Anthem Tax Services Review

What is Anthem Tax Services?

Anthem Tax Services is a California-based, nationwide tax relief firm that helps individuals and businesses resolve back taxes with the IRS and state agencies. It is the youngest company in our tax relief lineup, with roughly nine years of operating history, and it has been BBB-accredited with an A+ rating since 2017. It also offers bookkeeping and tax preparation alongside its resolution work, which is a slightly broader service mix than some specialist competitors.

The company's team page lists named, credentialed staff, including state-licensed attorneys, Enrolled Agents, and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, and it presents those professionals as handling cases directly. Enrolled Agents are federally licensed by the IRS, while attorney and CPA licensure is issued by individual states, so if a specific practitioner matters to you, verify that person against their state bar or board before relying on the claim.

One clarification worth making up front: Anthem Tax Services is not related to Anthem Blue Cross, the health insurer. If you search the Anthem name and see regulatory actions tied to health insurance, those belong to the unrelated insurance company, not to this tax relief firm.

Anthem Tax Services's tax relief services

Anthem handles the core IRS resolution programs: Offer in Compromise, installment agreements, penalty abatement, and emergency relief from wage garnishments and bank levies. It also offers Innocent Spouse Relief, which not every firm actively markets, plus ongoing bookkeeping and tax preparation. As with any firm in this category, none of these IRS programs is exclusive to Anthem; what you're paying for is the expertise to build a strong application and to deal with the IRS on your behalf.

On pricing, Anthem does not charge a separate retainer, but it does take an initial deposit, commonly reported in the $300 to $500 range, to open your case. Resolution fees vary widely by complexity, with independent reviews citing a range from about $1,500 to $9,000 or more and typical costs landing somewhere around $2,000 to $5,000; the company itself cites an average near $3,000. There is no published rate card, so your actual price comes only after a consultation.

Anthem advertises a money-back guarantee, but it is narrower than it first sounds. The guarantee explicitly excludes the initial deposit and does not apply to bookkeeping or tax-preparation work. Because those carve-outs materially change what 'money-back' means, don't take a third-party summary at face value: ask Anthem to put the exact guarantee language from its current client agreement in writing before you sign.

Strengths

Anthem's main strengths are its credentialed staffing and its solid headline ratings. Having named attorneys, Enrolled Agents, and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist work cases directly is a meaningful step up from the sales-floor model, and the firm has maintained an A+ BBB accreditation since 2017 with a BBB customer rating around 4.6 out of 5 and Google reviews near 4.7 out of 5. We found no FTC or state attorney general enforcement action against the company in our research.

The service range is also a practical plus. Because Anthem offers bookkeeping and tax preparation in addition to resolution work, it can be a one-stop option for someone who has fallen behind on both filing and paying, and its no-retainer intake lowers the initial barrier to getting a case reviewed. Reviewers who had good experiences frequently single out specific staff members for getting collection holds in place quickly and moving a case efficiently.

Watch-outs

The most consistent concern with Anthem is customer experience after the sale. Multiple independent review summaries and BBB complaint narratives describe a recurring pattern of unanswered calls, long hold times, and needing to escalate to a supervisor to get a response. Some complaints describe a case being passed among several different case managers over the course of a year, and others allege that promised substantial tax reductions turned into little more than a standard IRS payment plan. These are individual, unadjudicated complaints rather than proven findings, but the theme is common enough across sources that it's fair to go in with your eyes open and to insist on knowing who your single point of contact will be.

The guarantee is the second watch-out. Because it excludes your initial deposit and doesn't cover prep or bookkeeping, and because some reviewers report that refunds were difficult to obtain in practice (in at least one case denied on the grounds that Anthem considered the matter already resolved), it protects you less than a plain 'money-back guarantee' implies. Get the terms in writing. Finally, the minimum-debt requirement is reported inconsistently, at $10,000 in some sources and $20,000 in others, so confirm the current threshold directly rather than assuming you qualify.

Who Anthem Tax Services fits

Anthem can be a reasonable fit if you want a credentialed team, value having bookkeeping and tax preparation available under the same roof as resolution work, and are comfortable pinning down the guarantee and minimum-debt details in writing before you commit. Its Innocent Spouse Relief work and no-retainer intake are genuine points in its favor for the right situation.

It is a weaker fit if responsive, consistent communication is a top priority for you, given the recurring complaints on that front, or if you're counting on a broad money-back guarantee, since Anthem's has real carve-outs. If you go with Anthem, ask directly who your dedicated contact will be, get the full phased fee and exact guarantee language in writing, and be skeptical of any promise of a specific tax reduction before your finances have been reviewed. And as with every firm here, if you owe a modest, manageable amount and your situation is simple, you can often set up an installment agreement or request first-time penalty abatement directly with the IRS at irs.gov for free. A paid firm like Anthem earns its fee when your case is complex enough that professional representation is genuinely worth the cost.