Overview
Optima Tax Relief
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Free Consultation, IRS Tax Relief, State Tax Relief, Tax Settlement Negotiation, Individual Tax Preparation
IRS CE Provider, NAEA
16 Years
Tax Defense Network
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Free Consultation, IRS Tax Relief, State Tax Relief, Tax Settlement Negotiation, Account Monitoring, Tax Audit Representation, Individual Tax Preparation, Small Business Tax Preparation
AICPA, NATP, ASTPS, NAEA
19 Years
Ratings
Optima Tax Relief
Tax Defense Network
Pros & Cons
Optima Tax Relief
PROS
- IRS Power of Attorney in 50 states
- Simple, 3-step process
- 15-day, money-back guarantee
- Broad range of services
CONS
- Minimum debt requirement of $10,000
- Less than 15 years old
Tax Defense Network
PROS
- Multiple accreditations
- 15 years in business
- Low minimum debt requirement of $5,000
CONS
- No physical locations in certain states
Reviews
Optima Tax Relief
Reviews
Tax Defense Network
Reviews for Optima Tax Relief
Helpful Favorable Review
Sylvia Coleman
March 22nd, 2022
Turlock, CA
DETAILS
Verified Customer
Review Source
Optima Tax Tax Relief treated me respectful and professionally. They kept me informed of the progress of my case. I am truly grateful to them for relieving a tremendous burden of stress I was experiencing. They were at all times courteous. patient, and understanding. My case is in the final phase, and I can't begin to express my profound appreciation to them.
Helpful Critical Review
Aballplayer2019
April 18th, 2022
Tolleson, AZ
I had Optima up to a couple of days they stop helping because I wouldn’t give them my current girlfriends pay stubs remind you only time they can ask for that optima or IRS is if your married to the person so they cancel the help which wasn’t much . Communication with anyone is horrible as well as the the portal. Waste of time and money wouldn’t recommend it.
Reviews for Tax Defense Network
Helpful Favorable Review
Edward Crawford
April 19th, 2022
Spring Lake, NC
Ms Jane ,was awesome she was straight to the point with me I was slacking on my responsibility I then got my info right she explained to me clearly my responsibility I was worried beyond words she assured me I was good if I did my part I say thank you again tax defense Ms Jane a very happy customer Edward
Helpful Critical Review
Garry LaCombe
March 22nd, 2022
Ashland, VA
DETAILS
Verified Customer
Review Source
The communication is horrible. They do not explain to you the process a since more than likely this is the first time going thru this but they assume you know I suppose. Messages don't get returned and I ended up feeling like I had been taken by a scam. Once I finally got ahold of a supervisor he was very good about explaining the entire process to me and what to expect. I just wish that had happened in the beginning.
The Final Word
Company Experience and Expertise (Winner: Tax Defense Network)
Tax Defense Network has been in business about three years longer than Optima Tax Relief. Both companies employ tax professionals including attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents.
Tax Defense Network also holds four industry accreditations (AICPA, NATP, ASTPS, and NAEA), whereas Optima currently holds an NAEA accreditation but not the others held by TDN. Optima is an approved IRS CE Provider, however, which is another form of accreditation we don’t see at TDN.
Ultimately, time in business doesn’t always mean more expertise, and you can feel confident that both of these companies know what they are doing when it comes to handling IRS issues, negotiating tax debt, and resolving other tax scenarios.
User Experience (Winner: Optima Tax Relief)
User experience is a broad category that includes ease of use of the company’s website, quality of the company’s services, likelihood of customers to recommend, etc.
Both Optima and TDN have easy-to-use websites where you can quickly find information related to tax relief or get in contact with the company about your specific situation.
Optima, however, scores better among its customer reviews for some other user experience categories. On a scale out of 10, Optima averages an 8.4 for likelihood that people will recommend it to others, whereas TDN averages a 7.0. Optima also averages 4.3 out of 5 stars for quality of services, whereas TDN averages 3.8 out of 5 stars.
For these reasons, Optima wins in the user experience category.
State Availability (Winner: Optima Tax Relief)
Optima Tax Relief offers services and holds IRS Power of Attorney in all 50 states. TDN has physical locations in over 30 states; however, we can't find any information about the other states that don't have physical TDN locations, and a quick search for services in Montana, for example, yielded no results.
Thus, it appears that Optima is available to you no matter where you live in the United States, whereas you would need to verify on TDN’s website that the state in which you live is covered by its services.
Cost (Winner: Tie)
Cost among tax relief companies is difficult to compare. Many are not transparent about pricing on their websites because cost varies so much from one tax case to the next. Usually, the best way to compare pricing among tax relief companies is to schedule a free consultation with each company you are considering and see what your quote is after the company analyzes your tax situation.
That being said, Optima seems to charge between $2,000 to $5,000 to resolve IRS tax debt, which is about 5 to 15 percent of your tax debt. Tax Defense Network charges between $2,500 and $3,000 on average for its tax relief services.
Since these prices are comparable and since there is so much nuance in tax relief pricing, the two companies tie in this category.
Minimum Debt Requirement (Winner: Tax Defense Network)
Tax Defense Network has a lower minimum debt requirement ($5,000) than Optima Tax Relief ($10,000). This means that for smaller amounts of tax debt, TDN is the better option as it is more likely to accept your case even if you owe less than $10,000 in tax debt to the IRS.
Tax Defense Network or Optima Tax Relief: Which Is Better?
These two companies are neck and neck when compared to one another. Both Optima and Tax Defense Network are highly rated and well liked by their clients. They both employ an impressive team of tax professionals and have resolved millions of dollars of tax debt to date.
If you’re not sure about state availability, Optima might be the easiest option, since it is available in all 50 states. However, if you already know TDN offers services in your state, then it is a great option as well.
If overall star rating matters to you, Optima’s rating is higher. It boasts a 4.4 out of 5 rating with over 1,500 reviews. Tax Defense Network is right around a 4 out of 5 rating, but has almost double the amount of reviews, with over 2,700. Optima also ranks higher in each of the subcategories ranked by consumers: value for money, quality of services, company trustworthiness, and likelihood to recommend.
In the end, we feel confident recommending you schedule a free consultation with either (or both) of these companies before making your ultimate decision.
