It is smart to compare a few companies before making any decisions. I found that just listening to how they explained things told me a lot. Some rushed through everything while others slowed down and made sure i understood. The second type always felt more professional.

The best advice I can give is do not rush. These companies thrive on people being panicked about back taxes. Take time to compare read reviews and maybe even get a free consultation with more than one before deciding.

They did help reduce the penalties on my account which saved me some money. The fees were high but i was okay with the tradeoff.

If you r overwhelmed by IRS letters sometimes the peace of mind from a bigger company’s structured process can be worth it. I personally liked knowing they had done this thousands of times.

My cousin used them and had mixed feelings. The company did manage to stop interest from piling up but the upfront fee was almost $3,000. That’s a lot when you’re already broke.

I had a bad experience. They promised to get me a big reduction but in the end i still owed most of the balance. The only thing i got out of it was time and less stress dealing with the IRS directly.

I hired them because i was nervous about dealing with the IRS myself. They managed to negotiate a reasonable payment plan for me. It wasn’t a huge reduction but it helped me breathe easier. The peace of mind was probably the best part of the whole thing.

I did end up hiring Optima. They filed some old returns and communicated with the IRS on my behalf which was helpful. But the total cost was around $6k. For the peace of mind it gave me it was worth it but not cheap.