Community Tax Review 2023: Pros, Cons and How It Compares
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If you need tax relief, you can work directly with the IRS (more about that at the bottom of this review). But if you want professional help, you can work with a tax-relief company such as Community Tax.
Community Tax offers help with getting on a payment plan with the IRS, settling tax bills for less than what's owed, and putting IRS collections on temporary hold. The company also offers tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting services.
Our take
The bottom line Community Tax covers a wide range of issues, but it won't be cheap.
Investigation fees | Resolution fees |
|---|---|
| $3,000 to $5,000 (depending on case specifics). |
Pros & Cons
Pros
Free initial consultation with no time limits.
A more flexible refund policy compared with other providers.
Cons
Resolution fees can run on the high end versus competitors.
Limited support for state tax-relief issues.
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Full review
Community Tax provides a variety of tax-relief services that can help people manage their back taxes.
Investigation, or discovery, work — where the company rounds up details to assess the scope of your tax issue — runs $295 for individuals. If you’re seeking tax relief for your business, investigation work will cost $795.
Resolution work — where the company works toward actually resolving your tax issue — costs much more and depends on the particular tax issue. Total resolution fees, which can cover relief measures such as setting up an installment agreement, applying for an offer in compromise or seeking currently-not-collectible status with the IRS, run from $3,000 to $5,000 on average.
Clients are assigned a case advocate to be their primary day-to-day contact, as well as a licensed practitioner — either an enrolled agent or attorney — who will actually represent them before the IRS.
Community Tax doesn’t offer assistance for federal tax relief issues if you live in North Dakota or Minnesota. If you’re looking for help with state tax relief issues, the provider only supports cases in New York or California.
Community Tax is best for:
People who don’t mind working remotely.
Taxpayers whose tax issues (and potential tax savings) outweigh the bill.
Clients who are sensitive about refund policies.
Community Tax at a glance
Free consultation? | Yes. |
Investigation fees |
|
Average resolution fees* (low end) | $3,000-$5,000 (depending on case specifics). |
Average resolution fees* (high end) | $3,000-$5,000 (depending on case specifics). |
Refundability of fees if IRS denies requests | 14-day money-back guarantee. If the firm cannot provide tax debt reduction services once the investigation phase is complete, investigation fees are refunded. |
Contact options | Phone, email, or mail. |
Dedicated case manager? | Yes, but not necessarily a licensed practitioner. Resolution work is conducted by an EA, CPA, or attorney. |
*Fees depend on individual tax circumstances and the relief action being pursued (e.g., offer in compromise, installment agreement, currently-not-collectible status). | |
Community Tax features to know
Fees: The company says it offers a free consultation, which can help you decide whether it is for you, and there’s no time limit or resolution topic limit. After that, you’ll pay for the company to diagnose the size and nature of your tax issue, and then more for the company to try to resolve the issue.
Who does the work: Community Tax assigns you a case advocate who acts as a customer service rep on your behalf. Every case has a licensed practitioner as well as a tax preparer, if needed. The company says only employees with a law license or enrolled agent (EA) designation will negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. You can also contact the company by phone, email or mail.
Refunds: Given that most people can get on a payment plan with the IRS (also called an installment agreement), it’s unlikely that this or any other tax-relief company will say there’s nothing they can do for you. But Community Tax gives clients a 14-day money-back guarantee, and it also says that if it's unable to offer the taxpayer client any tax debt reduction services once the discovery phase is complete, it will offer a refund for the investigation fees paid.
Do tax-relief companies really work? Things to know
Before you decide to hire a tax-relief company, here are a few things to know.
The basics
Working with a tax-relief company generally entails two steps:
Investigation, or discovery, work, which involves giving the company legal access to your tax records and information in order to learn how much you owe and understand what the problem is. Tax-relief companies typically charge a fee for this.
Resolution work, which involves the tax-relief company working with the IRS on your behalf to get you on an installment plan, apply for an offer in compromise to pay less than you owe, apply for currently-not-collectible status or figure something else out. Tax-relief companies typically charge a fee for this, too.
You’re not required to hire anybody
If you want to hire a tax-relief company because you don’t have the time or energy to deal with a tax issue, that’s fine. But be aware that it’s not required. There are many things you can handle directly with the IRS to get back on track without having to pay a third party. Some of those things include:
You’re still responsible
Three things here:
Your tax bill doesn’t become the tax-relief company’s tax bill. The IRS will still look to you for answers (and money), even if the tax-relief company loses your paperwork, misses a deadline or messes something up.
The tax-relief company can ask the IRS for a break on your behalf, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get one. The IRS denies more than half of all applications for an offer in compromise, for example. You may still have to pay the tax-relief company (on top of your tax bill), even if the IRS denies the request or gives you just a tiny break.
Take a minute and do some math. Compare the amount you’re hoping to save with the amount you may need to pay the tax-relief company. For example, if you end up paying a tax-relief company $2,000 to reduce your IRS bill by $2,000, you haven’t saved any money.
Is Community Tax right for you?
Community Tax covers all of the bases, including help with business tax-relief issues, but it isn’t the cheapest of the lot. If you’re looking for state tax relief support, but don’t live in either New York or California, you may be left wanting for more.
