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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!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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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.
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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!
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For what it's worth, I've gone through this with TPG three years in a row now, and here's what I've learned: when the amount shows up instead of "unknown," you're typically 2-3 business days from seeing your money. BUT this timeline can vary based on: 1) What time of day TPG received the notification 2) Whether your refund includes certain credits that require extra verification 3) Your bank's processing times for incoming deposits In my experience, refunds that show up in TPG on Monday or Tuesday tend to hit bank accounts faster than those that appear later in the week (since they can get caught in weekend processing delays). Also worth noting: the TPG app and website sometimes update at different times. Last year, my app showed "funded" a full day before the website updated.
Marcus Marsh
ā¢Do you know if there's any way to get actual human help from TPG if the status seems stuck? Their customer service number just gives me automated responses.
Unfortunately, getting through to an actual human at TPG is incredibly difficult. Their customer service is notoriously unhelpful, even when you do reach someone. In my experience, the best route is actually contacting your tax preparer (if you used one) as they sometimes have direct channels to TPG representatives. If you didn't use a preparer, try reaching out through their social media accounts. I've seen people get responses through Twitter faster than through official channels. As a last resort, if your refund status has been unchanged for more than 5 business days after showing an amount, the IRS might be able to provide more information since they can see if the money was actually sent to TPG.
Just a warning to everyone - check the actual amount showing in TPG against what your tax return said your refund would be! Mine showed up in TPG last week but was about $120 less than I was expecting. Turns out there was a calculation error in my return that the IRS corrected. TPG doesn't always make it obvious when this happens, but you can see if the IRS adjusted your refund by looking at the amount. If it's different from what your tax software initially calculated, the IRS probably made changes to your return.
Cedric Chung
ā¢Is there any way to find out WHY they adjusted it? Mine is showing $78 less than expected but doesn't say why.
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Another thing to check is if you filled out any of the worksheets incorrectly in TurboTax. I had a similar issue last year where my expected refund was way off, and it turned out I made a mistake on the qualified business income deduction worksheet that threw everything off. Also, double-check that all your W-2 information was entered correctly. Even a small transposition error in one box can significantly affect your tax calculation. Look at your actual W-2 forms against what's in the final TurboTax forms.
I think you might be onto something about the worksheets. I went back through my TurboTax account and noticed that there's an "Explain This" button next to the final refund calculation that I hadn't clicked before. When I did, it showed some worksheet calculations for retirement savings contributions that might be affecting things. How do I know if these calculations are correct though?
The "Explain This" feature in TurboTax is definitely helpful for understanding the calculations. To verify if the retirement contribution calculations are correct, compare the numbers with your actual contribution statements from your retirement account provider. For retirement savings contributions specifically, check if TurboTax correctly applied the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (Saver's Credit) if you're eligible. This credit can be up to $1,000 ($2,000 if married filing jointly) depending on your income level and contribution amount. Also verify that any deductible IRA contributions were properly accounted for on Schedule 1. Sometimes TurboTax might miscalculate if you have both traditional and Roth contributions.
Has anybody had issues with TurboTax miscalculating the Child Tax Credit? My sister had a similar problem where her refund was way off because TurboTax wasn't correctly applying the full child tax credit she was eligible for.
Joy Olmedo
ā¢Yes! This happened to me this year! TurboTax didn't automatically apply the full Child Tax Credit amount for my qualifying children because I had answered a question about custody arrangements incorrectly. Had to go back and fix it manually and my refund jumped by $1,400.
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Don't forget you might qualify for bonus depreciation or Section 179 expensing for certain components of your renovation! Things like appliances, carpet, furniture in common areas, etc. can often be written off much faster than the building structure itself. I'd strongly recommend getting a cost segregation study done once you complete the purchase and renovations. It'll cost a few thousand upfront but could save you tens of thousands in taxes over the first few years.
Is cost segregation worth it for smaller properties? My commercial building was only about $700k with $150k in renovations. I've heard mixed things about whether the expense of the study is justified at this price point.
It really depends on the type of property and renovations. As a general rule, I've found cost segregation becomes financially worthwhile for properties above $500k in value, especially those with significant interior components or specialized systems. For your specific situation with a $700k property and $150k renovations, I'd say it's right on the borderline. If your renovations included significant amounts of new interior components (lighting systems, specialized electrical, custom cabinetry, etc.), it would likely be worth it. The study might cost $4,000-7,000, but could potentially reclassify $200k+ of your basis into 5, 7, or 15-year property instead of 39-year, which accelerates your tax savings dramatically.
Andre Dupont
Quick tip: make sure you're keeping EXTREMELY detailed records of all your renovation costs, with clear categorization of what each expense was for. I got audited on a similar deal and the IRS wanted documentation for every single expense I claimed. Take photos before, during and after renovations too! Trust me, this documentation is worth its weight in gold if you ever get questioned about your depreciation calculations.
What kind of categorization do you recommend? Like how detailed should it be? I usually just have my contractor give me invoices that say "Kitchen renovation" or "Bathroom remodel" but I'm guessing that's not enough?
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I'm a tax preparer who works with a lot of creative entrepreneurs. Here's the deal: music subscriptions CAN be deductible if they're ordinary and necessary for your trade or business. Your case seems strong because you're using it directly as inspiration and research for your art. The percentage deductible depends on business vs personal use. Since you're using it for inspiration and research, you could justify a substantial business percentage, but claiming 100% might raise flags unless you have a separate personal account. Keep records showing how specific songs/playlists connect to specific projects. Screenshots of playlists you've created for business use, notes about which songs inspired which pieces, etc. This documentation is your protection if questioned.
Thanks so much for the professional perspective! Would you recommend keeping a separate subscription just for business use to make it cleaner for deductions? Or is documenting usage percentage of a single account sufficient?
Having a separate subscription solely for business use would definitely be cleaner and easier to defend, but it's not strictly necessary. If you maintain good documentation of your business usage percentage on a single account, that's acceptable too. If you go with a single account, I recommend keeping a simple log or spreadsheet tracking which songs/playlists were used for specific business projects. Screenshots of business playlists, notes about inspiration sources for specific artworks, and any evidence of your business-related playlist sharing would all strengthen your position. The key is being able to demonstrate the business purpose and distinguish it from personal entertainment.
Sophie Duck
I deducted my music subscription last year for my photography business and had zero issues. Just listed it under "business supplies/tools" on my Schedule C.
What percentage did you deduct? Did you use it exclusively for business or split it somehow?
Mateo Gonzalez
I've filed for R&D credits for several startups over the past 5 years. Here's my practical advice: Don't use a firm that charges a percentage of your credit - they're incentivized to push boundaries. Look for fixed-fee arrangements instead. Documentation is EVERYTHING. Start tracking immediately: developer time, project goals, technical uncertainties, and testing processes. The Section 174 changes suck, but the credit is still valuable. Just be aware you're now amortizing expenses over 5 years instead of getting immediate deductions. Watch out for offshore development - it's now amortized over 15 years vs 5 for domestic. For software startups: normal upgrades don't qualify, but creating new functionality or improving performance through technical uncertainty does. Small companies can still offset payroll taxes up to $250K, which is often more valuable than income tax offsets for pre-profit startups.
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PixelPrincess
ā¢This is super helpful, thank you! How detailed do the developer time logs need to be? We track time by project but not specifically by "R&D activity" - would that be a problem?
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Mateo Gonzalez
ā¢Developer time logs don't need to be broken down to specific "R&D activities" - project-level tracking is usually sufficient as long as you can demonstrate which projects involved qualifying R&D. The key is being able to show that the projects involved technical uncertainty, experimentation, etc. What really strengthens your case is having documentation that shows the process: initial technical requirements, documentation of challenges/uncertainties faced, testing procedures, and outcomes (whether successful or failed). Failed experiments actually strengthen R&D claims since they demonstrate the experimental nature of the work.
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Nia Williams
Has anyone used the R&D estimator tools in TurboTax or other tax software? Wondering if they're accurate with all the 174 changes or if it's just safer to hire a specialist firm.
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Luca Ricci
ā¢DON'T use TurboTax for R&D credits! We tried that last year and it missed so many qualifying expenses. The software is decent for basic returns but R&D credits are way too specialized, especially with the new capitalization rules. The software doesn't ask enough detailed questions to properly identify qualifying activities.
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