Quick verdict
Anthem Tax Services is a legitimate mid-sized tax resolution firm that competes directly with Optima, Community Tax, and Larson. Its main differentiator is single-fee pricing — you get one quote covering the whole engagement, instead of a low diagnostic fee followed by a separate (and often surprising) resolution fee.
That simpler pricing has real value. It also means you commit to the full cost upfront with less ability to bail out cheap if your case turns out to be simpler than expected. Whether that’s good or bad depends on how willing you are to do diagnostic work yourself.
Who Anthem is best for
- People who want straightforward upfront pricing and dislike the two-phase upsell pattern
- People with both IRS and state tax debt who want one firm handling both
- People with mid-complexity cases ($25K–$100K debt, a few unfiled years, no active levy emergency)
- Spanish-speaking clients who want bilingual service
- People who’d rather work with a mid-sized firm than a huge nationally-advertised one
Who should look elsewhere
- People with under $10,000 in tax debt — handle directly with the IRS
- People who specifically want a two-phase “test the waters cheap” approach — Optima is built for that
- People with extremely complex cases (multi-million dollar debt, criminal exposure, complex international issues) — go to a tax attorney directly
- People who qualify for an LITC and need free representation
What is Anthem Tax Services?
Anthem Tax Services is a Woodland Hills, California–based tax resolution firm founded in 2010. It markets nationally and represents clients on federal IRS issues, state tax debt, and tax preparation/bookkeeping for clients with chronic compliance problems.
Anthem is meaningfully smaller than Optima Tax Relief (Anthem has dozens of staff vs. Optima’s hundreds). For some customers that’s a feature: less call-center feel, more direct contact with the licensed person assigned to your case. For others it’s a drawback: less depth of bench if your case manager moves on or your situation needs specialized expertise.
Services offered
Anthem handles the standard set of IRS resolution programs:
- Offer in Compromise preparation and submission
- Installment Agreement negotiation (short-term, long-term, partial-pay)
- Currently Not Collectible status requests
- Penalty abatement (first-time abatement, reasonable cause)
- Innocent Spouse Relief filings
- Lien and levy release requests
- Wage garnishment stop work
- Unfiled return preparation
- State tax debt representation
This is essentially the same set every legitimate firm offers — there’s no proprietary Anthem program. The differences are pricing structure, who actually works your case, and how the firm communicates during the months it takes to resolve.
How Anthem’s pricing works (real numbers)
Most Anthem cases are quoted as a single fee covering the complete engagement. Based on common reporting:
| Case complexity | Typical Anthem fee |
|---|---|
| Simple Installment Agreement, $10K–$25K debt | ~$1,800–$2,800 |
| Multi-year unfiled returns + Installment Agreement | ~$2,500–$4,500 |
| Offer in Compromise, moderate complexity | ~$3,500–$5,500 |
| Complex case (business taxes, multi-year, levy in progress) | ~$5,000–$6,500+ |
A single-fee model has trade-offs:
Upside: You know the full cost before you commit. No surprise upsell mid-process. Easier to compare apples-to-apples against another firm’s quote.
Downside: If your situation is actually simpler than the firm initially believed, you’ve still paid the full fee. Optima’s two-phase model can cost less if your case turns out to be a $295 diagnostic and a “you can do this yourself” recommendation.
Customer experience — the honest version
Anthem’s customer reviews follow the same pattern as the industry generally:
Recurring positive themes:
- Successful Installment Agreement resolutions
- Successful penalty abatement work
- Professional case staff once a case manager is assigned
- Money-back guarantee actually honored when conditions were met
Recurring negative themes:
- Communication gaps mid-case (sometimes weeks without an update)
- Cases moving slower than initially indicated (often a function of IRS backlog, not Anthem)
- Outcomes that fell short of customer expectations
- Some difficulty getting through to assigned case manager
If you proceed: lock down the cadence of status updates in writing during onboarding, get the named case manager and a backup contact, and document everything.
Anthem vs. the alternatives
| Feature | Anthem | Optima | Community Tax | Larson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum debt | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Pricing model | Usually single fee | Two-phase | Two-phase | Usually single fee |
| Money-back | Yes (terms vary) | 15-day on Phase 2 | Varies | 15-day |
| Licensed pros | CPAs, EAs | CPAs, EAs, attorneys | CPAs, EAs, attorneys | EAs, attorneys |
| Brand visibility | Mid | High (heavy TV/radio) | Mid | Lower (focused) |
| Best for | Predictable single fee | Two-phase risk control | Similar to Optima | Business / payroll tax |
Anthem and Optima are roughly peer firms. The decision usually comes down to whether you prefer upfront cost certainty (Anthem) or the option to test cheap before committing (Optima).
Free alternatives most people don’t know about
Before you pay Anthem (or any firm), check whether you can do it yourself:
- Online Payment Agreement at irs.gov — set up an Installment Agreement in ~20 minutes if you owe under $50,000
- Form 656 Offer in Compromise — submit yourself; the IRS provides a pre-qualifier tool
- Currently Not Collectible — request directly via Form 433-F if your finances support hardship status
- Form 8857 Innocent Spouse Relief — file yourself
- Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) — free licensed representation for income-qualifying taxpayers (IRS LITC directory)
- Taxpayer Advocate Service — free help when you’ve hit a wall in normal IRS channels
Many tax debt situations can be resolved without paying any tax resolution firm. We’d rather you know that and choose Anthem with eyes open than not know it at all.
The verdict
Anthem Tax Services earns a 3.7 / 5 in our review.
It’s a competent, properly credentialed mid-sized firm with a pricing model that’s genuinely simpler than the two-phase approach used by Optima and Community Tax. Customer experiences track the industry average — solid when things go right, frustrating when they don’t.
Use Anthem if you want straightforward upfront pricing and a mid-sized firm where you might get more direct contact with the people working your case.
Use Optima or Community Tax if you specifically want the two-phase model that lets you exit cheaper after diagnostics.
Use Larson if your issue is business / payroll tax — they have a stronger focus there.
Skip Anthem entirely and DIY if your debt is under $50K and you can spend a few hours reading the IRS guidance.
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