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
Hannah White
One thing nobody mentioned yet - make sure the address on your 1099-MISC matches your current address. If it doesn't, it could cause a mismatch when the IRS tries to match documents to your return. Had this happen to me last year and got a scary letter from the IRS about "unreported income" even though I included it on my return!
Ryan Kim
ā¢That's a good point I hadn't thought about! The pharma company has my old address actually since I moved in June. Will this cause problems? Should I contact them for a corrected form or is there a way to note this on my return?
Hannah White
ā¢You don't necessarily need to get a corrected form. When you enter the 1099-MISC information on your tax return, you'll just use the exact information that's on the form including the payer's EIN number. The IRS matching system is primarily looking at the amounts and the taxpayer identification numbers to match things up. Just make sure your current address is correct on your actual tax return. If you're worried, you can keep a copy of the 1099-MISC with your tax records in case there are any questions later. The mismatch happened to me because I made a typo in the amount, not because of the address difference.
Quick tip that helped me with a similar situation... If you're using free filing options, when you get to the part where they try to upsell you to a paid version for the 1099, just close the window and try FreeTaxUSA instead. Their free version handles "Other Income" no problem. I reported my medical study payment ($1500) that way last year with no issues!
Mateo Silva
ā¢FreeTaxUSA is the way to go! I switched to them after years of TurboTax increasing their prices. Their free version handles all federal forms and I just pay $15 for state filing. Way better than the $100+ other services want.
Join the conversation
Sofia Price
FYI - here's a simple breakdown of what usually counts for Use Tax: - Online purchases where no sales tax was collected - Items bought in other states with lower or no sales tax - Purchases from overseas vendors - Items bought directly from individual sellers who don't collect tax What usually DOESN'T count: - Items bought in your own state (that's sales tax) - Items that are tax exempt in your state (if textbooks are exempt from sales tax, they're usually exempt from use tax too) - Digital downloads (in some states) - Services (in states where services aren't taxed
Thanks for this! Quick question - what about things bought while on vacation in another state and brought back? Like if I buy clothes in Oregon (no sales tax) and bring them home to California?
Sofia Price
ā¢That's exactly what use tax is designed for! If you buy clothes in Oregon (no sales tax) and bring them back to California, technically you owe California use tax on those items. This is one of the most common situations where use tax applies, but also one of the hardest for states to enforce. Generally speaking, if you bought something significant (like expensive electronics, jewelry, furniture, etc.) while out of state and didn't pay sales tax, you should report it on your state return and pay the use tax.
Owen Jenkins
Just looked at my state's instructions and they have a "use tax lookup table" based on income. So if you make $30,000-$49,999, they say you can just pay $23 in use tax without keeping records. Seems WAY easier than tracking every Amazon purchase all year lol!
Lilah Brooks
ā¢That's what I do! I just use the lookup table amount on my state return. Not worth the headache of tracking every little purchase. Though I did separately report a laptop I bought online tax-free since it was over $1000.
Join the conversation
One thing to watch out for - if your cousin received any money directly (like that spending money from grandparents) OVER $100k, she would need to file FBAR forms reporting foreign gifts. But it sounds like her gift was much smaller than that threshold. Also, some countries have tax treaties with the US that affect how scholarships are taxed. Might be worth checking if there's a specific US-Ecuador tax treaty that applies here.
The gift was definitely under $5k, so nowhere near that threshold! I hadn't even thought about tax treaties between countries. Is there an easy way to check that?
You can find tax treaties on the IRS website under "Tax Treaties" - they have a page listing all countries with tax treaties with the US. For Ecuador specifically, there are some provisions but they mostly relate to income earned from working, not scholarships or grants. Given the small gift amount and the fact that all scholarship money went to qualified expenses, your cousin is almost certainly in the clear with no filing requirements.
Melody Miles
My daughter studied abroad in similar circumstances and we were told by her university that international students should file Form 8843 "Statement for Exempt Individuals with a Medical Condition" even if they don't have to file a tax return. It's not actually a tax return, just a statement that explains your presence in the US. Maybe worth looking into?
This is correct! Form 8843 isn't technically a tax return but a statement that nonresident aliens (including students) should file to document their presence in the US. It's pretty simple to fill out and doesn't require any calculations.
Join the conversation
Ezra Beard
From what you described, it sounds like your accountant might have made a mistake, but not necessarily with the capital loss. Here's my take: When you switch from W-2 to 1099, you're hit with self-employment tax that's about 15.3% on top of regular income tax. Your capital loss of $3k would offset income tax but NOT self-employment tax. If you made $8k on 1099 work, you'd owe about $1,200 just in self-employment tax. Your capital loss might have saved you $600-700 in income tax, which explains why you still ended up owing. I'd recommend checking if your accountant claimed all possible deductions for your 1099 work (home office? business expenses? mileage?). Those deductions reduce BOTH income tax and self-employment tax, unlike capital losses.
Thanks for this explanation. I didn't realize that capital losses don't offset self-employment tax. That might explain a lot. I definitely worked from home for all my 1099 income - would that qualify for home office deduction? I used my living room as my workspace since I didn't have a separate office.
Ezra Beard
ā¢For the home office deduction, you need a space used "regularly and exclusively" for business. If your living room was also used for personal activities, it typically wouldn't qualify. However, if you had a specific section of the living room that was used only for work (like a desk area never used for anything else), that portion might qualify. Other deductions you should check for include any supplies, software, internet costs (partial), phone expenses, and any industry-specific materials you purchased. Also, if you drove anywhere for your 1099 work, those miles are deductible. Even small deductions add up and reduce both your income tax and self-employment tax burden.
Former tax preparer here. One thing nobody's mentioned - when you say you had a capital loss "greater than $3k", was part of it carried forward to future years? The $3k limit is just for offsetting ordinary income in the current year. If your total loss was say $5k, then $3k would offset income this year and $2k would carry forward to next year. Also, make sure your accountant properly accounted for any quarterly estimated tax payments you should have made on your 1099 income. That could explain some penalties if you didn't make those payments.
Not OP but I didn't know about the carryover thing! So if I had $7k in capital losses this year, I can use $3k now and then $3k next year and $1k the year after? Does it just automatically carry over or do I need to do something special to claim it in future years?
Mei Wong
Don't forget about state taxes! Depending on what state you're in, you might need to file a state fiduciary return as well. When my uncle died, we had to file both the federal 1041 and a state equivalent. The capital gains flowed through on the state return as well. Also make sure you're using the stepped-up basis as of the date of death. If the property was worth $X when your mother-in-law died, that's the new basis, not what she originally paid for it. This can significantly reduce the taxable gain.
0 coins
Aisha Abdullah
ā¢Thanks for bringing up state taxes. We're in Michigan - do you know if they have a separate estate tax? Or does the K-1 information just go on our regular state return?
0 coins
Mei Wong
ā¢Michigan doesn't have a separate estate tax, but you'll still need to file a Michigan fiduciary income tax return (MI-1041) for the estate if it generated income. The K-1 information will flow to your Michigan individual income tax return (MI-1040) just like it does on your federal return. The capital gains will maintain their character on your state return as well. Michigan taxes all income at the same rate, but you'll still need to properly report it following the K-1 instructions. Make sure you keep all your documentation about the stepped-up basis calculation in case of questions later!
0 coins
Liam Fitzgerald
One important thing to check - did your wife's mom live in the house for at least 2 of the 5 years before she sold it? If so, you might qualify for the $250,000 capital gains exclusion which could potentially eliminate any tax on the gain. I had a similar situation and completely missed this until my accountant pointed it out. Saved us about $32,000 in taxes!
0 coins
PixelWarrior
ā¢That's not correct for an estate situation. The $250k exclusion only applies if the DECEDENT sells the house while alive. Once the owner dies and the estate sells the property, you can't use the personal residence exclusion anymore. The good news is you get the stepped-up basis though.
0 coins