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Tax Hardship Center Review

Tax Hardship Center stands apart from other tax relief companies with its professional team of enrolled agents, CPAs, and tax attorneys. The company deals with both personal and business tax cases, all across the country.

Tax Hardship Center
Tax Hardship Center
3.6
Diverse service offering
Available nationwide
Extensive geographic footprint
Free tax relief consultation
Free tax relief consultation
Minimum tax debt of $10,000
Trustworthiness and stability
14-day money-back guarantee
Tetiana Sitiugina
Financial Sector Specialist and Content Strategist

Reviewed by: Carrie Pallardy, Freelance Writer and Editor

Tax Hardship Center is a tax debt relief company. It provides a broad range of tax relief services to individuals and businesses in all 50 states. The company will assign a licensed tax attorney, a CPA, or an enrolled agent to negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. 

If you are struggling to pay off your tax debt, Tax Hardship Center is one of the best tax relief companies to consider. It has a three-step process that helps its customers resolve their tax debt issues. 

Editor’s Note (Warning) 

Eliminating your tax debt might seem attractive, but tax resolution is not an easy task. All tax relief companies attempt to provide tax relief by applying on your behalf to relevant IRS programs. However, the debt relief success is often not as common as advertised. You may be left with a hefty tax relief bill in addition to your original tax burden. Before signing a contract with a tax debt relief company, make sure to carefully review their fee structure and check for money-back guarantees.

Before signing a contract with a tax debt relief company, make sure to carefully review their fee structure and check for money-back guarantees.

Summarized Rating

Services and Solutions4.3
Costs and Fees3
Customer Experience3
Trustworthiness and Stability3
User Reviews4.8

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.
Tax Hardship Center gets a best-in-class 4.3 for Services and Solutions. This reflects its best-in-class service offering, extensive geographic footprint, and standard minimum debt requirement.

What is Tax Hardship Center?

Tax Hardship Center is a tax relief company that serves both business and personal customers. The company has a team of tax experts who work with the IRS on your behalf to reduce your tax burden. It offers transparent pricing and expert guidance during every step of its process. The company’s process involves a free consultation, communication with the IRS, and, finally, a resolution plan. 

Tax Hardship Center Pros and Cons

Before working with the Tax Hardship Center, consider these pros and cons. 

Tax Hardship Center Pros
Free case evaluation
Variety of personal/business tax services
Flexible payments
14-day money-back guarantee
No maximum tax debt
Offers tax preparation services
Tax Hardship Center Cons
Minimum tax debt of $10,000
Retainer required
Penalty fees

Services Offered by Tax Hardship Center

The services offered by Tax Hardship Center are in line with other competitors in the industry. Services include:

  • Offers in compromise: This is a common agreement with the IRS, in which you are allowed to pay less total tax amount than you owed originally.
  • Bank levy release: The Tax Hardship Center can help to release any IRS levies. Levies allow the legal seizure of your personal property to pay off your debt.
  • Non-collectibles and statute of limitations: If your salary barely covers living  expenses and you have no property to be levied, you might qualify for a temporary status of “currently not collectible.”
  • Installment payment agreements: This program allows you to pay off your tax debt over an extended period of time in smaller installments.
  • Penalty abatements: The Tax Hardship Center can help you to get rid of any tax penalties that have been already assigned to you.
  • Wage garnishment release: The IRS can  automatically collect a part of your wages to cover your tax debt. The Tax Hardship Center can help to release you from wage garnishment.
  • Federal tax lien relief: Federal tax lien is the government’s claim against your property if you fail to pay off your tax debt. The Tax Hardship Center can negotiate on your behalf to release the lien.
  • Tax preparation: The Tax Hardship Center conveniently offers tax preparation and filing services as well.

Tax Hardship Center Service Features 

Offering a broad range of tax relief services to individuals and businesses nationwide, the Tax Hardship Center approaches each situation on a case-by-case basis. Whether you are trying to stay afloat personally or run your business, the Tax Hardship Center can find a customized solution for your needs. The company employs tax experts including enrolled agents, CPAs, and tax attorneys. 

The minimum debt required for the Tax Hardship Center to evaluate your case is $10,000, , which is quite standard for tax relief companies. It is also worth noting in this review that the company’s business services are better suited for businesses making at least $35,000 in revenue.

Breadth of services offering

A variety of personal and business tax relief services

Geographic presence

Nationwide

Minimum debt required

$10,000 

Average time for relief

Not disclosed

Average relief amount

Not disclosed

Tax Hardship Center Application Process 

If you are interested in working with Tax Hardship Center, getting started is relatively easy.

  1. Online qualification quiz: You can take a quick qualification quiz on the company’s website to find out whether you are a good candidate for their services.
  2. Free consultation: The Tax Hardship Center offers a free phone consultation, during which you can talk to a professional about your tax needs and possible solutions.
  3. Retainer fee: After the phone consultation, you will be quoted a retainer fee. If you decide to proceed, you will have an opportunity to set up the payment plan with the company.
  4. IRS negotiations: The company will then establish communication with the IRS on your behalf, collect more information about your case, and find the best path to minimize your tax liability.
  5. Tax resolution: The final goal of the negotiation process is to significantly reduce your tax burden or even eliminate it completely.

Tax Hardship Center Costs and Fees

The initial phone consultation with the Tax Hardship Center is completely free. From there, you will be quoted a flat-rate retainer fee. You will need to pay this fee before the company starts working on your case. 

Retainers start  at $495. The average  cost of total resolution is about $3,750 per case. The specific amount you would pay varies depending on the complexity of your case and the IRS programs involved.

One great feature worth mentioning in this Tax Hardship Center review is their 14-day money-back guarantee. This means that you can receive a full refund if you are not satisfied with the services provided by the company during the first two weeks of working with the company.

Fees

Consultation fee: None

Investigation fee: Not disclosed

Resolution fee: $3,750 on average, with a retainer charged upfront

Other charges

Upfront retainer 

Cancellation policy

Possible refund (terms and conditions apply)

Money-Back guarantee policy

14-day money-back guarantee for initial investigation fee

Tax Hardship Center Customer Experience

The Tax Hardship Center is dedicated to listening to its customers and offering both financial and emotional relief. The company promises to stay by the client’s side and offer support over the course of the entire tax relief process.

  • Website extensiveness and usability: The Tax Hardship Center’s website does a great job describing the possible tax relief options and the relevant IRS programs. It also shares success stories from previous clients.
  • cCall center support: You can contact the company via phone at (877) 829-7099 and email at Help@TaxHardshipCenter.com Multi-channel support: In addition to phone and email support, you can connect with the company through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.
  • Supplemental support (information and tools): The Center shares useful tax relief guides and other relevant articles on their blog. You can also  download e-books related to various IRS programs.
  • Mobile technology: The Tax Hardship Center is a fully digital company, which means that you can get tax relief from the convenience of your home. The entire process will be completed over the phone and on the computer.

Tax Hardship Center Trustworthiness and Stability

The Tax Hardship Center has been in business for 10 years. It has memberships with the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers, the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the California Society of Enrolled Agents, and the National Association of Tax Professionals

The company is licensed by the IRS as Power of Attorney in all 50 U.S. states of the U.S. It is also an authorized IRS e-file provider. The company’s  CEO, Arian Azimzadeh, is designated as an “Enrolled Agent,” the top-level credential offered by the IRS.

While the total number of customer services and debt managed by the Center are not disclosed, the professional accreditations indicate that the company has the expertise in the field. The company is legitimate and trustworthy.

Years in business

10

Customers serviced

Not disclosed

Tax debt managed

Not disclosed

Certifications and memberships

  • American Society of Tax Problem Solvers

  • National Association of Enrolled Agents

  • California Society of Enrolled Agents

  • National Association of Tax Professionals

Tax Hardship Center User Reviews

The Tax Hardship Center has many positive customer reviews. Reviews of the company on Trustpilot average at 4.7 out of 5 stars, highlighting the transparent process, strong customer service, and reasonable fees.

The Tax Hardship Center reviews on the BBB website are impressive as well, averaging at 4.56 out of 5 stars. Despite excellent reviews, several complaints have been opened on BBB in the past due to the lack of communication from the company, However, they have been promptly addressed by the company and closed.

Overall, the customer sentiment about the company  is positive, which reflects the company’s dedication to compassionate tax help.

Tax Hardship Center Compared to Other Companies

Providing personal and business tax debt elimination services to clients in all 50 states, Tax Hardship Center is among more accessible tax relief companies. The minimum tax debt to qualify for their service is $7,500, which is in the middle-range of typical requirements. For example, Optima Tax Relief asks for a minimum debt of $10,000, while Precision Tax Relief has no requirements at all.

Unlike many other debt relief companies, Tax Hardship Center charges a retainer fee upfront. However, this extra fee is somewhat offset by their 14-day money-back guarantee.


Tax Hardship Center

Precision Tax Relief

Optima Tax Relief


Minimum tax debt required

$10,000 

None

$10,000

Fees

  • Consultation fee: None

  • Investigation fee: Not disclosed

  • Resolution fee: $3,750 on average, with a retainer charged upfront

  • Consultation fee: None

  • Investigation fee: None

  • Resolution fee: Flat-rate fee, depending on the case

  • Consultation fee: None

  • Investigation fee: $295

  • Resolution fee: Varies 

Cancellation policy

Cancellation with full refund within 14 days of enrollment. Possible refund later (terms and conditions apply)

Not disclosed

Cancellation with full refund within 15 days of enrollment only

Money-back guarantee policy

14-day money-back guarantee

30-day money-back guarantee

15-day money-back satisfaction guarantee

Availability 

Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide

Final Thoughts

The Tax Hardship Center seems to be a compassionate  tax elimination firm, dedicated to transparency every step of the way. Numerous professional accreditations and positive customer reviews reflect the company’s expertise and indicate the company is a legitimate option for tax burden relief. 

As mentioned earlier in this Tax Hardship Center review, the company does charge a retainer fee upfront. However, the inconvenience of this upfront fee can be offset by flexible service options and the 14-day money-back guarantee.

Tetiana Sitiugina

Written by: Tetiana Sitiugina

Financial Sector Specialist and Content Strategist

Independent writer, content strategist, and financial sector specialist. Tatiana has an extensive experience in working with financial institutions such as Bank of Canada and Risk Management unit at FinDev Canada. She holds an MA in Financial Risk Management from the University of Toronto.

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Carrie Pallardy

Reviewed by: Carrie Pallardy

Freelance Writer and Editor

Carrie Pallardy has six years of experienceas as a dedicated freelance writer and editor. She covers a wide variety of topics, including personal finance, insurance, and cybersecurity. Carrie has written for Investopedia, Policygenius, and more.

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