. Our tax advisor explained it this way: If you never received a bill, there was no expense. If there was no expense, there was no support provided for that expense. For the kiddie tax, they look at actual support provided, not theoretical costs that were waived. In our case, we were able to exclude the tuition waiver from the support calculation, which meant her part-time job provided more than 50% of her support. This only works with true tuition waivers though - not scholarships where money actually changes hands. Worth asking your accountant about this specific distinction.
That's exactly the kind of distinction I was wondering about! Did you have to provide any specific documentation to the IRS to prove it was a waiver and not a scholarship? My financial aid letter does say "tuition waiver" and "non-disbursing" but I'm worried that might not be enough.
We kept copies of her financial aid award letter that specifically called it a "tuition waiver" and noted it was "non-disbursing." We also kept documentation showing no tuition was ever billed to her student account - just the other expenses like room and board, books, etc. Our accountant said the specific terminology on the financial aid documents is crucial. The fact that yours says "non-disbursing" is very helpful. That's exactly the kind of language that indicates no support was actually provided - there was simply no charge applied. Definitely bring those documents to your accountant appointment!
One thing to consider that I haven't seen mentioned - look at how your university reported the tuition waiver on your 1098-T. Check Box 5 which shows "Scholarships or Grants." If they included the waiver amount there, the IRS might consider it support regardless of whether cash changed hands. I found this out the hard way. My daughter had a "presidential tuition waiver" but the university reported it in Box 5 of her 1098-T as a scholarship. When we got audited (bad luck!), the IRS considered it as support provided by the university, which meant her earned income wasn't over 50% of her support.
Lucas Bey
ā¢This is a really good point! The 1098-T reporting can make a huge difference. My son's school didn't include his tuition waiver in Box 5, and we had no issues excluding it from support calculations. But my nephew's university did include his waiver in Box 5, and they ended up having to pay kiddie tax.
Join the conversation
Honorah King
Virginia resident here! Just wanted to add that updating your name with Virginia DMV and tax department can be done separately from your federal tax filing. You'll need to update your name with Social Security first, then DMV, then everything else. For Virginia state taxes, you'll file under whatever name is on your federal return for consistency. The Virginia tax department actually recommends filing under your old name if that's what your W-2 and Social Security records still show, even if you have a court order.
Oliver Brown
ā¢Do you know if Virginia requires any specific form to be filed with state taxes when you've had a name change? I'm in a similar situation but in North Carolina.
Honorah King
ā¢Virginia doesn't require any special forms with your state tax return for a name change. As long as you file consistently with your federal return, you're good. They just care that your SSN matches what's in their system. For North Carolina, I'm not certain, but most states follow the same principle - file under whatever name is on your Social Security record, and update your state records after you've updated with the SSA. You might want to check North Carolina's department of revenue website for any state-specific requirements.
Mary Bates
Honestly the worst part of changing your name is updating EVERYTHING. I changed mine last year and taxes were the least of my worries lol. Had to update my bank, credit cards, mortgage, car title, insurance, utilities, email addresses, subscriptions, professional licenses... the list goes on forever š© The key with taxes is definitely making sure your W-2 name matches your Social Security card name. Otherwise it'll get flagged in the system.
So true! I'm still finding random accounts in my old name 2 years later. Did you make a checklist? I wish I had been more organized about it.
Join the conversation
One thing to consider - even though you probably won't owe capital gains tax, you may still have to FILE a tax return to properly document the home sale. The IRS likes to see that paperwork even if no tax is due. You'll need to report the sale on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Make sure you have good records of: - Original purchase price - Substantial improvements you made (can increase your basis) - Selling costs like realtor fees (these reduce your gain
Sergio Neal
ā¢What if the sale price is less than the $250k exclusion amount? Do you still need to file all those forms?
Yes, you still need to file and report the sale even if the gain is well under the exclusion amount. The IRS requires you to report the transaction on Form 8949 and Schedule D regardless of whether you'll ultimately owe any tax on it. This is important because it creates a record of you using the exclusion, and documents that you properly handled the transaction. If you don't report it, the IRS might send you a notice later asking about the sale since they receive information about real estate transactions.
Does anyone know if selling now with no income might actually be BETTER than waiting until you have a job? I'm wondering if the lower income bracket could help somehow, even with the exclusion.
Juan Moreno
ā¢If your gain is under the $250k exclusion, your income level doesn't matter at all - you won't pay tax either way. But if your gain is OVER $250k, then yes, selling during a low-income year could be strategic since any amount above $250k would be taxed at lower capital gains rates.
Ashley Simian
I went through this last year! You don't need to send a 1095 form if you didn't have insurance - that's the whole point. The IRS is just asking for verification because their system flagged your return when you indicated no coverage. Call them and explain your situation - that you couldn't afford coverage. For 2025 filing (2024 tax year), the individual mandate penalty isn't even enforced anymore at the federal level, though some states still have their own requirements.
0 coins
Oliver Cheng
ā¢Wait, are you sure the penalty is gone? I thought Biden brought back the healthcare mandate? I've been worried about this for my 2024 taxes.
0 coins
Ashley Simian
ā¢The federal penalty for not having health insurance (the individual mandate) was reduced to $0 starting in 2019, and that's still the case for federal taxes. The American Rescue Plan didn't reinstate the penalty. Some states like California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and DC have their own individual mandates with penalties, so if you live in one of those states, you might still face a state tax penalty. But on your federal return, there's still no penalty for not having coverage.
0 coins
Taylor To
Has anyone actually paid a penalty for no health insurance recently? I haven't had insurance for 3 years and never got any letters or penalties. I'm wondering if they're just randomly auditing some people?
0 coins
Ella Cofer
ā¢The federal penalty is $0 now, but it's not an "audit" if they're asking about it - it's just verification. I think the IRS systems still flag returns with no coverage marked, but they don't actually charge a penalty. They just want to make sure you really don't have coverage vs. forgetting to include your insurance info.
0 coins