Optima Tax Relief vs Community Tax
Both Optima Tax and Community Tax offer good tax relief and preparation services. Both companies employ lawyers and enrolled agents. Choosing between Optima Tax and Community Tax comes down to how high your tax debt is and the kind of preventive services that are best for your situation.
Optima Tax Relief requires a minimum of $10,000 in tax debt, while Community Tax only requires $3,000. Community Tax offers monitoring plans for individuals and businesses. Optima Tax’s plans are designed for individuals with different tax needs — W-2 earners and self-employed individuals.
Overview
Optima Tax Relief
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Free Consultation, IRS Tax Relief, State Tax Relief, Tax Settlement Negotiation, Individual Tax Preparation
IRS CE Provider, NAEA
13 Years
Community Tax
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Free Consultation, IRS Tax Relief, State Tax Relief, Individual Tax Preparation
IRS CE Provider
13 Years
Ratings
Optima Tax Relief
Community Tax
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
Community Tax
PROS
- Low minimum debt requirement
- Transparent pricing
- Offers educational resources
- Available in all 50 states
CONS
- Less than 15 years old
Reviews
Optima Tax Relief
Reviews
Community Tax
Reviews for Optima Tax Relief
Helpful Favorable Review
jose moore
October 17th, 2023
Dallas, TX
DETAILS
Verified Customer
Review Source
I am still in process with Optima. So far my experience has been good. But that could change based on the result of my resolution. Their services are pretty expensive and so far it’s been great. One of the biggest components of a good experience is the result of that comes from it. My results are still to be determined. So I can’t give 5 stars just yet. Please take my review as to be determined.
Helpful Critical Review
Durron Sullivan
October 11th, 2023
CA
DETAILS
Verified Customer
Review Source
After paying Optima Tax relief to help mitigate my tax debt to the IRS I was under the impression that Optima Tax Relief could assist in my taxdebt. I am not too pleased with Optima Tax Reliefs performance as it seems as though they have just dropped the ball due to their poor and unprofessional performance in assisting me even though I paid for a service that I did not receive
Reviews for Community Tax
Helpful Favorable Review
Donald H
April 14th, 2023
Austin, TX
DETAILS
Review Source
After considerable due diligence I selected Community Tax to help reach a resolution with the IRS in a relatively large matter. They reached a completely satisfactory agreement. We have been very satisfied with their level of service, their expertise, and their communication. They kept in touch and reported back to us regularly without prompting. The matter is now resolved. Our thanks to Demetria W and the others on our assigned team. It is such a pleasure these days to deal with people who do what they say they will do. Highest possible rating.
Helpful Critical Review
Mahmud Smith
September 19th, 2023
DETAILS
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! TIRED TO SCAM ME!!! They called me repeatedly trying to get me to pay them $20,000.00 once they checked to see how much money I made claiming/lying that I owed the IRS money cause I had not filed in a few years. A COMPLETE LIE! After I contacted the IRS myself, and double-called confirmed, I owed the IRS zero dollars!!! Stay away!!
The Final Word
Company Experience and Expertise (Winner: Tie)
Community Tax and Optima Tax Relief have been in business about the same amount of time. CTAX was founded in 2010 and Optima was founded in 2011. Both of these companies have a decade of experience in the tax relief industry and employ hundreds of professionals to help clients across the country find relief from their tax debt.
When it comes to experience and expertise, we feel comfortable recommending either Community Tax or Optima Tax Relief as a reliable option for you.
User Experience (Winner: Community Tax)
User experience includes things such as website ease of use, quality of service, and likelihood of customers to recommend the company’s services. While we find Optima’s website to be more user-friendly overall, Community Tax wins this category due to its higher scores in both categories: quality of service and likelihood to recommend.
State Availability (Winner: Tie)
As two very established tax relief companies, both Optima and CTAX offer services in all 50 states and hold the necessary certifications to do so. This is always something we like to see in a company, because it shows that the company is aware of how laws and regulations differ by state, and still holds IRS power of attorney across the country.
Cost (Winner: Optima Tax Relief)
Cost is a difficult thing to compare in the tax relief industry because pricing is typically quote based and depends on how much debt you enroll in the company’s program. However, general estimates put Optima at a lower price point than Community Tax for comparable services.
We still recommend getting a quote from both companies, as your individual financial situation might lead to one company offering you a better deal than the other.
Minimum Debt Requirement (Winner: Community Tax)
Community Tax requires only $3,000 in tax debt for you to be eligible for its services. Optima Tax, on the other hand, requires at least $10,000 in tax debt to be eligible to work with the company.
Community Tax clearly wins this category. It has one of the lowest minimum debt requirements we’ve seen in the industry, thus making its services more widely available to those with even small amounts of tax debt.
Optima Tax Relief or Community Tax: Which Is Better?
Overall, we are slightly more impressed with Community Tax due to its positive user experience and low minimum debt requirement. However, both Optima Tax Relief and Community Tax offer quality tax relief services, tax preparation, and tax monitoring to prevent issues.
Both companies also hire qualified tax experts, including enrolled agents and lawyers. The biggest difference between Optima Tax Relief and Community Tax are their preventive services and minimum debt requirements.
Optima Tax Relief only accepts clients with at least $10,000 of tax debt. Community Tax has a much lower threshold — $3,000. If you have less than $10,000 in tax debt, Optima Tax Relief is not an option for you.
Both Community Tax and Optima Tax Relief offer three plans for preventive tax monitoring. Community Tax’s base plan is free. It includes tax monitoring, quarterly reports, access to discount codes, and comes with the TaxPal mobile app.
While it’s nice to have access to preventive monitoring for free, Optima Tax Relief’s base plan offers more services, like tax preparation software and identity theft monitoring. If you’re interested in those services, it may be worth it to choose Optima Tax Relief over Community Tax.
Optima Tax Relief also offers two additional protection plans. One is designed for self-employed people and the other for W-2 earners. Community Tax also has two additional plans: one is designed for business owners and the other is designed for individuals. The kind of protection plan you need will affect which company is best for you.
