What's the maximum deduction for Chime payments on taxes? Any limits I should know about?
Anyone know the maximum tax deduction I can claim for Chime payments? I've been using Chime for my side business since August 2023 and keeping track of all transactions, but I'm confused about how much I can actually write off when filing my taxes for 2023. Is there a specific limit I should be aware of or does it depend on my type of business? I heard something about a $5000 limit somewhere but cant find any official info. Would appreciate any guidance before I file in April!
50 comments
GalaxyGazer
There is no specific "Chime limit" for tax deductions. What matters is what the payments were for, not that they were made through Chime. If they're legitimate business expenses, they're deductible regardless of payment method. You need to categorize these expenses properly (advertising, supplies, etc.) and ensure they're ordinary and necessary for your business. Keep all receipts and documentation showing what each payment was for. The IRS doesn't care if you used Chime, cash, or carrier pigeon - they care that the expenses are legitimate business expenses you can substantiate if audited.
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Nia Harris
Oh wow that makes so much more sense! I was thinking chime had some special tax status or somthing. So basically I just need to organize all my expenses by category then?
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GalaxyGazer
Exactly! Focus on what the money was spent on, not how it was paid. Break it down by categories like supplies, software, marketing, etc. That's what the IRS is looking for.
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Mateo Sanchez
just a heads up, if you're doing a Schedule C for self employment, there are limitations on some specific categories. Like meals are only 50% deductible. But yah its about WHAT not HOW you paid
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Nia Harris
This is super helpful. I've been saving all my receipts but didn't organize them very well. Time to get sorting I guess 😅
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Aisha Mahmood
I was in the same boat a few months ago - trying to figure out all these deductions and what's allowed. I finally got tired of guessing and wasting hours trying to interpret IRS rules. I ended up using taxr.ai and it saved me so much time and stress! It actually analyzed my Chime transactions and helped categorize everything properly for my tax filing. Showed me exactly what I could write off and what I couldn't. Way better than trying to piece together random advice. https://taxr.ai
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Ethan Moore
Sounds interesting. How exactly does it work? Does it just read your transcript or does it do more?
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Aisha Mahmood
It does wayyy more! I thought it would just be some basic receipt scanner but it actually connects to your accounts (if you want) and helps categorize all your transactions. Then it explains the tax implications of each category based on your specific situation. Saved me literally thousands because I was missing a bunch of deductions. Best money I've ever spent on tax help honestly.
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Ethan Moore
WOW just checked it out and this is exactly what I needed! The interface is super clean and it flagged a bunch of deductions I would have missed. Everyone struggling with business expenses should be using this!
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Yuki Kobayashi
another tax service? 🙄 what makes this one different from all the others that claim to maximize deductions?
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Aisha Mahmood
It's not TurboTax if that's what you're thinking lol. It's specifically for analyzing expenses and income - like having a tax pro look over your statements but automated. Helped me find $3200 in missed deductions my first time using it.
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Carmen Vega
After dealing with the exact same confusion about my Chime business expenses, I was going in circles with the IRS website. Couldn't get a clear answer anywhere. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a live person at the IRS on the phone - skipped the whole 2+ hour wait! The agent walked me through exactly what I needed to document for my Chime transactions and confirmed there's no special limit. Talking to an actual human at the IRS was a game changer - got all my questions answered in one call.
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QuantumQuester
Wait you actually got through to the IRS? How?? I've been trying for weeks and just get the "we're experiencing high call volume" message 🤬
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Carmen Vega
Seriously, check out Claimyr. It's the only way I've ever gotten through. They somehow navigate the phone tree and hold for you, then connect you when there's an actual agent. Saved me literally hours of hold music and frustration.
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Andre Moreau
does this actually work tho? seems kinda sus that some service can magically get through when nobody else can
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Carmen Vega
Totally get the skepticism - I felt the same way! But it 100% works. They use some system that keeps trying different paths through the IRS phone system until they find an opening. Worth every penny to finally get my questions answered instead of guessing what the IRS wants.
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Zoe Stavros
just tried it and omg I got through to an agent in 20 minutes after trying for DAYS on my own. this might have saved my sanity 😭
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Jamal Harris
This is actually a common misunderstanding. Chime is just the payment platform - not a special tax category. I'm a tax preparer and see this confusion all the time. What matters for tax purposes is: 1. Was it a legitimate business expense? 2. Can you document what it was for? 3. Is it ordinary and necessary for your business? The payment method doesn't change deductibility. There is no "Chime limit" - but there are limits on certain types of expenses (home office, meals, vehicle, etc) regardless of how you paid for them.
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Mei Chen
So what about those of us who use Chime for both personal and business? How do we separate that out for tax purposes?
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Jamal Harris
Great question - ideally you should have separate accounts, but if you're using one Chime account for both, you'll need to carefully go through your statements and mark which transactions were business vs personal. Create a spreadsheet with dates, amounts, vendors, business purpose, and receipt info. This is exactly why many small business owners end up with tax problems - poor separation of business/personal expenses.
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Nia Harris
This is super helpful. I definitely have been mixing personal and business in my Chime account. Would it be better to open a separate account now for 2024?
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Jamal Harris
100% yes. Open a separate business account ASAP. It will save you countless hours at tax time and significantly reduce your audit risk. The IRS loves to see clear separation between personal and business finances.
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Liam Sullivan
yall are way overthinking this lol. just write everything off as a business expense. the irs is so understaffed they aint checking small business expenses. been doing this for 5 years, never had an issue 🤷♂️
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Amara Okafor
Terrible advice. My cousin did this and got audited last year. Ended up owing $11K in back taxes plus penalties. The IRS may be slow but they def still audit people!
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Liam Sullivan
sounds like your cousin was sloppy or making way more money than me lol. small potatoes slip through the cracks, jus sayin
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CosmicCommander
This is the tax equivalent of "I never wear a seatbelt and I haven't died in a car crash yet" 🤦♀️
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Giovanni Colombo
i went down this same rabbit hole last month. Chime is just a payment processor - the IRS doesn't treat it differently than any other payment method. What ur looking for is guidelines on business expense deductions generally, not specific to Chime. If you're filing Schedule C, check out IRS Publication 535 for all the rules on business expenses. But bottom line: If it's genuinely for your business, it's deductible no matter how you paid it.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
Am I the only one who remembered that big Chime outage last year where transactions disappeared for like 3 days? Keep that in mind if you're relying solely on their transaction history for your tax records 👀
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Dylan Cooper
Omg yes!!! I had 3 transactions of around $500 each that vanished and then suddenly reappeared. Made my accounting a nightmare. Always download statements monthly!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
Exactly!! I export all my transactions to a spreadsheet monthly now. Learned that lesson the hard way.
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Sofia Ramirez
Heads up that Chime will send a 1099-K if you received more than $20,000 AND had more than 200 transactions in 2023. But this threshold is changing to just $5,000 for tax year 2024! So if you're using Chime for business, be prepared for that change.
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Dmitry Volkov
Wait I thought they pushed that $600 threshold to 2024? Has it changed again to $5000?
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Sofia Ramirez
You're right - I misremembered. The $600 threshold was supposed to start in 2022, then got delayed to 2023, and now has been delayed again to 2024. So for 2023 (filing now), it's still $20k/200 transactions. But next year will be $600 unless they delay again.
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Dmitry Volkov
This tax stuff gives me a headache 😵💫 thanks for clarifying!
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StarSeeker
To answer your question directly: there is no specific limit for "Chime payments" deductions because Chime is just the payment method. The limits depend on what kind of expenses they were. For example: - Business travel: 100% deductible if documented properly - Business meals: 50% deductible (100% for certain situations in 2023) - Home office: complicated formula based on square footage - Vehicle expenses: either standard mileage rate or actual expenses But all of this assumes you're talking about legitimate business expenses, not personal ones.
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Ava Martinez
Pro tip: if you're using Chime for business, download ALL of your statements now. don't wait until tax time. I learned this the hard way when I needed to go back and couldn't access statements older than 6 months 🤦♂️
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Nia Harris
Shoot really?? I didn't know there was a time limit. Thanks for the heads up!
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Miguel Ortiz
I have no idea what I'm doing with taxes either. Spent days trying to figure everything out. I tried using taxr.ai after seeing it recommended on this sub and it was a HUUUGE help. It broke down exactly what qualifies as a business expense regardless of payment method and helped me sort through all my Chime transactions. No more guessing about what I can and can't deduct!
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Zainab Omar
i think ur confusing a few things? 1. Tax WRITE OFFS = business expenses deducted from income 2. WITHDRAWAL limits = how much cash u can take out if ur asking about #2, chime does have ATM withdrawal limits (like $500/day) and transfer limits. if ur asking about #1, there's no special tax status for Chime - just normal business expense rules apply.
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Nia Harris
You're right, I was definitely confusing those two things. I was really asking about tax write offs/deductions for my business expenses that I pay through Chime.
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Zainab Omar
gotcha. yah then u just need to track what each expense was for - supplies, inventory, software, etc. The payment method doesn't matter to the IRS.
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Connor Murphy
idk about chime specifically but I can tell you the IRS dont care HOW you paid for something, they care WHAT you paid for and if it was actually for your business. I spent 2 hours on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification on a similar question last year. Finally used claimyr.com to get a callback and the agent basically said this exact thing - focus on categorizing your expenses properly, not the payment method.
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Yara Sayegh
Just a warning from someone who learned the hard way: If you're using Chime for business, you're technically violating their Terms of Service which state it's for "personal use only." They can shut down your account if they notice business activity. I'd recommend switching to a proper business bank account ASAP.
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NebulaNova
Wait is this for real? I've been using Chime for my side hustle for like 2 years 😳
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Yara Sayegh
Yes, it's in their ToS. They don't always enforce it, but I've seen people in another subreddit get their accounts frozen. Better safe than sorry - open a real business account.
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Keisha Williams
This happened to my brother! Chime froze his account with almost $4k in it because they detected "business activity patterns" and it was a NIGHTMARE to get his money back. Took almost 3 weeks.
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Paolo Conti
Another thing to consider is if you're paying contractors through Chime, you still need to issue 1099s if you paid them over $600 in a year. The payment platform doesn't change your tax reporting obligations.
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Amina Diallo
I was in this exact situation and was so confused trying to figure out what I could deduct. I finally broke down and used claimyr.com to get an IRS agent on the phone rather than keep guessing. The agent confirmed there's no special Chime limit - just standard business expense rules. Best decision ever to actually talk to someone who knows the rules instead of guessing!
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Oliver Schulz
Is that service worth it? I've been trying to get through to the IRS for weeks about a different issue.
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Amina Diallo
100% worth it. I wasted like 5 hours on hold over 3 days before giving up and trying Claimyr. Got connected to an agent in about 30 minutes and solved my issue in one call. I'll never go back to waiting on hold again.
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