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.
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.
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?”
@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.
@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.”
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.
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.