What’s the deal with Optima Tax Relief?

I paid Optima Tax Relief $5,500 to help me resolve an issue with my 2021 tax return. They started by doing an investigation and said they could reduce my tax bill.

But after one month, nothing. Two months, still nothing. Three months, nothing again. Six months in, I asked for a new manager or a refund, but no response. By nine months, I stopped payments and demanded my money back. Still nothing.

To me, it feels like Optima Tax Relief is a scam. I feel like they just stole my money.

If you had searched this forum, you would have seen other posts like this. Or you could’ve just Googled them.

Tax relief companies are all scams. They just set up payment plans with the IRS for you and charge a fee for being the middleman. You can do the same thing on your own.

You should read this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/tax/comments/1byg2u0/i_used_to_work_at_optima_tax_relief_here_is_the/

I used to be a field tax collector for the IRS. I dealt with Optima and similar companies all the time. They wouldn’t respond to my letters or calls, so I’d have to levy bank accounts. Then the taxpayer would call me in shock, saying they’d hired someone to deal with it.

Taxpayer: “I paid this company to help me with my tax debt. Why did you take my money?”

Me: “I contacted them weeks ago but got no response.”

Taxpayer: “Can I get my money back?”

Me: “Do you have the full amount to pay off your debt?”

Taxpayer: “No, that’s why I hired them!”

This happened over and over.

@Rory
I work at a smaller tax resolution company. There are good ones out there, but you need to do your homework. Look for someone licensed and honest. A lot of companies have a shady, sales-focused approach.

@Nolan
Absolutely. Dealing with the IRS can be intimidating, but good local CPAs, EAs, or tax attorneys can really help. Unfortunately, people often spend thousands on these big companies and get little to nothing in return. It’s sad to see.

@Nolan
I worked at one of those firms too. They definitely felt more like sales offices than professional services.

@Rory
Every time someone said, “I paid Optima to fix this,” I wanted to scream. My response was usually something like, “Well, that’s an expensive lesson to learn. You could’ve done this yourself for free.”

They’re like the timeshare sales guys—just avoid them altogether.

It’s just another scam targeting desperate people.

My dad lost $6k to them. They only refunded $600. I ended up doing his taxes myself, and he still had to pay what the IRS said. That $6k could’ve been used to lower his debt instead.

Why didn’t you go to a local CPA or tax attorney instead?

You owe what you owe. No company can change that. Just contact the IRS directly and set up a payment plan.

Chen said:
You owe what you owe. No company can change that. Just contact the IRS directly and set up a payment plan.

Or hire a tax attorney or an EA who can represent you properly.

That’s why they spend so much on radio ads.

My uncle gave them $30k because of their radio ads. They did absolutely nothing for him.

I went to a job interview there once. It was a total boiler room operation.

I paid $4,500 to a company to handle my back taxes. All they did was send my simple W-2 filings to the IRS, and nothing changed. It was a total waste of money.

Exactly!