Your tax return is a record of decisions you already made.
By the time most people sit down with a preparer, the year is over and the outcome is locked. We work the other way around, with you during the year, while the decisions are still in front of you.
Foundation Tax Advisors is a Tempe, Arizona practice led by Stephen Hazel, an Enrolled Agent and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
Two Ways to Work With Us
Foundation Advisory Membership
A year-round advisory relationship, billed monthly. For people whose tax situation involves real decisions: retirement withdrawals, Roth conversions, a business, a property sale, a transition.
See what’s included →Annual Tax Preparation
Your return, prepared and reviewed properly, once a year. For straightforward situations where planning isn’t the need.
See fees →Most people start with a conversation and we tell them honestly which one fits.
The Foundation Advisory Membership
Tax preparation is the deliverable. The advisory relationship is the point.
What’s included- Your annual tax return — federal and all required states, prepared and reviewed
- Quarterly check-ins — a 30-minute call or email exchange each quarter, so nothing sits until April
- Mid-year tax projection (June) — where you’re tracking, what you’ll owe, whether estimates need adjusting
- Year-end strategy session (November) — the meeting that actually changes your outcome, while there’s still time to act
- Roth conversion and retirement contribution modeling — run when you need it, not as a separate engagement
- Email access — questions answered within two business days, year-round
- IRS and state notice handling — if something arrives in the mail, you forward it and we deal with it
Amended returns, prior-year returns, entity formation, audit and examination representation, gift tax returns (Form 709), and trust returns. Quoted before any work begins.
TermsTwelve-month membership, billed monthly by ACH. Requests requiring written analysis or modeling are scheduled into your quarterly session rather than handled ad hoc, and that’s what keeps the response times real.
Membership is capped at 25 clients. This is a deliberate limit. The service only works if there is room to answer the phone.
Foundation Advisory Membership — Business
Everything in the Membership, plus your business entity return.
- Your S-corporation or partnership return (Form 1120-S or Form 1065), including K-1s for each owner
- Your personal return, coordinated with the entity return
- Reasonable compensation review — the analysis most owner-operators are guessing at
- Retirement plan strategy — solo 401(k), SEP, defined benefit, and what your entity structure actually supports
- QBI deduction planning
- Everything else listed in the Membership above
Bookkeeping cleanup, if your books need it, is quoted separately before the engagement begins.
Annual Tax Preparation
For clients who need the return prepared well and don’t need year-round advisory.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Simple returnW-2 income, standard deduction | from $325 |
| Itemized returnSchedule A, mortgage interest, charitable giving | from $450 |
| Complex returnRental property, self-employment, investments, K-1s, multiple states | from $675 |
| High-complexity returnMultiple entities, equity compensation, major asset sales | from $1,050 |
| Business entity returnForm 1120-S or Form 1065 | from $1,200 |
| Trust returnForm 1041 | quoted |
Every return is quoted in writing before work begins. Fees reflect the complexity of the return, not an hourly meter.
If you’re between the Complex tier and the Membership, the math is worth a look: the Membership is roughly $1,400 more per year than a complex return alone, and it includes the return plus four scheduled planning touchpoints. Most people who make one meaningful decision differently, a Roth conversion sized correctly, an IRMAA threshold avoided, a sale timed into the right year, recover the difference in that single decision.
Who This Is For
We work best with people whose tax situation has more moving parts than a standard return:
- IRetirees and pre-retirees — managing withdrawals, Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and Medicare surcharges
- IIWidows and widowers — navigating the year of transition and the shift to single-filer brackets
- IIISmall business owners — running an S-corporation or partnership who need the return and the strategy to line up
- IVTrustees and beneficiaries — responsible for fiduciary filings
- VHouseholds in transition — a sale, an inheritance, a move between states, a change in filing status
How the Year Actually Runs
Documents come in through the secure portal. Your return is prepared, reviewed, and delivered with a written summary of what drove the result, not just a number.
Mid-year projection. We look at where the year is tracking, adjust estimated payments if needed, and flag anything that needs a decision before December.
Year-end strategy session. This is the meeting that matters. Conversions, harvesting, timing, charitable strategy, retirement contributions, everything that has to happen before December 31.
Something comes up, an offer on a property, a distribution decision, a notice in the mail, you email. Two business days.
Representation
As an Enrolled Agent, Stephen Hazel is federally licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all fifty states. We handle notices, examinations, payment arrangements, and account resolution, including for returns we did not prepare.
Notice handling is included for members. Examination and appeals representation is quoted separately.
A Note on Fees
Our pricing sits in the lower range for Arizona Enrolled Agents. Every engagement is quoted in writing before work begins, and we do not discount. The fee reflects the work, and the work doesn’t change based on negotiation.
Clients of our affiliated wealth management practice, Magnificent Life Financial Planning, receive preferred tax preparation pricing. Tax preparation is always billed separately. It is a distinct service with its own value, and we price it that way.
About
Stephen Hazel, CFP®, CeFT®, RLP®, EAStephen is an IRS Enrolled Agent, the highest credential the IRS awards, and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, with more than ten years in tax preparation and nearly two decades in banking and financial services before that.
He also holds the Certified Financial Transitionist® and Registered Life Planner® designations, which shape how he works with clients moving through significant change. He has taught financial courses as adjunct faculty at Rio Salado College, holds a BA from Arizona State University and an MBA from Grand Canyon University, and has finished six Ironman triathlons.
He practices from Tempe, Arizona, and works with clients nationwide.
Twenty-five memberships. Let’s find out if one of them is yours.
Schedule a no-cost introductory call. We’ll talk through your situation, tell you which service fits, quote it plainly, and be straightforward if we’re not the right fit.
Schedule a Consultation