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Anthem Tax Services Review

Whether you need help preparing your tax returns, negotiating a tax liability or getting relief from cumbersome wage garnishment, levy, or lien, Anthem Tax Services can help. The firm isn’t the largest player in the debt relief space, but it has a proven track record and an unparalleled money-back guarantee.

Anthem Tax Services
Anthem Tax Services
3.8
Extensive geographic footprint
Available nationwide
Free tax relief consultation
Free tax relief consultation
Low minimum debt requirement
Minimum tax debt of $10,000
Money back guarantee
Moneyback guarantee
Thomas Brock
Written by:Thomas Brock
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Reviewed by: Jen Hubley Luckwaldt, Content Writer and Editor

Taxpayers who owe at least $10,000 and want the security of an unlimited money-back guarantee should consider Anthem Tax Services. The firm operates in all 50 states, has accreditations from industry-leading associations, and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. 

Editor’s Note:

Fundamentally, tax relief companies negotiate with the IRS and other taxing authorities on your behalf – for a fee. Reputable companies can help you achieve economical outcomes in a transparent manner. Unfortunately, the tax relief industry has its share of bad players. As a result, it’s critical to be comfortable with a tax relief firm and its services before proceeding with an engagement.

This guide can help you understand the services and solutions, cost and fees, customer experience, trustworthiness and stability and user reviews associated with Anthem Tax Services.

Summarized Rating

Services and Solutions3.7
Costs and Fees5
Customer Experience2
Trustworthiness and Stability4.5
User Reviews3.7

This parameter considers service offering breadth, geographic reach, and minimum debt level requirements. Each of these features was evaluated using the five-point scoring system. Then, the various scores were aggregated and averaged to establish an overall services and solutions score. 

Anthem gets a slightly below average 3.7 for Services and Solutions. This reflects its fairly standard service offering, extensive geographic footprint, and standard minimum debt requirement.

What Are Anthem Tax Services?

Anthem Tax Services was founded in 2010 by a team of licensed professionals with in-depth experience in tax preparation (for individuals and corporations), tax debt relief, and tax law. The firm is based in California, but it maintains a national footprint and a flexible, customer-focused stance. Like other top tax relief companies, Anthem Tax Services is accredited by industry-leading organizations. 

Anthem Tax Services Pros and Cons

Anthem Tax Services Pros
Anthem offers potential clients a 100% free consultation.
The firm has an expansive geographic footprint.
Anthem offers a best-in-class money-back guarantee.
The firm has been in operation since 2010.
Anthem maintains memberships in at least two industry-leading associations.
Anthem Tax Services Cons
The firm has relatively weak customer service and a very limited website.

Services Offered by Anthem Tax Services

Anthem Tax Services strives to embody the following five principles: trust, service, honesty, integrity, and education. In doing so, it aims to save you as much money as possible, while getting the IRS and other tax authorities out of your life. Key services are as follows:

  • Filing extensions and appeals
  • Assisting with tax audits
  • Stopping wage garnishments, levies, and liens
  • Securing innocent spouse, disaster, and pandemic relief
  • Establishing installment plans
  • Reducing tax debts, penalties and interest

Anthem also offers comprehensive tax preparation services to its clients, both individualsand corporations.

Anthem Tax Services Features

Anthem Tax Services maintains a fairly standard offering of solutions and minimum debt requirement. No unrealistic or misleading marketing information appears on its site, which is good. A very broad geographic reach gives a boost to its score. Details are summarized below.

Extent of Geographic Presence

Anthem Tax Services has a nationwide footprint

Minimum Debt Requirement

The minimum debt requirement is $10,000, which is fairly standard for the industry

Average Time for Relief

Information is not available

Average Relief Amount

Information is not available

Note:

Any tax relief company that accentuates “average time for relief” and/or “average relief amount” on its website warrants skepticism. Averages do not provide a meaningful indication of what you can expect, given the highly personalized nature of tax relief. Moreover, a tax relief firm cannot influence these metrics, beyond legal allowances. Exaggerated claims are misleading, at best, and illegal, at worst.

Anthem Tax Services Application Process

Anthem Tax Services doesn’t clearly specify its process, but it is similar to other tax relief companies. Essentially, it entails the following steps:

  1. Consultation: Participate in a free consultation, where you’ll discuss your situation with a tax professional to determine what type of assistance Anthem can provide.
  2. Proposal Evaluation: Assess the formal proposal created by Anthem, inclusive of their estimated service charges.
  3. Client Decision: Reject the proposal, ending the process, or accept it and begin the engagement. In some cases, revisions to the proposal may be warranted.
  4. Submit Documentation: Submit your financial information, tax documents, and all pertinent correspondence to your assigned specialist
  5. Resolution: Anthem will contact pertinent taxing authorities and negotiate on your behalf. Along the way, they will keep you informed of all progress. Your case will not be closed until your situation has been resolved as favorably as possible.

Anthem Tax Services Costs and Fees

Anthem does not offer any information regarding its baseline fee structure and the potential for other charges. This is disappointing, but the firm makes up for it with a virtually unlimited money-back guarantee. This affords its customers a high degree of flexibility. This, coupled with a 100% free consultation, affords its customers a high degree of flexibility to assess the talent of the firm.

Fee Structure

Information is not available

Other Charges

Information is not available

Money-back Guarantee/Refund Policies

Anthem offers a best-in-class, virtually, unlimited money-back guarantee

Anthem Tax Services Customer Experience

Anthem Tax Services is relatively weak when it comes to customer experience. Here’s the rationale for this assessment: 

  • The information on Anthem’s website is very limited, making it difficult for potential customers to understand its services, process, and fees.
  • The firm does not offer expanded call center support, which diminishes accessibility.
  • On the plus side, Anthem does offer multi-channel support. In addition to the telephone, Anthem actively communicates with new and potential clients via email and social media platforms.
  • A second advantage relates to supplemental information and tools. Anthem offers a variety of informative tax articles and FAQs.
  • Anthem does not offer any mobile technology. While this isn’t unusual in the tax relief space, firms that boast mobile technology have a definite edge.

Anthem Tax Services Trustworthiness and Stability

Anthem Tax Services boasts a top-tier score on the trustworthiness and stability front. This is largely attributable to its long business history and active participation in two industry-leading associations. Quantitative information regarding Anthem’s hands-on experience is not available. Nevertheless, there is no question regarding this firm’s reliability. Key attributes are summarized below.

Years in Business

Established in 2010, Anthem is approaching its 12th anniversary, which is far above average

Customers Serviced Inception-to-date

Information is not available

Tax Debt Managed Inception-to-date

Information is not available

Memberships in Industry-leading Associations

Anthem is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) and the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP)

Anthem Tax Services User Reviews

Based on reviews from Trustpilot (over 80), Best Company (over 250) and ConsumerAffairs (over 230), users have mixed feelings about Anthem Tax Services (aggregate rating of 3.6 out of 5.0). Trustpilot’s 2.6 rating is the lowest for this firm, with users offering widely varying accounts of the company’s customer service. Anthem fared better with ConsumerAffairs (3.9) but reviewers again offered mixed reports of their interactions with the customer service team. Best Company offered the highest rating (4.3) for Anthem Tax Services, with most users reporting positive experiences. 

On the plus side are many comments on these review sites praising the firm’s knowledgeable, professional, and highly organized team. On the negative side are some comments claiming exorbitantly priced services and a lack of results. A sampling of recent comments is provided below.

Sherri

5.0 ConsumerAffairs Rating in July 2022

Dealing with tax issues is frustrating. I felt like I was caught in a revolving door trying to negotiate with the IRS. Calling Anthem and having Barrie ** assigned to my case made my life much easier. Anthem does not eliminate your tax debt, because if owed, a debt should be paid. However, Barrie worked out a plan for us and when IRS made a mistake and wanted to penalize us, Barrie fought for us. It’s sad that we have to hire a private company to deal with a public government agency, but at times we do. The Best thing about Barrie ** is that he actually cares about his clients. Thank you, Anthem, for employing Barrie. He is a great representative for your company!

Karen

3.0 Best Company Rating in January 2021 

My initial interaction was horrible Michael G. use fear and lies to convince me to sign up and he made promises to me that were totally Dishonest. The 2nd person I dealt with NEVER returned calls or emails. The final person I dealt with was great...he resolved my issue, was responsive honest and efficient. That said, I spent over a year and over 7K dealing with others who lacked integrity, honesty & professionalism.

Julia Tallman

1.0 Trustpilot Rating in January 2022

Complete crooks. Save your money and negotiate for yourself. I paid 6k and nothing was ever done. Won’t give a refund and won’t work on my case unless I pay more fees.

Anthem Tax Services Compared to Other Companies

A quick comparison of Anthem Tax Services and the two highest-rated tax relief companies in the market, Optima Tax Relief and Precision Tax Relief, is provided below. As illustrated, Anthem holds its own across a handful of key parameters.


Anthem Tax Services

Optima Tax Relief

Precision Tax Relief 

Extent of Geographic Presence

Anthem services clients nationwide

Optima services clients nationwide

Precision has a broad geographic reach, but it’s unclear whether it services the entire U.S.

Minimum Debt Requirement

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

Fee Structure

Information is not available

Optima quotes a contingent flat fee; it’s reasonable and highly competitive

Precision quotes an all-inclusive flat fee; it’s the most transparent approach in the market

Money-back Guarantee/Refund Policies

Anthem offers a best-in-class, virtually, unlimited money-back guarantee

Optima offers a stellar 15-day money-back guarantee

Precision offers a top-tier 30-day money-back guarantee

Final Thoughts

All things considered, Anthem Tax Services is a solid option for anyone looking for assistance in resolving a complex tax collection issue. The firm has a nationwide footprint, offers a best-in-class money-back guarantee and is actively involved in two industry-leading associations. Its website doesn’t do a great job of articulating its process, but user reviews indicate the firm is knowledgeable, professional, and highly organized. If you need tax relief, contact Anthem Tax Services for a free consultation.

Thomas Brock

Written by: Thomas Brock

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Accounting, Corporate Finance, Debt, Economics, Financial Planning, General Business, Insurance, Life Insurance

More about me
Jen Hubley Luckwaldt

Reviewed by: Jen Hubley Luckwaldt

Content Writer and Editor

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt is an editor, writer, and content strategist with a focus on personal finance, careers, and DEI. A small business owner for over a decade, Jen helps publications and brands create and optimize B2B and B2C content.

More about me