Optima Tax Relief vs Tax Defense Network
Optima Tax Relief and Tax Defense Network (TDN) are two of the biggest names out there when it comes to tax relief. Both companies have established reputations for success in negotiating with the IRS and employ a competent team of tax professionals to handle a wide variety of tax situations.
If you are trying to decide between these two companies, the top choice might not be obvious. Both companies have pros and cons outlined below. We also break down which company wins in terms of expertise, user experience, state availability, cost, and minimum debt requirement.
Ultimately, you can’t go wrong choosing either of these companies. Consider scheduling a free consultation with both before making a decision, if both are available in your state.
Read on for more data on Optima Tax Relief and Tax Defense Network to help you decide which of these two top contenders might be the better fit for you.
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Overview
Optima Tax Relief
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Free Consultation, IRS Tax Relief, State Tax Relief, Tax Settlement Negotiation, Individual Tax Preparation
IRS CE Provider, NAEA
12 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
15 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
Review Source
Mary Kate F Simpsonville, SC
Optima Tax Relief delivered on everything I expected out of a tax relief company. While Optima is a big name and industry, they value each and every one of their customers, taking the time to work on your case. They also offer competitive prices, with an initial consultation at $295. Finally, they have a variety of resources to help you navigate through tax relief, including an easy to access online portal. Overall impressed with Optima!
6 days ago
Helpful Critical Review
Torrie Warren Norman, OK
So far I am not seeing the light at the end. They effectively put us on an IRS payment plan, which we could have done. That payment plan is taking a lot of money out of our account. We have been doing this for almost 2 years and honestly we could have taken the fee and applied it to the actual IRS balance and knocked it down. I feel like we will end of just paying it off in time since it is literally taking forever.
5 days ago
Reviews for Tax Defense Network
Helpful Favorable Review
Cyndi Yost Mocksville, NC
If it wasn't for John J I really would not have known what to do. This was the first time in my life I had to ever deal with the IRS and owing money. It took over my whole life. Thanks to John for being so compassionate and professional. He is an expert and helped me smile again
6 months ago
Helpful Critical Review
Review Source
Barbara Fallmer Des Plaines, IL
Unfortunately, my tax problems have been going on since August of last year and I've sent them $1,500.00 for 2 tax returns and another $1,800.00 for tax resolution with the IRS and we're going no where fast. The people are pleasant to deal with but there's always another piece of paper they need and then it's another form they need - it just goes on and on and nothing gets finalized or finished. I never dreamed this was going to go on this long.
1 week ago
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.
