Five Star Tax Resolution Tax Relief Review

About Five Star Tax Resolution

Five Star Tax Resolution was founded in 2007 in Pasadena, Calif., with a mission to help individuals and business owners navigate financial challenges with expertise and compassion.

Serving clients nationwide, Five Star Tax Resolution offers a range of tax resolution services and free consultations to prospective clients. Beyond tax debt solutions, the company also offers tax preparation, audit protection and bookkeeping services.

Five Star Tax Resolution’s team of tax professionals has more than 30 years of experience in the field, earning prestigious certifications and awards from leading industry organizations along the way—an indicator of their expertise and top-notch client service.

Services Offered

Five Star Tax Resolution is made up of a team of experienced tax lawyers with more than 30 years of industry experience. With this level of expertise, they are able to assist clients and businesses in a variety of ways. The company specializes in tailoring strategic solutions to your exact needs, so the services listed below are just an example of what they might recommend based on your unique situation.

Tax Debt Relief

If you owe back taxes to the IRS, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans have fallen behind on their taxes at some point, and while it can feel overwhelming, there are solutions available that can help get you back on track—and this is where a tax relief company can really help. A tax resolution professional can help you figure out which options are available to you, and may also increase your chances of a favorable outcome with the IRS.

Five Star Tax Resolution has experience helping clients navigate the various programs offered under the IRS Fresh Start Initiative, including installment agreements, offers in compromise, penalty relief, currently not collectible status and tax lien relief.

Their tax experts can help identify the programs you may be eligible for and walk you through what to do before, during and after the application process.

Here is an overview of some of the Fresh Start programs offered by the IRS:

• Offer In Compromise (OIC): This allows eligible taxpayers to settle their debt for a lower amount than what they owe when paying the full amount would cause undue financial hardship. The IRS considers factors like income, expenses, assets and ability to pay when deciding whether to accept an offer.
• Currently Non-Collectible (CNC): A temporary debt relief status that pauses most active IRS collection efforts, including garnishments, levies and property seizures.
• Installment Agreement (IA): These agreements allow taxpayers to make monthly payments over a period of time to pay off their tax debt.
• Penalty Relief: Taxpayers may be able to have certain penalties reduced or eliminated, including first-time penalty abatement for those with a history of compliance, or reasonable cause abatement for taxpayers who experienced circumstances that prevented them from meeting their tax obligations.
• Tax Lien Relief: The Fresh Start Initiative increased the threshold for filing tax liens and made it easier to get liens withdrawn once the debt is paid off or an installment agreement is established. 

It’s important to keep in mind that these programs don’t automatically erase tax debt but rather provide a plan to manage it and potentially reduce debt based on individual circumstances.

Tax Help

If you’re dealing with a tax levy, wage garnishment or have unfiled tax returns, Five Star Tax Resolution can leverage their experience to get you a more favorable outcome.

Here is a detailed look at how Five Star Tax Resolution can help in these scenarios: 

• Tax Levy: This is a legal seizure of a taxpayer’s property to satisfy an outstanding debt. A levy differs from a tax lien, which is a legal claim on a property, not a seizure. Levies happen as a last resort to collect unpaid debt, after a tax lien has been placed on the property. Assets subject to levy include wages, salaries and other types of income such as retirement accounts, funds from bank accounts, vehicles, real estate and other personal property. Levies are never the first step in the process; they occur after unsuccessful attempts to collect the debt and multiple warnings have been issued. Levies can potentially be released if the taxpayer enters into a repayment agreement with the IRS or settles all outstanding back taxes. Navigating this process is complex, and getting professional help can increase your chances of a successful outcome.
• Wage Garnishment: This is a legal process that allows creditors to deduct money directly from your paycheck to satisfy unpaid debts from taxes, child support, loans or a court order. Generally, wage garnishments are a specific type of levy that targets a person’s income rather than their assets. A tax resolution expert like Five Star Tax Resolution can help assess your financial situation, recommend the best course of action and negotiate with the IRS, state tax agency or creditors on your behalf to prevent or stop wage garnishment. 
• Unfiled Tax Returns: If you have unfiled tax returns from previous years, the IRS can file one for you. In these cases, the IRS does not apply deductions or exemptions and the taxpayer often ends up owing money to the IRS even if a refund would have been due if the taxpayer filed on their own. Additionally, the IRS imposes fines and compounding interest on the tax debt from unfiled returns, which can eventually lead to a levy in the form of wage garnishment or asset seizure. Five Star Tax Resolution can help taxpayers by filing returns back to 2001. They also can get wage and income documents directly from the IRS if you don’t have your W-2s or 1099s available. Getting expert involvement can help you get rightside-up faster and prevent your situation from getting any worse.

Business Tax Help

Business taxes are complex and can be difficult to get right on your own. Five Star Tax Resolution has extensive experience preparing business taxes, including S-Corp, Limited Liability Company, Partnership and Sole Proprietor returns. Getting professional help with filing your business tax return ensures accuracy, compliance with frequently changing tax laws, reduced audit risk, maximized tax savings and can save you a lot of time and stress in the process. Five Star Tax Resolution can also provide comprehensive support and representation in the event of an IRS audit, as well as bookkeeping services for businesses.

How it Works

Five Star Tax Resolution knows that tax issues are complex, time-sensitive and tricky to navigate. That’s why their team of seasoned professionals is on a mission to make things simpler for those of us who aren’t, well, tax professionals.

Here’s what you can expect when working with Five Star Tax Resolution:

1. Initial Consultation & Assessment: During your first meeting, you’ll speak with a tax professional so they can gain an understanding of your current financial situation. 
2. Tailored Strategy Development: Your tax team will come up with a strategy that is customized to align with your goals. They’ll recommend a precise plan that includes the programs you might be eligible for and any other tools they can employ to give you the best result possible.
3. Implementation & Filing: Next, your team will get to work on putting your strategy into action. This is dependent on your exact needs, but can include things like negotiating with the IRS or other creditors on your behalf, submitting applications for various IRS programs or navigating the process of settling a debt or setting up installment agreements.
4. Ongoing Support & Review: Your tailored plan includes ongoing support and periodic reviews to ensure that your financial situation is resolved as intended.

Requirements & Fees

On to the fine print. Most tax resolution services have a minimum debt requirement in order to use their services. Fees will differ between companies, as do contracts. Here’s what you can expect when working with Five Star Tax Resolution:

• Consultation Fee: None—the initial consultation is free.
• Requirements: Individuals must have a minimum of $10,000 in tax debt or back taxes to qualify for these services. This is typical in the industry and equal to many of their competitors.
  
• Fees: The company does not provide a range or starting point outlining their fees for tax resolution services. However, these services are typically determined by a number of factors, including complexity, amount of tax debt owed and type of services required. There are often separate fees for initial investigation and resolution; be sure to ask for a detailed breakdown so you fully understand your fees and when payment is required.
• Contract: While the company doesn’t specify whether they require a contract, it’s not an uncommon practice in this field to do so. The contract defines the services, fees, payment structure and client responsibilities, and whether or not the contract covers a specific time period and requires cancellation for ongoing services.

How Five Star Tax Resolution Stacks Up

So you’ve gotten this far—and if you’re still with us, you’re probably wondering how Five Star Tax Resolution compares to some of the other big names you may have come across in your research. Well, we’ve got you covered on that front, too:

Five Star Tax Resolution vs. Anthem Tax Services

When comparing Anthem Tax Services and Five Star Tax Resolution, you’ll quickly realize these are both big names in the business. They both offer similar services for individual taxpayers with a free consultation to get started. Both carry an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, which is a good indicator of trustworthiness and ethical business practices. They also both have the same requirement of $10,000 in tax debt for eligibility.

How they differ is in their number of years in business, as well as services offered for business owners. Five Star Tax Resolution has been in business since 2007, a handful of years longer than Anthem Tax Services. And they offer a variety of services aimed at helping business owners, like tax debt relief, tax preparation, audit protection and bookkeeping services. Anthem Tax Services does not offer similar services for businesses.

Five Star Tax Resolution vs. Optima Tax Relief

Much like Five Star Tax Resolution, Optima Tax Relief is another well-known name in the tax resolution industry. Both companies offer a full range of tax debt relief services, free initial consultations and have the same $10,000 minimum debt requirement.

Optima Tax Relief has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau while Five Star Tax Resolution has an A+ rating, but both indicate solid business ethics and trustworthiness. Optima Tax Relief advertises a money back guarantee on their website while Five Star Tax Resolution does not. However, only Five Star Tax Resolution mentions specific services for business owners.

The Bottom Line: Why We Love It

If you’re having trouble with tax debt, chances are good that you’re experiencing some sort of financial hardship, which is hard enough as it is and made worse by the added stress from the IRS or state breathing down your neck. In times like these, turning to a tax relief company like Five Star Tax Resolution can make the whole process smoother, easier and possibly deliver a more favorable outcome versus going it alone. We love their clear mission to help clients navigate financial challenges with expertise and empathy. They offer a wide variety of services to help individual clients as well as businesses, and with close to 20 years in business, their numerous awards, accolades and A+ BBB rating speak to their dedication to customer care, credibility and ethics. So don’t put it off any longer—with a free consultation waiting for you at Five Star Tax Resolution, you have nothing to lose.