What Optima won't tell Eric- or anyone else

 

Let's get this straight right off the bat:  I do not care for Eric.  Eric is an entitled, whiny tax cheat who thinks he's being persecuted because the IRS is not allowing him to skate on his tax responsibilities.  Hey Eric- I'd own a lot more property if I didn't pay my fair share, too.  

Eric is super-thrilled because after contracting with Optima Tax Relief, he got his tax bill of $15,000 settled for $3500, which he probably paid by borrowing against that nice house being a tax cheat got him.  Warms the heart, doesn't it?

But here's what Eric wasn't told:  First, for a $200 fee he could have applied for an IRS Offer in Compromise, which -- if Eric was indeed facing financial hardship-- almost certainly would have resulted in a reduction in his taxes owed.  Maybe not what Optima promises, but a reduction nonetheless.

On average, in exchange for that $11500 reduction in his taxes, Eric would also be paying out between $2000 and $3000- and possibly as much as $7000- to Optima Tax Relief in fees (just getting started costs between $300 and $500 which he would not get back if OTR got a reduction of even one penny as a result of it's "work" on Eric's "behalf.")  So if Eric gets that total tax bill reduction cut from $15000 to $3500, he will have to add at least $2500 and possibly as much as $7000 to that bill, substantially reducing the windfall created by using OTR.

Let's split the difference and say that Optima charges him $3500, and his tax bill to the IRS is $3500.  That's still half what he owed- and now we get to the REAL "missed" information; that saved $7500 counts as income, Eric.  You're going to have to declare that, Eric, when you file those taxes I assume you're going to actually file now rather than going right back to your scummy criminal ways, Eric. 

I bet you didn't realize this and Optima didn't tell you because it's not their job to tell you, Eric. 

In the end, assuming everything goes exactly as Eric hoped, maybe he ended up saving $5k.  But it's entirely possibly that Eric could have saved much, much more- by NOT calling Optima Tax and calling the IRS instead.  I suspect that Eric didn't do this either because he was truly ignorant of the IRS's programs designed to help people pay their taxes or because he wasn't willing to put his ill-gotten gains at risk through a serious audit and an honest, responsible payment plan.

Either way, you suck Eric and I really hope that when January came around and you realized you had to pay taxes on the forgiven debt, you didn't have it and had to take out another loan.  In any case, I have no doubt that you went right back to cheating the moment you realized that it was even slightly profitable.  Enjoy being a famous bum.