IRS
CommunityGovernment Services
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 :)
Can I write off Fiverr freelancer payments as business expenses for my comic book LLC?
I've started a comic book project and I'm running super tight on money. Working two different jobs just to afford commissioning an artist for my illustrations. I'm using a freelance artist through Fiverr for all my illustration work. Each chapter is costing me around $1,100 and it's really stretching my finances thin. Some friends suggested I should form an LLC for my comic book business because apparently Fiverr freelancers count as independent contractors, and payments to them can be deducted as legitimate business expenses on my taxes. So I went ahead and set up an LLC, which honestly put me in quite a bit of debt. I was really counting on being able to write off all these commission payments I've been making to the artist. But now I'm getting worried because I can't find much clear information about this. I did find one article that mentioned I need to provide some tax forms to the contractors, but it cut off before explaining what forms exactly. Can anyone confirm if these Fiverr payments are actually deductible business expenses? And what forms do I need to give the artist? I'm really stressing about this because forming the LLC already put me in a financial hole.
Join the conversation
Managing taxes for an LLC that contracts in multiple states - questions about registration and 1099 reporting
I recently set up a single member LLC that's now contracting with an agency that will be sending me to different states for consulting projects. Some of these assignments might have me working in another state for weeks or even months at a time. I'm purely providing consulting services (just my expertise/brainpower) and not selling any physical products. I'm trying to figure out the tax implications and have a few questions: 1. How would any specific state know what income my LLC earned while I was working there? From what I understand, only the agency that contracted with my LLC gets listed on the 1099, not the individual client businesses where I'll actually be performing the work. 2. Am I misunderstanding how this works? Will each individual client business actually be listed separately on different 1099s? 3. The big question: Does my LLC need to be registered as a foreign entity in every state where I end up doing consulting work? Or is there some threshold of time/income I need to hit before that's required? I'd really appreciate any insights from those who've navigated this multi-state LLC situation before! Tax season is coming up fast and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right.
Join the conversation
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're physically present in another state performing services, you could also potentially be subject to local taxes too, not just state taxes. Cities like NYC, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have their own income taxes on top of state requirements. I found this out the hard way after consulting in Philadelphia for 3 months and getting hit with their city wage tax. Definitely check the local tax requirements for any cities you'll be working in!
Oh wow, I hadn't even considered local taxes! I know I'll be working in Chicago for about a month - does anyone know if they have special local tax requirements? This is getting more complicated than I expected.
Chicago doesn't have a city income tax like some other major cities, so you're safe there. You'll just need to deal with Illinois state income tax for the period you're working in Chicago. However, if your contract takes you to New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, or certain cities in Ohio or Michigan (among others), you'll need to account for local income taxes as well. It's definitely worth researching each location before you go. Some cities have very low thresholds - Philadelphia, for instance, starts taxing non-residents from day one of working there.
Has anyone dealt with having to register as a foreign LLC in multiple states? I'm just wondering about the costs involved. I might have to register in 3-4 states and I'm concerned about all the fees adding up.
The fees vary wildly by state. When I registered my LLC in Nevada, Colorado and Texas last year, the initial registration fees were around $150-200 per state. But then many states also have annual report fees or franchise taxes. California is notoriously expensive with their $800 minimum franchise tax regardless of whether you make any money there.
Would I have received my 1099-K from 2021 GoFundMe already? When do they mail these forms?
So I had a GoFundMe campaign back in 2021 that a friend set up for me after my house flooded. The money (around $8,000) went directly into my checking account. I'm trying to figure out tax stuff now and realized I should have gotten a 1099-K for this, right? This applies to money from GFM, PayPal, Venmo, etc. I'm worried because I never received anything in the mail about this. Would GoFundMe have sent me a 1099-K already? Does it matter that my friend created the campaign, even though the money went to my account? I just want to make sure I'm filing correctly and don't want any surprises from the IRS later. Anyone dealt with this before?
Join the conversation
I went through this exact situation with a medical GoFundMe in 2021. The important thing to remember is that even if you don't get a 1099-K (which you wouldn't for under $20k in 2021), the nature of the funds determines taxability, not whether you received a form. For your flood damage fundraiser, those contributions are almost certainly considered gifts if donors didn't receive anything in return. Gifts aren't taxable income to you. Just keep good records of what the campaign was for and documentation of your flood damage in case you're ever questioned about it.
Thanks for the insight! So just to be clear, since the GoFundMe was specifically to help with flood damage repairs and donors didn't get anything in return, I probably don't need to report it as income? Do I need to keep any specific documentation besides the withdrawal statements from my bank?
That's correct - funds received as gifts to help with your personal hardship (like flood damage) with no goods or services provided to donors would generally be considered non-taxable gifts. The IRS doesn't require you to report gifts you receive on your tax return. I would recommend keeping documentation that clearly shows the purpose of the GoFundMe campaign (screenshots of the campaign page would be ideal), records of the deposits to your bank account, and documentation of how you used the funds for flood repairs (receipts, invoices, etc.). While this might seem excessive, having this documentation will make things much easier if questions ever arise.
Just wanted to add that the reporting thresholds for 1099-K forms changed after 2021. For 2022, it was supposed to drop to $600 with no minimum transaction count, but then the IRS delayed implementing that. So if you have another fundraiser in the future, don't assume the same rules apply!
Actually the $600 threshold has been delayed AGAIN for 2023 tax year too! They're still using the $20,000/200 transactions threshold. The $600 threshold keeps getting pushed back because of all the confusion it would cause.
TaxAct didn't notify me that my 2022 taxes were never submitted - now facing penalties
I can't believe this is happening. I just found out TaxAct never actually submitted my 2022 tax return even though I completed everything last April. I used TaxAct like I have for the past 3 years, went through all the steps, got the confirmation screen saying my return was accepted, and thought everything was fine. Today I got a scary letter from the IRS saying I never filed and now owe $835 in penalties plus interest! I logged into my TaxAct account and it shows my return as "completed" but when I look closer, there's no confirmation number or anything showing it was actually transmitted to the IRS. I called TaxAct customer service and after being on hold for over an hour, they basically said "sorry, you should have checked your email for confirmation" but I never got any email saying there was a problem! Has anyone else had this happen with TaxAct? Do I have any recourse here? Can I get the penalties waived since this was clearly the software's fault and not mine? I had a refund coming of around $2,100 that I never received and now I'm being penalized on top of it. I'm so frustrated!
Join the conversation
Just wanted to add - make sure you check your e-file status on the IRS website directly too. Go to https://www.irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-refund and put in your info. Sometimes the tax software shows "completed" on their end but the actual submission to the IRS failed for some technical reason. Always save the final confirmation page as a PDF and the email confirmation from both the tax software AND the IRS. Tax software isn't perfect and ultimately the IRS holds you responsible for making sure your return is actually filed, which is totally unfair but that's how they see it.
Thanks for this tip. I just checked the IRS website and there's definitely no record of my 2022 return. I didn't know I needed to specifically check the IRS site after filing through TaxAct - I thought the "completed" status meant everything was done. Do you know if TaxAct has any responsibility here since their interface was misleading?
Unfortunately, if you read the fine print in TaxAct's terms of service, they probably have language that places the responsibility on you to verify successful transmission. Most tax software companies include clauses stating they're not liable for transmission failures or penalties. You might still have recourse though. Check if your TaxAct account shows any specific error codes related to your 2022 return. Sometimes there are failed submission codes that can help prove you attempted to file but their system had an issue. Also, print out your complete 2022 return from TaxAct to show it was completed on time, which will help with your penalty abatement request to the IRS.
This happened to my sister too! She used TaxAct for 2021 taxes and thought everything went through but found out a year later nothing was ever filed. She called the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777-4778 and they were super helpful. They assigned her a case worker who helped get the penalties removed since she could prove she completed the return in TaxAct before the deadline. Make sure you file ASAP and then immediately request penalty abatement using IRS Form 843. Include screenshots showing you completed the return in TaxAct before the deadline last year. The key is filing the correct form and explicitly requesting "First Time Penalty Abatement" if you've had no penalties in the past 3 years.
Did the Taxpayer Advocate actually answer the phone when your sister called? I've tried calling them multiple times and always get a message saying they're too busy and to call back another time.
I haven't filed taxes in 3 years, how can I get back on track with the IRS?
So I'm in a bit of a mess right now. I haven't filed my taxes for the last 3 years and I'm starting to get really anxious about it. I was going through some personal stuff and just kept putting it off, and now it feels overwhelming to even think about. I was working as an independent contractor for a small tech company during this time, so I know I owe money (which makes it worse). I probably made around $55,000-$60,000 each year. I have most of my 1099s somewhere but honestly, my record keeping hasn't been great. I'm worried about penalties and whether I might be in serious trouble with the IRS. I don't even know where to start fixing this. Can I just file all the back taxes now? Will I face criminal charges? Is there some kind of program for people like me who've fallen behind? Any advice would be really appreciated because I'm losing sleep over this.
Join the conversation
Before everyone scares you too much, I just want to mention that the IRS has programs specifically for people in your situation. Look into the Voluntary Disclosure Program - it's designed for taxpayers who want to come clean and get back on track. Don't forget to check state taxes too! Everyone's talking about federal, but your state might have separate penalties and procedures.
My friend tried to catch up on his taxes and ended up owing way more in penalties than actual taxes. Is there any way to avoid that or at least reduce those penalties?
Don't stress too much about this. I went through almost exactly this in 2024. Hadn't filed for 4 years, was a 1099 contractor making about $70k/yr. One thing nobody mentioned - pull your IRS transcripts BEFORE you file anything. This shows what income the IRS already knows about. You might find some 1099s you forgot about or didn't receive. The worst part is the self-employment taxes + penalties, but it's all manageable with a payment plan. I'm paying $400/month on about $31k total debt including penalties.
How do you get your IRS transcripts? Do you have to call them or can you get them online?
Callum Savage
Make sure your LLC is set up properly for tax purposes! I made a huge mistake with my design business last year - formed an LLC but didn't file the right paperwork to elect how it would be taxed. The IRS defaulted me to being taxed as a partnership even though I was the only owner, and it was a complete nightmare to fix. If you're the only owner, make sure you're being taxed as a sole proprietor (which happens automatically) or you've specifically elected S-Corp status if that makes sense for your situation. This will affect how you deduct those Fiverr payments.
0 coins
Hugo Kass
AuthorThanks for the heads up! I am the only owner of the LLC. Do I need to do anything special to make sure I'm being taxed as a sole proprietor? I don't think I filled out any additional forms after creating the LLC.
0 coins
Callum Savage
You're already set then! Single-member LLCs are automatically treated as "disregarded entities" for tax purposes, which means you'll report your business income and expenses on Schedule C of your personal tax return. No additional tax forms are needed to select this treatment - it's the default. You'll use your personal SSN for most tax purposes, though you should have an EIN (Employer Identification Number) for your LLC as well. This setup is the simplest for your situation and allows you to deduct all legitimate business expenses like your Fiverr payments directly against any income the business generates.
0 coins
Ally Tailer
Don't forget about hobby loss rules! The IRS might challenge your business expense deductions if you show losses for too many years. Since you mentioned you're not making money yet, you need to be able to prove you're running this as a business with intent to profit, not just a hobby. Keep detailed records of: - Your business plan - Marketing efforts - Time spent working on the comic - Any pitches to publishers - Website/social media for the comic Trust me, I learned this the hard way with my photography "business" that was actually just me buying expensive camera gear and occasionally selling a print.
0 coins
Aliyah Debovski
This is super important. I've been creating comics for years and the IRS did question my expenses once. What saved me was having a detailed log of hours worked, draft versions showing progress, and a marketing strategy document. Even though I wasn't profitable yet, I could show I was seriously trying to be.
0 coins