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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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Has anyone considered restructuring the debt itself rather than just eliminating the interest? Maybe the sons could contribute the note to a family limited partnership and then distribute partnership interests in a way that achieves their objectives? Or possibly convert the debt to preferred equity with specific dividend rights?
I like the partnership idea. We did something similar where we created a family LLC that held various family assets including some promissory notes. By careful allocation of the LLC interests and distribution provisions, we were able to effectively redirect income within the family while maintaining appropriate legal and tax structures.
Just want to point out that whatever route you take, make sure it has legitimate business purpose beyond just tax savings. The IRS can recharacterize transactions that appear to be solely tax-motivated. Document any legitimate non-tax reasons for the restructuring (e.g., improving company cash flow, facilitating business expansion plans, addressing changing family circumstances).
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Be VERY careful with ERTC claims right now. My manufacturing business filed legitimately for both 2020 and 2021 last year with solid documentation. We got our 2020 refund after about 6 months, but we just received a compliance check letter requesting additional documentation for our 2021 claim. Our CPA said the IRS is auditing a much higher percentage of these claims than normal due to all the fraud. Having accurate quarterly revenue comparisons properly documented seems to be critical. They specifically requested: - Detailed calculation methodology - Proof of paid qualified wages - Government orders affecting operations - Quarter-by-quarter revenue documentation If you're going to file for 2020, just make sure you have absolutely rock-solid documentation for everything.
That's exactly what I'm worried about! Did the IRS give any indication whether they're targeting specific industries or claim amounts? Our documents for 2021 were somewhat rushed (though legitimate), so I'm wondering if filing a more careful 2020 claim might actually trigger them to look at both years.
They didn't specify targeting criteria in our letter, but our CPA mentioned manufacturing and construction businesses seem to be getting more scrutiny lately, particularly those claiming over $200K total. From conversations with other business owners, it appears they're flagging claims with large differences between quarters or that used different qualification methods across quarters. Filing a 2020 claim now wouldn't necessarily trigger a review of your 2021 claim, but they might examine both if the 2020 claim raises questions. The key factor seems to be consistency in your qualification narrative and calculations between both years. If the story of how your business was impacted matches across both claims, that's better than contradictory explanations.
Tasia Synder
I'm dealing with the exact same situation - we claimed 2021 but not 2020, and now I'm terrified we're leaving money on the table. Has anyone actually calculated whether the potential interest and penalties for an incorrect 2021 claim would outweigh the legitimate 2020 claim amount?
The standard penalty for an incorrect ERTC claim is 20% of the erroneous amount plus interest (currently around 7%). So if you overclaimed by $50k in 2021 but could legitimately claim $200k for 2020, you'd still come out way ahead even if penalized.
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Zoey Bianchi
I actually did exactly what you're considering about 3 years ago with our rental business. We switched from taking mostly W2 to a smaller salary with quarterly distributions. BIG MISTAKE. We got audited the following year, and the IRS determined our W2 salaries were unreasonably low compared to our responsibilities and distributions. They reclassified about 70% of our distributions as wages subject to employment taxes, plus penalties and interest. Our tax bill ended up being much higher than if we'd just maintained appropriate W2 compensation in the first place. Don't get greedy trying to avoid FICA taxes - the IRS has seen every trick in the book with rental businesses.
Wow that's scary. What was your W2 to distribution ratio that triggered the audit? Were there any warning signs before they came after you?
Zoey Bianchi
ā¢We went from 100% W2 to about 25% W2 and 75% distributions, which was way too aggressive. There weren't any specific warning signs before the audit notice arrived. They simply selected our return for examination. During the audit, they looked at our involvement in the business, the services we performed, and comparable salaries in our area for property managers. They determined that our "reasonable" salary should have been around 65-70% of what we were taking out of the business.
Has anyone considered the potential impact on mortgages and loans when switching from W2 to distributions? I made this switch with my property management company and then tried to refinance my primary residence. The bank gave me a MUCH harder time qualifying with distribution income versus W2 income. They wanted 2 years of tax returns showing consistent distributions and still counted it as less reliable than employment income. Just something to consider if you're planning to apply for any financing in the next couple years!
This is such an important point! I had the same issue when trying to get a construction loan for a new property development. My lender basically ignored my S-Corp distributions as qualifying income and only counted my W2 earnings, which made my debt-to-income ratio look terrible.
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One important thing to remember is the reporting thresholds for 1099-K forms have changed for the 2025 tax filing season. PayPal now has to issue these for cumulative transactions over $600 instead of the much higher threshold from previous years. That's why so many more regular people are suddenly getting these forms for normal activity like refunds. The IRS is aware of the confusion this is causing. As others have mentioned, you need to report it, but offset it so you're not paying taxes on money that was just returned to you. Make sure to keep all your documentation showing this was a refund and not actual income.
Do you know if the same $600 threshold applies for multiple small refunds? Like if I had 5 different returns/refunds through PayPal that total over $600 but none individually over that amount?
Yes, the $600 threshold applies to the cumulative total of all transactions processed through the payment platform during the tax year, not individual transactions. So if you had multiple smaller refunds that added up to more than $600 total, PayPal would still issue a 1099-K. This is exactly why so many regular consumers are suddenly getting these forms when they weren't in previous years. The threshold used to be much higher ($20,000 AND 200 transactions), but now it's just the $600 total regardless of how many transactions it took to reach that amount.
Kaylee Cook
I messed up on this exact situation last year! I got a 1099-K from PayPal for a refunded purchase and I just ignored it because I knew it wasn't income. Ended up getting a letter from the IRS about underreported income and had to file an amended return. š« Don't make my mistake - definitely report it and offset it like the others are saying. The IRS computers just see the form and expect to find that amount somewhere on your return.
How long did it take for the IRS to send you that letter? I think I might be in the same boat from last year's taxes...
Naila Gordon
Based on my experience, RETR almost always stands for retirement contributions. This is usually money that went into a 401k or similar plan. Good news is you don't need to report this separately - it's just informational. What matters most is what's in Box 1 (wages), Box 2 (federal tax withheld), and the other main boxes. Box 14 items are usually just there to give you extra detail. Tax Act probably gets confused because Box 14 can contain literally anything the employer wants to put there - there's no standardized set of codes, so the software doesn't know what to do with it.
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Cynthia Love
ā¢So if I'm using Tax Act and it asks me about this Box 14 item, can I just skip it completely? Or do I need to tell the software to ignore it somehow?
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Naila Gordon
ā¢You can generally skip the Box 14 items in Tax Act when prompted. If the software specifically asks if you want to include it, select "No" or "Skip" (whatever option it gives you to not include it). If Tax Act forces you to categorize it, you can usually select something like "Other" and then indicate it's informational only. The key is to avoid having it added as additional income or a deduction since it's almost certainly already accounted for in your wages in Box 1.
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Darren Brooks
Has anyone noticed if RETR affects your Social Security and Medicare taxes at all? My amount in Box 14 seems pretty high ($8,200) and I'm wondering if it impacts anything besides just federal income tax.
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Rosie Harper
ā¢Your social security and medicare taxes are calculated based on your Box 3 and Box 5 wages, not Box 14 amounts. If RETR is retirement contributions, they might reduce your Box 1 wages (federal taxable income) but not necessarily your Social Security and Medicare wage bases. So check if your Box 3 and Box 5 amounts are higher than Box 1. If they are, it means your retirement contributions were excluded from income tax but still subject to FICA taxes, which is common for traditional 401k contributions.
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