Tax Hardship Center Logo

Tax Hardship Center

star star star star star

7.0

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: March 19th, 2024

Tax Hardship Center is a newer IRS tax relief company that specializes in preventing enforced collection activity from the IRS. The company hires tax experts who offer excellent service and focus on the taxpayer’s difficult financial circumstances and overall well-being. Tax Hardship Center was founded in 2012 and is located in Westlake Village, California.

Top Ranked Companies

thumb_up

The Good

  • Variety of Tax Solutions
  • Industry Accreditations
  • Focus on Compassionate Tax Help

Variety of Tax Solutions

Tax Hardship Center may have an unspecified number of tax experts at its disposal, but the breadth of tax solutions available at the company suggest that its experts are highly qualified and highly trained.

This expertise is necessary in the tax relief industry because every taxpayer and customer has a different tax situation with unique challenges. Some tax solutions are better suited to certain situations than others, and the tax experts at Tax Hardship Center will likely be able to help customers fight against tax penalties from the IRS.

For example, customers may simply have personal tax debt they need resolved, or they might have more complicated tax issues, like business tax debt, IRS penalties, paycheck garnishment (wage garnishment), unfiled taxes, payroll taxes, tax audits, and bank levies.

For such serious and complicated tax problems, Tax Hardship Center can provide the following services in its tax relief program:

  • Offer in Compromise
  • IRS Bank Levy
  • Currently Not Collectible Status
  • Tax Preparation
  • IRS Installment Agreement
  • Penalty Abatement
  • Federal Tax Lien Release
  • Wage Garnishment Release 

Whether you run your own business or are simply trying to stay afloat personally, the IRS can and will try to collect unpaid taxes.

The IRS's Offer in Compromise program allows taxpayers to settle their debt for less than they owe. Another possible solution for people who owe back taxes is an installment agreement. Installment agreements create a payment plan that allows the taxpayer to pay their tax debt in full over time through a regular installment payment.

Help from a company like Tax Hardship Center can prevent taxpayers from experiencing penalties, like wage garnishments, liens, and levies. Ending penalties is harder than setting up an installment agreement or negotiating a settlement. However, depending on your financial situation, penalty abatement is possible. If you already have penalties and can demonstrate financial hardship, a tax professional can help you get penalty abatement, which can make it so you have more money in your budget for your daily expenses.

Industry Accreditations

Tax Hardship Center is accredited by most major U.S. accreditation organizations, including the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers (ASTPS), the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA), the California Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA), and the National Directory of Tax Professionals.

The company is also an authorized IRS e-file provider and is licensed by the IRS as Power of Attorney for all 50 states.

Accreditations are common in the tax relief industry, but that does not mean they aren’t vital to the customer. Without them, the customer has no sure way of knowing whether any given tax relief company truly has expertise in the field. Accreditation organizations provide a third-party verification of a company’s expertise in the field.      

Focus on Compassionate Tax Help

Tax Hardship Center pushes its employees to listen to customers who are already under a heavy burden and are seeking both financial and emotional relief.

The company states that it understands that tax debt does not have compassion for those it affects; the company promises to stay by the customers’ side to offer support and service throughout the entire process.

thumb_down

The Bad

  • Little Information on Tax Experts

Little Information on Tax Experts

The company’s LinkedIn profile suggests that Tax Hardship Center has 2-10 employees, but there is no information on the company’s website about what type of experts it employs (whether they are tax attorneys, CPAs, or enrolled agents).

Similarly, customers are unable to examine the extent of Tax Hardship Center’s experience in IRS debt relief and tax relief services. However, one can infer a small amount of insight into the company’s experience by noting that Tax Hardship Center has been in business since 2012 and advertises savings in one case of $69,751 with only $100 paid in the end.

Additionally, the company’s website has no information regarding pricing.

gavel

The Bottom Line

Tax Hardship Center appears to be a compassion-focused tax relief company with a proven track record of success. The company can provide virtually any needed tax relief service for any situation, including if you have received penalties or owe back taxes. Additionally, Tax Hardship Center has accreditations through all major tax relief accreditation organizations.

Unfortunately, the company does not provide an abundance of information on its website — we could find no information on the quantity, quality, or type of tax experts the company employs. Additionally, the company could be much more upfront regarding pricing, fees, and minimum debt requirements.

We recommend customers take advantage of the company’s free consultation to discuss pricing and compare that price to the other top tax relief companies in the industry.

View Best Tax Relief Companies

Was this content helpful?
thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

Star Rating

info

4.8

star star star star star

100 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

92%

4 grade

2%

3 grade

0%

2 grade

0%

1 grade

6%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star star star_half

Quality

star star star star star

Service

star star star star star

Trustworthiness

star star star star star
cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down
info
star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Floyd Cuccia, Jr

I posted a negative review because Tax Hardship Center dropped the ball on my case and I was waiting for over a year to get a resolution to my case. Ari A. called me the same day and within two days my case was pushed through to the IRS. Thank you Ari

1 week ago Edited March 26, 2024

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Betty Cragin Sellersville, PA

If I could, I would give Tax Hardship Center ZERO stars. You deal with multiple people, and even talk to people who end up leaving the company, you give them thousands of dollars for a service that they can’t guarantee, you wait months on end to get an answer from the IRS which ends in the IRS stating no approval for your OIC-offer in compromise thanks to poor communication from Tax Hardship Center with their clientele. Oh yea-The communication is constant during the time the company is taking your money but once paid in full, there’s no reply from the tax accountants that you need a reply from. The worse communication I’ve experienced in my life. If you are thinking about proceeding with an OIC then utilize a well known company that’s been around for 40 years or more and has a very good reputation! Do your research or you will be disappointed in the end and lose thousands of dollars trying and failing in an OIC PROCESS with Tax Hardship Center! Ugh. Stay away from this company!!!! Bad news all around.

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Jerry Chang Downingtown, PA

paid $495 and wasted 3 weeks to get nothing and no response back at all finally! Tax hardship center is totally useless and helpless. No one dared to tell me the result. Do not waste your time and money on this company! I owed $35,000 and then paid to IRS to prevent from the interest accrued, that was revealed in the IRS notice to avoid the interest to increase and claim a refund later. Then I hired the Tax hardship center to help me claim a refund in only 3 weeks to the deadline of appeal. At first, they explained they will do review transcripts, financial analysis, and so on for charging $495. However, I only got transcripts reviewed, no financial analysis and anything else. I was told the transcripts reviewed will only take one week. But it totally took over two weeks because they said the IRS was behind to give them transcripts! During these two weeks, I called to ask the status and only got responses for the first twice. And then, never got a response back even I left several voice messages to N***, and called the customer service many times. They always said the only one man who can respond to me is N*** and he will get back to me soon. Ends up with no response until the first day of the third week, he was so arrogant and said it was a huge error in the 2017 transcript after reviewing , so that IRS refunded my check and go enjoy my life. I was so happy and say thanks to him. However, after I got a check with only $34.88 which was just my overpayment! I just realized this guy totally misunderstood the result and got lost in my case. I called N*** right away and left voice messages and still no response as always! Then I called the customer service and my call was transferred to another investigation analyst I**. He challenged me two questions: Why I hired them after paying the penalty? Why do I think I was qualified for the penalty abatement? So rude and non-sense questions! I paid the penalty first because I want to stop the interest increased and want to claim a refund! I don’t know if I qualified the penalty abatement that’s why I hired them to help me resolve my case! I still do not get the N***’s response and the explanation even passed the deadline of the appeal. I just wanted him to respond if I can appeal by myself or he will continue working on my behalf. Now, I believe he and this company completely can’t deal with my case and didn’t dare to explain to me yet. Fortunately, I only wasted $495 rather than a couple of thousands more to this company. And they only reviewed transcripts without completing financial analysis and others! Anyway, don’t give Tax hardship center any chance. They are not able to deal with your case and do not have capacity to deal with few cases. You will get nothing end up with regretting!

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Anonymous Antelope, CA

This place is a joke ! They constantly were asking for more and more money after paying them $2,200 they couldn’t even give me an amount that I owed with the IRS they said any where between $23,00-$50,00 ! Excuse me but I was paying them money to find out my exact amount owed. Then after the most unprofessional phone was was asked to make monthly payments to the IRS of $1,300 a month !!! What kind of settlement payment arrangement is that ? But it gets better they then asked me for more money stated that for asking for a reduction from the federal side I need to pay them $1,500 and for state $700.00. I can’t get over how horrible this place is and large lack of compassion and communication there is with this place save your time and money and go else where

4 years ago

Tax Hardship Center Logo

Reply from Tax Hardship Center

Dear Anonymous,
We were able to locate your file based on the above description. The Director of Resolution reviewed this case and deemed all efforts to help resolve your tax matter as appropriate. The case routing slip provided that the case began with Phase I investigation ($495.00). The investigation provided that numerous tax returns were required to be filed, our fee for tax preparation totaled $1,600.00. IRS guidelines provide that taxpayers must have all required tax returns filed in order to enter a resolution. The tax returns were prepared timely and submitted accordingly. An official resolution is pending with the Internal Revenue Service and State taxing authorities.

We encourage you to seek consultations and explore fees from other tax resolution firms. Our Director of Resolution has contacted you and left return contact information to discuss and help resolve this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience, we look forward to hearing from you.

Jul. 25th, 2019

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Michelle Leflore Englewood, CO

Do you give your money to Tax Hardship; they mislead clients by not providing all the information regarding your tax debt. They also promise to resolve your tax debt for little or nothing and it is a lie.

4 years ago

Tax Hardship Center Logo

Reply from Tax Hardship Center

Michelle, thank you for choosing Tax Hardship Center to help resolve your tax matters. For your privacy, we will not disclose case details. Please note, when a client retains our services, we mention that changes in circumstances may affect the outcome of a case. The Resolution Department attempted to provide alternative solutions to this case which were declined, in turn, the case has been closed.

Mar. 26th, 2020

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Lashaundra Smith Minneapolis, MN

The representative...did not assist me...in stead he asked for personal sensitive information over the phone such as....ss# and bank card information. He did not give me the help I need Lashaundra Smith

5 years ago

Tax Hardship Center Logo

Reply from Tax Hardship Center

LaShaundra,

A member of management will be informed of your experience. A representative will reach out to you shortly to issue an apology and gather more feedback.

Tax Hardship Center Customer Support

Mar. 5th, 2019