Optima Tax Relief Reviews

Optima is not a scam. They will assist you with your dealings with the IRS. However, the experience was not very satisfactory, and they pretty much did little more than prepare a few tax returns. There was no negotiation with the IRS about penalties; they simply sent me a form and told me to submit it after I pay. They did not complete the work within the time frame they themselves gave me. The accountant, Ann, "forgot" our appointment to prepare taxes, and I had to call the company and get them to reach her. They promised to negotiate, but were vague on specifics and no negotiations were conducted. My team leader told me to call him any time I had a question, and I could never reach the guy on the phone. I had to nag them over and over for months to finish the job.

I gave these guys 4200.00 a year and a half ago! Today they told me they didn’t get one cent of my billl taken off! Not a penalty or interest! I have a lien the same lien as when they started! Not one thing changed besides me losing 4200.00 to their scam! Buyer beware! They are the worst!

My case is ongoing for 2 years. Phone call are a waste of time. I explain that I prefer email as phone call go to spam. That request is not honored and lead to a frustrated client trying to get updates. When I call in they tell me they are waiting for documents, however as I have explained numerous time the customer portal doe not say they are needing documents and have taken screenshot pictures of the customer portal showing no documents required. Last to phone call they promise to email the documents yet they never show up. Today I told them I would stay on the phone until I got the document in my in box and he actually did that for me however It was for a business and not for my personal account. There is a huge problem with the way they communicate the needs of your case to you. I paid them upfront for the service and it has been a terrible experience with terrible explanation and communication.

Bottom line is Optima doesn't have any "tax experts"- they don't fight for you, there is no team.. They stall for a year- do your next year's taxes- hope some money shakes out and if it doesn't they set up a payment plan with the IRS that anybody could do. The positive reviews only outweigh the negative because they offer dissatisfied customers $350 to sign an agreement they can't write anything negative about the company. I spent 3k to Optima and with the penalties and interest due to them stalling I ended up owing roughly 2k more to the IRS than when I contacted Optima. You can read the fake positive reviews but look at the negative reviews-- they all say the exact same thing.

Paid over $8000.00. They eventually told me after I paid all my money "Some people we help & some people we can't help." They eventually drop me as a client when I refused a $975 payment plan a month. For years? Next 5 to 7 years. They allowed the IRS to run my taxes up from a small amount owed to over $35,000. No offer in compromise or tax relief offer was possible. I am a senior citizen & this is the horror I face for trusting these scammers. They offered me $900.00 in settlement for their poor service. I told them, "Keep the money. I'll seek legal actions first." Their final comments were. "Ok when we hear from the other parties you referring to. Then we will address their concerns, & requested responses at that date & time when ever they inquire." "However, for now we no longer consider you as a client with Optima."

BUYER BEWARE. TAX PAYER BEWARE. Optima Tax told me "we don't know whether we'll be able to negotiate a settlement for you or not...." BUT, they DID know. They knew that I'd recently married someone whose income made me ineligible for any reduction whatsoever; yet they charged me $8,000 before they told me that.

Paid $24K and for two years Optima Tax Relief could not even establish some communication with IRS. My bookkeeper eventually established communication, made deal with IRS and resolved problem. Optima Tax Relief is a scam!!!

Just got off the phone with them and I was told I would have to pay the full amount of what I owed from the original start of this process. It has taken me $10,000 and 1-1/2 years to resolve this. All the while the IRS was adding on late fees and anything else they could think of over that time period. Optima was told upfront what I make for salary and yet said nothing until the last day. They told me I made too much to get any relief from the IRS. I could have used an online tax service for $500 and a month of time to complete. Basically, they will take your money and do absolutely nothing but to tell you to have patience while the IRS is running up your bill. In my opinion this is a scam company.

When you use Optima you are just throwing your money away. You call them, you get no answers. The money you pay them you could send to the IRS. I spoke with a IRS representative on the phone. They are easy to talk with, very polite and she told me people that use tax relief agencies are just throwing money away. The IRS does not negotiate back taxes. You owe what you owe. I did get a one year abatement on penalties from the agent over the phone. Call them first to work out a plan. Don't throw money away using optima.

The cost of Optima tax is over 1200.00 per month plus the settlement being proposed is another 4700.00 dollars! I will be homeless in about a month! It would have been cheaper to deal with the IRS directly. Do not use Optima!!!