Update on my review Optima Tax Relief they did get back to me we're going to try work things out with Optima Tax Relief. I appreciate them getting in touch with me with this matter. Thank you Jessica Jacksons for handle my concerns. I am posting 3 star to see if things work out with them. read more

Optima tax relief is a fraud!!! My wife and I were in need of help concerning our taxes due to our accumulated tax debt so we contacted Optima. We paid them 700 a month for 10 months ($7000). We started this process in 2023 it is now 2026. We now owe the IRS over $100,000 because they did absolutely nothing but mislead us. After receiving letters in reference to Levies against our wages and a lien on our house my wife contacted the IRS just to find out that they saw absolutely nothing from Optima on our behalf which made it look as though we were negligent on our behalf and just didn't pay our taxes when Optima Tax Relief neglected and fraudulently took our money and did nothing with the information that my wife supplied them with!!! We asked for our $7000 to be refunded back to us.. they offered 2,000 back while we are yet still facing Liens and levies in the very near future. The reps there are now giving us the run around promising us phone meetings to negotiate a refund such as today 6/29/26 at 2pm to no avail. My wife sent an email to confirm the meeting after there was no call from Optima. We are now being ignored by this fraudulent company. My wife notified BBB and we are now moving to litigation in the very near future as well as alerting the media to inform them and others of their predatory practices. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY DISRESPECTFUL, INCONSISTENT, DECEPTIVE and NON SYMPATHETIC WITH THEIR CLIENTS!!! The radio advertisements are leading and FALSE!!! read more

Again... I didn't look on Yelp before hiring this company and now we're paying the price. They'll take $500 to get started. What that means is, they will get power of attorney and then contact the IRS to find out how much you owe. Something anyone can do. The next step is they will call you after several weeks- giving you the feeling that they really did do an investigation when they didn't. Fear tactics plain and simple. The next phase is giving you a line of BS about how your account is in collections and you have 3 days to act. Then they will charge you $4,400.00 to set up a payment plan with the IRS. If you don't act, they cut off all communication with you and drop you like a hot potato and won't even return phone calls. I contacted a well-known tax preparer with the initials H and R and they did everything Optima Tax Relief did, plus a lot more- even negotiated a settlement with the IRS in under 2 hours for $179. Looking at the other 1-star reviews, I think I'll file a complaint with the BBB as well. read more

Optima Tax Releif is a company you need to stay away from. They are awful. Do not fall for the promotional advertisements. I did and I am suffering because of no help from them. After an initial adjustment, I received a notice from the IRS advising I owed $11,000.00+ in February2026. On 2-20-26 I immediately sent a fax to Optima with a list of specific questions and asking for help and a response.. I was ignored--NO RESPONSE. On 3-11-26 I sent another fax with a copy of the 2-20 fax-I was ignored--NO RESPONSE. On 4-13-26, I sent another fax with the two prior faxes.-I was ignored--NO RESPONSE. I then made 4 calls to a case manager number and left 4 different voice mails with an urgent request to call me--NOT ONE VOICE MAIL WAS RETURNED. HERE IS WHY I SAY STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY---I sent a Registered mail with a return receipt request so he had to sign for it to David King, CEO of optima Tax Relief--asking for his help in getting his employees to help and respond to me. He did not even respond to me and I still have not heard from anyone-especially David King It is apparent that once they get your money, they don't care about you. Because they did nothing, I have been assed $1,344. penalty by the IRS because they did nothing to assist me. If there is a class action lawsuit by others harmed and mislead by OPTIMA, i WILL GLADY JOIN read more

I called Optima in Jan 2023 and paid $90 for an "evaluation" to be completed by Optima tax experts. Based on that evaluation, Optima informed me that I should qualify for relief from the IRS. I signed an agreement with Optima to pay them $6K, with the understanding that #1. Optima would complete my 2022 Income Tax Return, and #2. Optima (according to their initial $90 evaluation) would be able to obtain tax relief based on my data and the amount owed. I called time & time again-waiting for 24 to 48 hours for someone to call me back - checking when my tax return would be done. Despite having all requested tax documentation, they filed an extension and didn't complete my 2022 Return until Oct 2023. Of course, they had the $6K by that time. My 2022 Return done by the Optima "tax experts" stated that I owed $38K. By the time I was able to pay that amount, it had increased to $41K with penalties and interest. I was afraid and sold my Bitcoin for $50K to pay the IRS. In 2024 I met a tax professional who was suspicious of Optima based on the experiences of other clients. This tax professional filed an amended return which showed that I had paid $16K MORE than what was owed for my 2022 return. She filed that amended return and I received $19K back from the IRS. Optima has refused to even respond to my requests for reimbursement other than to offer me $899.95 (how cheap!). Optima is a complete scam! They do not have "tax experts," they employ "scam experts" that file erroneous income tax returns! Buyer.. BEWARE!! I have called Optima repeatedly. They say 'the board' will only allow a refund of $1500, when they have cost me tens of thousands!! Also, they have tried to tell the BBB that the complaint is resolved.. when it certainly is not. DO NOT use Optima! read more

SCAMMERS! DO NOT LET THEM B.S. you that they will reduce anything. THEY ARE JUST GETTING YOU TO PAY FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!! CALL THE IRS directly! $495 to investigate is robbery. When you can get it free!!!!! Once they get your $, they will not communicate, call you back or tell you what you paid for!!!!! I would give them a zero Read my BBB complaint. read more

I had a great experience with Optima Tax Relief. Everyone is different and usually your experience is a reflection of your situation. Mine wasn't perfect but also not a tangled knot. I was lucky enough to work with a guy named Pedro Cornejo. He was cool. He was easy to work with and explains things in a simple format. I don't deal with taxes and their lingo, so this wasn't my best forte, but he was able to navigate me thru the process. It was fun and really simple. I appreciate his work a lot. Hopefully they get to see when customers write these. I referred a few guys from my sales team to use him as well. They have harder situations but i have a feeling it will be smooth sailing. Thank you Optima! And most importantly thank you Pedro and go Doyers! Hopefully i didn't ask too many questions along the way. read more

Canned boiler room sales pitch. Hard press to get upfront ridiculous fees. The reviews here and stories on Reddit stopped me from my suspected results. Friendly though. read more

Never for any reasons use this company for anything. They are 100% a fraudulent company claiming to reduce your tax debts. You will end up owing more to the IRS, as well as having a few thousand dollars removed from your wallet for this California based scam center to "help". Things that you can trust more than optima tax relief's team of scam artists. Somali daycare centers, a fart after consuming an entire bottle of magnesium citrate, an email from an African prince that needs a check cashed... a stripper that says she loves you, o Rolex purchase on the streets of china, fiat's reliability, a politicians word...so that said, if you choose to roll the dice on this scam it's your money and you've been warned/informed on who you're about to get "help" from with your taxes. read more

I'm so embarrassed to admit I got scammed by this company. As many others, I owe a large amount in back taxes and was made many promises upon calling them. I have unresolved debt from 2017 that honestly I believe could be incorrect. I made so little money that year and the IRS says I owe $10K+. I asked my H&R Block professional in 2024 who could help me understand and resolve this large tax bill and he recommended Optima. Fast forward a year, I have paid Optima over $5,000 and we are supposedly in the "resolution phase." Getting hold of the Optima is harder than getting hold of the IRS themselves. If you finally get through to a person they'll give you one story, but then if you get a follow up email (and that's a BIG if) the next steps or numbers will have nothing to do with what you've talked about on the phone. My favorite is when they call you, you answer and they ask, "how can we help you today?" Um I don't know yet, you called me? Honestly, we should have a support group for everyone who has been scammed by them just to swap horror stories. I guess that's what the class action lawsuit is for. Attached are two emails 2 weeks apart (one year into my case). The first email is asking me to chose a payment plan. I replied with my choice and never heard back. I called two weeks later and someone told me, "Ah yes your payment plan, I'll send you an email summarizing next steps." The second email has a whole new payment plan that we never discussed. My favorite part of that second email is that the instructions for the next steps is to go to IRS.gov and follow the free and simple steps to set up a payment plan (which by the way, are always an option). If I call they claim they have done various things for me but if I log onto IRS.gov I'm still in jeopardy of lien and the amounts I owe have only gone up. It's really a shame this company is allowed to exist. Despite being a hard working college educated mom, I was desperate and they preyed upon my fear and scammed me. If only I had just given the IRS the money I would be closer to having this nightmare be over. When will this joke of a company be taken down? read more

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My experience has been so bad I at one point thought it was a scam. Never have been able to reach the original person we spoke to to start the service and never would return my call. The service itself is extremely long and communication is poor. The number when they do call you comes back as spam so my phone does not ring. My taxes are still not completed and they say they have filed an extension but no copy of said extension has been shown, so who really knows. I am so frustrated of this whole process. read more

I had made a review couldn't edit it but I'm satisfied with optima tax relief we came to a settlement.

Paid 4k to get them to take my case & setup something with the IRS, they dropped my case after several months & did nothing, not one thing, never got in touch with me or anything & stole my money. These people should be in jail. read more

I was told the $495 was for an "inspection" and that they would come up with a resolution plan based on the findings. This "inspection" was simply reading the forms I uploaded. The "resolution plan" was the same bullet points of the same generic "plan" that they laid out before I paid them, not an actual plan. They wait to schedule the follow-up consultation until after the "15-day money back policy" expires, then give you no new information until you pay them more. They would not actually proceed with any real resolution until I paid them thousands of dollars despite telling me otherwise. The cost to move forward was more expensive than the tax debt payments themselves. Theft and deception seem to be part of the business model. Do not waste your time or money! read more

Absolutely terrible company!! We paid over 11k of 16k over a 1 year ago just to find out we incurred additional penalties and interest and no action from them to negotiate a payment plan. We called and talk to them and asked them what is happening, they said they are working with IRS. We called the IRS and no one has talked to IRS from optima at all!!!My wife and I then called iRS and negotiated ourselves, 10 minutes call. Done. We want a full refund... I'd give them minus stars if I could.... read more

Scam. My shady accountant recommended them. Boy am I sorry. Contacted a tax attorney I will be working with now. Don't waste your time and money with these crooks. Promised to get my taxes "reduced or even forgiven". They did nothing, I now owe more than before. Most dishonest business I've ever dealt with. I never understand why these places aren't investigated. read more

Optima Tax Relief talks a good talk to get their $600 retainer. After telling us that it would be somewhere in the range of $3-6,000 to settle our case, they came back with a cost of more than $11,000. We said, "No thanks" and did not move forward with their services. After reading these other reviews, I think we made the right decision. This company is a SCAM!! read more

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY! I owed about 9K in back taxes I wanted to get resolved quickly. The person I spoke to when signing up said they'd put me to the front of the line. After getting the process started, I was notified it could take up to eight months. Very disappointing. From the get-go, I let Optima know numerous times my uncle would let me borrow the money to pay my taxes, but they said don't worry about it, we're working on a settlement for you. So I continued the process thinking they were working on my behalf. From time to time I would get a phone call or notification to contact their office. I would call in and no one would be available on team 225. It was very frustrating to not hear back from them for days sometimes. So I resorted to contact only by email. After about six months into the process, they said they had a payment plan available for me. I asked about the settlement and they said this is the way it works. We set you up on payments, then will negotiate a settlement after a few payments are made. In that same conversation I asked if I could file my taxes. Would they be protected or should I wait? They said to go ahead and file my taxes now that I'm on a payment plan and my tax return would be protected. I get a notice from the IRS saying they have deducted the amount of my tax return out of my back taxes owed. Optima was completely wrong to tell me this information. Today I called because they asked me to contact them. They said they weren't able to reach a settlement and my payment plan is all they could do. I paid $2841.00 Optima to put me on a payment plan when I could've paid the entire $9000 off. With the taxes owed I am now almost $12,000 in debt. NO SETTLEMENT, only $190 a month payment plan. Now I'm more in debt because of Optima. I will not use a service again and I will be their worst advertisement. I had two friends I was going to recommend that owe back taxes but not anymore. read more

The legal team did reach out to resolve the issue by issuing me a refund. They also were able to close the account out.

This place is horrible. I keep getting no response or all I keep getting is we lost your fax you sent in. I keep getting different associates calling me to ask for documents that have been handled moons ago. They are not doing $8000.00 worth of work, I am actually doing the running around, faxing, the faxes they keep saying isn't there etc. Now I am working on my own payment arrangement because they have done nothing. Optima Tax Relief should be ashamed of themselves, they are running a scam here with people already financially in trouble. I will be pursuing this matter further as I see there are class action lawsuits coming against them and I will be front and center. I don't think I should get a complete refund but anything that has to do with the state side, I want my money back as they have not done what was told would be done. I keep being told my "case manager" is unavailable or not in, etc. meanwhile interest is stacking up on top of what I owe. What will happen though is the "call center employee" will run down everything by talking over me and with a disrespectful tone but when it comes to addressing my issues, all of a sudden, no one is available to talk to. Interesting indeed. I have also found out that I was lied to by a gentleman named Ryan, when I first went with them, he is not anymore than customer service, I know this because that is what I do. Ryan was supposed to be in charge of my account, now I haven't heard from him since the first week of service. I also found out no tax attorneys or tax specialists are with the company. This is not the company I was told about or signed on for to help me out of this bind my idiot ex husband put me in. These people are evil, please just send your money to the tax debt and work with them yourselves. It will save time, money and much heartache. read more

Title: A Costly Mistake - Poor Communication, No Results I regret ever contacting Optima Tax Relief. Lured in by their polished radio ads, I signed up in March 2024 to resolve a significant tax issue. Due to the complexity of my case, they quoted over $15,000, which I agreed to pay via a monthly plan of $1,200. From there, it was a frustrating and disappointing experience. While Optima had no problem collecting my payments--over $14,000 to date--they failed to provide any meaningful updates on my case. I was never assigned a dedicated case manager, and despite a few occasional document requests (which gave the illusion that progress was being made), I received no real communication or status updates. Fast forward to today: I still have no idea what's been done on my case, if anything. Out of frustration and concern, I finally canceled my last payment. Only then did Optima respond--by placing my case on hold. When I tried calling, I was routed to what appears to be an offshore call center, where no one could assist me because of a so-called "payment issue." Let me be clear: I acknowledge my original mistake with the IRS, but my bigger mistake was trusting Optima. Their lack of transparency, accountability, and basic communication is shocking--especially given the amount of money I paid. Do not make the same mistake I did. Avoid this company at all costs. I'm now left with a lighter bank account, no clear resolution, and more stress than when I started. read more

I think I actually owe more now than when I started working with them. If you owe a lot in taxes , probably better off on your own. They can prolong the misery until you're to old to pay the IRS back .. read more

Optima dragged the process on for two years. In the end they contracted me and advised the had reached a settlement. The original amount owed for inpaid taxes was $150,000. The settlement amount was $300,000. I found out I had been incurring intrest the whole two years. I actually had to ask the Optima representative if she worked for the IRS. They did nothing for me I couldn't have done myself. Scam! read more

Optima Tax ripped us off. They make it sound like they'll save you from the IRS, but all they really do is overcharge for something you could do yourself--or with a local tax person. They charged us $7,232. Said they'd help with both federal and state. Lie. After they got our money: "We only deal with federal." Then they passed us around from one rep to another, taking 72+ hours to even return a call. Their final "help"? They said the IRS would settle for $800/month. So we called the IRS ourselves--and got a plan for $600/month. $232/month less. On our own. Even the IRS agent said people constantly complain about Optima. Don't be fooled by their ads. Total scam. read more

Horrible communication and never got to talk to the same person twice even after they told me that it was there direct line. The guy I signed up with was very convincing and i signed up and paid them there down payment fee. When I had a question a couple of days later I called his direct line and it rang for over two hours. I just kept my phone in my top pocket and was forced to listen to the horrible music while i waited. to no avail he never picked up. We finally got a scheduled pay back amount and dollar amount to pay back each month. I was paying back more when i could each month to put this behind me. When i had my taxes done for 2025 I was expecting a cerin amount due back. When the refund was deposited into my account what I owed was taken to satisfy my IRS debt and in addition the IRS cashed my check for my March payment. I called Optima again 9th or 10th different person and had to explain AGAIN what the situation was. They told me that they can't help me and to call the IRS read more

Anybody that charges money upfront is a scam Optimal tax relief took $3200 and wrote me a letter back that they could not help I demanded my money back then they asked for another $600 that they will try something different. This took up to five years ???? interest and a penalty accrued. They made my situation worse. Run away from this company You guys can actually go on the IRS website there is a free company that will help you tax advocates They will negotiate with the IRS for you read more

Want to charge over $9,000 to help me come up with a payment plan. Hahaha crazy. No wonder they keep pushing for good reviews when you first reach out... because they know they will not get the good review later. They kept asking for a good review from me and I told them they haven't done anything for me yet, so I am not leaving a review. now I see why they wanted a review, to counter the bad one's they get later when you realize they are only taking advantage of you. Ill pass. Thank God I read the reviews when things did not sound right. read more

They did issue a small refund and closed my case. If they had issued a much larger refund, I would change the rating read more

They asked me for 7000.00 the first time around, I fell ill and I couldn't continue for a while, now they want another 4000.00. I shouldn't have gotten involved with them. It's sort of like stopping school and paying student loans with no degree. Really dissatisfied, broke and dissapionted. read more

They did nothing for me but cash the check of 5k that was requested up front to start the process. SCAM

In my opinion this company is a scam and a rip-off. I contacted them 2023 after hearing their radio ads about saving clients thousands on their taxes. The enrollment agent (i.e. salesperson) was extremely helpful. After making an initial down payment and going an installment plan, I suspended the program a few months later because of a divorce. I resumed 2024. None of my prior payments counted. I started all over. My total cost was just under $5,000.00 for them to file my back taxes and negotiate on my behalf. No one would discuss my case until it was paid in full. In the meantime, I was accruing interest and penalties on the back taxes. I could not get anyone to discuss my case until it was paid in full. I maxed out a credit card paying them monthly installments. If I was late on payment, they cut off portal access. I paid it off last fall In February 2026 I got a resolution. The filed my four-years back taxes plus 2024. They took the standard deduction each year, something I could have done on my own. Furthermore, there were no tax reductions or forgiveness from the IRS. The representative told me this as casually as ordering lunch. When I complained, she referred to the small print in the contract and said not everyone gets a reduction. The settlement they agree to with the IRS is $50.00 per month more than I was paying before contacting Optima No Tax relief. Avoid the company. You will be better off negotiating yourself and making your repayment agreement. read more

They never stop calling. Not when you ask them to stop. Not ever. They keep switching their phone numbers and they spam with text messages as well. STOP read more

BIG SCAMMERS , BE AWARE IT ALL START WITH NICE PEOPLE SCARING FROM IRS , once you sign in AND PAY ( YOU ARE IN their TRAP ) I will come back later and explain in details ) Just lost 14 k on top what I owe to IRS I GOT FOOLED WITH nice Customer service in the beginning , they make me call every day and all I get is crab and will call you back SAVE YOUR MONEY , work with IRS TO RESOLVE YOUR TAX , reach out for me to help you with my experience to save time and money and frustration read more

(WARNING STAY AWAY) (SCAM WARNING) Wish I would have looked at the reviews before handing over my money. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY THEY WILL ROB YOU BLIND. I signed up 20 days ago and they said that they have a 15 day return policy (LOL) that is why they wait 20 days to call. So when you are unhappy with their performance you cant get your money back. All they do for the $495 is pull your transcripts and call the collections dept for the IRS....... thats it! You can actually go to the IRS website and pull the transcripts yourself for FREE. This is a trick then they lock you in BC you can't get your money back at day 20(Bait and Switch) then the real bills starts climbing up from there (BEWARE). I am grateful that I canceled early enough but feel bad for others. This company is ripping off and take complete advantage of the American people one American at a time. I am sad to say this company is why we are suffering as a nation PLEASE STAY AWAY (WARNING) I filed a BBB report and I suggest everyone do so if you have not submitted one yet. This kind of trickery craft needs to be stopped. (WARNING STAY AWAY) (SCAM WARNING) read more

Lazy, they only care about getting your money and nothing else. They just want to trap you so thay youll pay upfront big bucks and then do it quick and simple and just get it even if it means youll lose thousands in deductions. They don't care they just want a quick pay day and nothing more ! read more

Really Really BAD SERVICE. They advertise because they suck and offer useless advice that you can read online yourself. They just want you to pay them and they dont want to help you if it means it willv take anytime from them. read more

Update: They have agreed to return 5k of the 13k we paid them. Not what I hoped for, but I'll take it just so I never have to devote any energy to this company. Terrible company. Took me and my wife for 13k, did no work on our case, never got in touch with IRS, never filed anything, and disregarded my calls for nearly a year. Filed a complaint with BBB, got a little song and dance from them, then never heard back. About to sue them. Stay away from these people, they are bad. read more

I used Optima Tax Relief and it cost $8,000. After a long period of time, (many months), they sent me papers stating that I owed the same amount of money I had before. The only thing they did was my taxes, which I could have had the IRS do for next to nothing. They set up a payment plan with the IRS, which, apparently, I could have done myself. After being on the plan for a short time, I had a problem and called the IRS to see if I could skip a payment, they took all my information, and after a couple of weeks, they called me back and they had resolved all of my issues and restructured a program due to circumstances at that time and relieved me of some of my debt. The IRS has developed many programs to help people. They are not the horrible people they are made out to be and I found them helpful and very nice to work with. read more

Avoid Optima Tax Relief - Empty Promises and Zero Results I paid $12,000 to Optima Tax Relief over two years ago, expecting them to resolve my tax issues as promised. Instead, I have experienced minimal effort, little communication, and zero meaningful progress on my case. When I hired them, my original tax debt was around $50,000. After two years of inaction, it has more than doubled to over $100,000 due to penalties and interest. Optima's failure to act has put me in an even worse financial position than when I started. I have repeatedly reached out for updates, only to be ignored or given vague excuses. Three months ago, I left a review, and their so-called "quality assurance" team never followed up--which speaks volumes about how they treat customers after taking their money. Now, when I demand a refund for services that were never delivered, I am being forced to wait another month just to "speak to the refund department." This is nothing but a delay tactic. Optima Tax Relief overpromises, underdelivers, and disappears when you need them most. Avoid this company at all costs. If you are considering using them, learn from my mistake and look elsewhere. Sincerely, Dyami Connell read more

Since I left a review more than four months ago, Optima has done nothing to further my case. They don't return phone calls and rarely return emails. I can't believe a business that advertises this widely is so incompetent. Below is an image of the latest email I sent them. Full disclosure: I would sometimes take longer than necessary to get back to them, but they were equally bad or worse about getting back to me. So jealous of the reviewers giving five stars. Be interesting to know how Optima decides which customers to screw over. read more