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
Mia Green
Same thing happened to me last year! The SBTPG portal doesn't populate until the IRS actually starts processing your refund for payment. Since you just filed last week, you're still well within the normal timeframe. I'd give it another week or two before getting concerned. The "accepted" status just means they received it without errors, but processing takes time especially early in the season.
Laura Lopez
ā¢This is really reassuring to hear! I'm in a similar situation and was starting to panic. How long did it take for your SBTPG account to show up last year after filing?
Join the conversation
Yara Sayegh
Nobody has mentioned Credit Karma Tax (now called Cash App Taxes) which is completely free for federal AND state! I switched from TurboTax 3 years ago and have saved hundreds. It handles W-2s and basic 1099 income no problem. The IRS direct file is only available in 12 states right now for the 2025 filing season as part of their pilot program. Unless you're in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, you can't use it yet.
I tried Cash App Taxes last year and it messed up my state return so badly I had to file an amendment. Their interface is pretty but their tax logic had some serious flaws. I'd be careful with them especially if you have anything remotely complicated.
Based on your situation (W-2 plus under $3,000 in side gig income), I'd definitely recommend FreeTaxUSA over filing directly through IRS.gov. The IRS website doesn't actually have comprehensive tax prep software - they mainly offer Free File Fillable Forms which are basically digital versions of paper forms without much guidance. FreeTaxUSA will walk you through everything step-by-step and handle your side gig income properly with Schedule C forms. Federal filing is completely free and it's much more user-friendly than trying to navigate tax forms on your own. Plus, you'll avoid the constant upselling that made you want to ditch TurboTax in the first place. The new IRS Direct File program everyone's talking about is still very limited - only available in 12 pilot states and doesn't handle all tax situations yet. For your second year filing with a straightforward but not completely simple situation, FreeTaxUSA hits that sweet spot of being comprehensive without being overwhelming.
Nia Wilson
ā¢This is really helpful, thanks! I'm definitely leaning towards FreeTaxUSA now after reading everyone's experiences. Quick question - when you mention Schedule C forms for the side gig income, does FreeTaxUSA automatically know to use those or do I need to specifically tell it that I have self-employment income? I made the money doing freelance graphic design work if that matters. Also, do you know if there's a deadline to switch from one service to another, or can I start with FreeTaxUSA even though I used TurboTax last year?
Join the conversation
Ava Thompson
Whoever designed these tax programs is evil genius level. They detect you made a retirement contribution, force Form 8880 into your return knowing most people won't qualify for the credit, then charge you for the "premium" form. Absolute scam but totally legal.
They're not forcing anything. Form 8880 is legitimately required if you made retirement contributions, regardless of whether you end up qualifying for the credit or not. The IRS requires you to fill out the form to verify if you qualify.
Actually, Miguel is incorrect about Form 8880 being required for all retirement contributions. You only need to file Form 8880 if you're actually claiming the Saver's Credit. If your income is above the eligibility thresholds, you don't need this form at all. The real issue is that tax software companies use this as a revenue opportunity. They detect retirement contributions and automatically assume you might qualify for the credit, then charge you for the "premium" version to include the form. But if you know you don't qualify based on your income, you can often work around this by being more specific about how you enter your retirement information. For 2024 taxes, the income limits are $36,500 for single filers and $73,000 for married filing jointly. If you're above these amounts, you can safely skip Form 8880 entirely. The key is finding tax software that doesn't automatically force it or knowing how to navigate around the upsell tactics.
This is exactly the clarification I needed! I've been so confused about whether I actually need Form 8880 or if the software is just trying to upsell me. My income is definitely above $36,500 so it sounds like I can skip this form entirely. Do you know if there's a way to tell TurboTax or H&R Block that I don't want to claim the Saver's Credit so they stop forcing the form? Or should I just switch to one of the free alternatives people mentioned?
Join the conversation
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation but with a twist - I inherited a rental property from my parents about 6 years ago and have been taking depreciation since then. My question is: when I sell, do I only have to recapture the depreciation I've personally taken since inheriting it, or does the depreciation my parents took before I inherited it also carry over? I know the basis stepped up when I inherited it, but I'm not clear on how that affects the depreciation recapture calculation. Also, does anyone know if there are different rules for inherited property regarding the holding period for long-term capital gains treatment? I've heard conflicting information about whether inherited property automatically qualifies as long-term regardless of how long you've actually held it. Would really appreciate any insights from folks who have dealt with inherited rental properties!
Great question about inherited property! You're in luck with the depreciation recapture issue - you only have to recapture the depreciation YOU'VE taken since inheriting the property, not what your parents took. The stepped-up basis you received when you inherited essentially "wiped clean" any depreciation recapture liability that had built up during your parents' ownership. So in your case, you'd only be looking at recapturing the 6 years of depreciation you've claimed since inheriting it, which should make your tax situation much more manageable than if you had to deal with potentially decades of prior depreciation. You're also correct about the holding period - inherited property automatically receives long-term capital gains treatment regardless of how long you've actually held it. This is a nice benefit that can save you from higher short-term capital gains rates if you sell relatively soon after inheriting. Just make sure you have good documentation of the stepped-up basis value from when you inherited the property (usually the fair market value at the date of death), as this will be crucial for calculating your actual gain when you sell. The IRS can be particular about having proper documentation for inherited property basis.
NebulaNinja
Building on all the excellent advice here, I wanted to share a specific scenario that might help illustrate the calculations. I recently sold a rental property with a similar depreciation situation. My property: Purchased for $200K, took $65K in depreciation over 10 years, sold for $320K. Here's how the tax breakdown worked: - Total gain: $320K - ($200K - $65K) = $185K - Unrecaptured Section 1250 gain: $65K (taxed at 25%) - Remaining long-term capital gain: $120K (taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% based on income) The key thing I learned is that you need to be very precise about your adjusted basis calculation. Don't forget to add back any capital improvements you made over the years - these increase your basis and reduce your overall gain. I had added a new roof ($12K) and HVAC system ($8K) that I initially forgot to include. Also, if you're in a high-tax state like I am (New York), factor in state taxes early in your planning. My effective rate on that $65K ended up being about 34% (25% federal + 8.82% NY state), which was a significant chunk of cash I needed to set aside. One last tip: consider estimated tax payments if this sale will create a large tax liability. You don't want to get hit with underpayment penalties on top of everything else!
Sophie Duck
ā¢This is such a helpful real-world example! Your breakdown really clarifies how the calculations work in practice. I appreciate you mentioning the capital improvements aspect - I've been tracking my major improvements but wasn't sure how much detail I needed to keep. Quick question about the estimated tax payments you mentioned - do you need to make quarterly payments throughout the year even if the property sale happens late in the year? I'm planning to sell in Q4 of 2025, so I'm wondering if I should start making estimated payments earlier in the year to avoid underpayment penalties, or if I can just make one large payment when I file my return. Also, thanks for sharing the state tax impact - that 34% effective rate really drives home how much the state taxes can add to the burden. I need to run similar numbers for my state to get a realistic picture of the total tax cost.
Oliver Becker
2 Has anyone actually gone through an audit with this kind of situation? I'm nervous about using Schedule C for what's not really a business transaction. Would the IRS flag this as suspicious?
0 coins
Oliver Becker
ā¢15 I haven't personally been audited for this, but I've worked with clients who have handled similar situations. As long as you're reporting everything accurately - showing both the income from the 1099-K and the offsetting expense with documentation to support it - there shouldn't be an issue. The key is having that receipt that matches the reimbursement amount. With proper documentation, even if you were audited, you could clearly show that this wasn't taxable income but merely a reimbursement. It's actually better to handle it this way than to ignore the 1099-K, which would definitely raise flags.
0 coins
Edison Estevez
I went through something very similar last year with a PayPal reimbursement for supplies I bought for a volunteer event. The advice about using Schedule C is spot on - even though it feels weird to file business forms for a one-time reimbursement, it's the proper way to handle it when you receive a 1099-K. One thing I'd add is to be very clear in the business description field on Schedule C. I wrote something like "One-time reimbursement for materials purchased" to make it obvious this wasn't an ongoing business activity. Also, keep digital copies of both your receipt and the PayPal transaction details - I scanned everything and saved it in a dedicated tax folder. The whole process was much less scary than I thought it would be. FreeTaxUSA walked me through the Schedule C steps pretty smoothly once I understood what I was doing. Just remember: report the 1099-K amount as income, then report the exact same amount as your material expense. Net result = $0 taxable income from this transaction.
0 coins
Beatrice Marshall
ā¢That's really helpful to hear from someone who actually went through this! I like your suggestion about being specific in the business description field - that makes total sense to clarify it's not an ongoing business. Did you have any issues with FreeTaxUSA's interface when setting up the Schedule C, or was it pretty straightforward once you knew what you were doing?
0 coins
Anastasia Popov
ā¢FreeTaxUSA was actually pretty user-friendly once I figured out the process! The trickiest part was just knowing I needed to add a Schedule C in the first place. Once you're in that section, it prompts you for business income (where you enter the 1099-K amount) and then business expenses (where you enter your material costs). The interface asks for receipts/documentation details too, so you can note your receipt information right there. I think the key is not overthinking it - just follow the prompts and be accurate with your numbers. The software does the math to show you the net zero result, which was reassuring to see before filing.
0 coins