Tax Preparation
Just the return, prepared and signed by the person who holds your whole picture.
If you searched for tax preparation and landed here, the plain version is this. Returns here are prepared, filed, and signed by David Talley, an Enrolled Agent, through Talley Tax, our tax firm. They're prepared for households we've done The Keystone Method with, which means the person signing the return already knows the year. Tax Preparation is the return alone, for a tax year with nothing to carry. Tax Advisory is the whole year, with the return as the result.
Where it sits
One way in. Then the return, on its own or inside the whole year.
Every relationship here begins with The Keystone Method: about six months, one flat fee, refundable in full at any point. Taxes is one of its six stones, and the other five decide what the return will say: when the income starts, which account pays first, what gets converted and when, what the estate plan needs held in which name. At the end of it we decide together how the tax side continues.
The year managed on purpose and the return as the result: withholding and estimates set, the year projected as it changes, the fall decisions made while there's still time, and an Enrolled Agent to hand any IRS letter to, through Talley Tax.
Federal and state, prepared, filed, and signed by David, an Enrolled Agent, through Talley Tax, for a tax year with nothing to carry: no estimated payments, no business, no rental property, no K-1s.
Which one fits is decided together at the end of Keystone, from what your year actually carries, and moving between them later is one conversation. If a return is all you need and we haven't worked together, a local preparer will serve you better, and that's worth knowing before either of us spends an hour.
What the return includes
The federal return and any state returns, prepared, reviewed, and signed by David Talley, an Enrolled Agent. Documents come in through a secure portal, questions go back and forth in one place, and the return is filed electronically once you've reviewed it.
Because the Keystone work came first, the person preparing the return already knows what's in your accounts, what the plan decided, and what the year was supposed to look like. The return gets read against your whole picture, by the person who helped build it. When your accounts are here, most of the documents a return needs are already in hand, and the rest come in through the portal as they arrive.
What it leaves out
A return with estimated payments, a business, a rental property, or a K-1 has a year behind it that needs managing, and that belongs in Tax Advisory. So does an owner's picture: S corporation, partnership, and C corporation returns, the owner's own return, and Tennessee's franchise and excise filing where it applies, prepared together because the two are one tax picture.
The rest of the tax year belongs there too. Inside Tax Advisory, withholdings and estimates are set so your cash flow works, income is projected as it changes, Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, charitable timing, and an owner's pay get decided ahead and revisited, and if the IRS ever writes, you hand the letter to me. As an Enrolled Agent I can speak with them on your behalf. Tax planning explains the mechanisms. Tax Advisory explains the rhythm.
Tax Preparation fits the year where none of that is in motion, and it fits it well. The return records what happened, it's signed by someone who knows why it happened that way, and the year costs you one flat fee.
How it's decided
At the end of The Keystone Method, together, from what your year carries. Income through a paycheck or retirement accounts, with nothing in motion: Tax Preparation. Conversions, a business, estimates, decisions that should happen before the return: Tax Advisory. Either way the return is prepared by the people who already hold your whole picture.
A year can change shape. The year a paycheck becomes a pension, or the first Roth conversion lands, or a rental shows up, is the year Tax Preparation becomes Tax Advisory, and that move is one conversation.
Why Keystone comes first, even for a simple return: tax, investment, estate, and cash-flow decisions shape one another, and advising on any one of them well means understanding all of them first. Keystone builds that understanding and gets the things you probably need done, done. A return prepared without it would be incomplete work.
What to have ready
Last year's returns, the year's W-2s and 1099s, brokerage and retirement account tax forms, and, for an owner, the business's books and payroll reports. The portal gives you the full list once you're in, and most of it can be uploaded as it arrives rather than all at once.
What it costs
One flat fee a year, billed by Talley Tax.
- The fee
- $750 a year, flat, federal and state
- Prepared, filed, and signed by David Talley, an Enrolled Agent, and delivered through your secure portal. Billed by Talley Tax, a separate business, once a year.
It replaces what you pay a preparer today. Tax Advisory is a monthly fee with the return included, and the pricing page has both numbers side by side.
Before you decide
Questions people ask.
Bring the rest to the Explore Call.
Can I hire you just to do my taxes?
Yes, once we've done The Keystone Method together. Tax Preparation is the return alone, for a tax year with nothing to carry. If we haven't worked together and a return is all you need, a local preparer will serve you better.
Why do I have to do Keystone first for a simple return?
Because tax, investment, estate, and cash-flow decisions shape one another, and advising on any one of them well means understanding all of them first. Keystone builds that understanding and gets the things you probably need done, done. A return prepared without it would be incomplete work.
Who prepares the return?
David Talley, an Enrolled Agent, prepares, reviews, and signs it, through Talley Tax.
Do you handle business returns?
Yes, inside Tax Advisory. Business and personal returns are prepared together for owners, including S corporation, partnership, and C corporation returns.
What if my year changes?
Then the service changes with it. The year a business, a rental, estimated payments, or a Roth conversion shows up is the year the return belongs inside Tax Advisory, and the move is one conversation.
What does it cost?
Tax Preparation is one flat fee a year for your federal and state return, shown above and billed by Talley Tax. Tax Advisory is a monthly fee with the return included. The pricing page has both.
Tax advisory, tax planning implementation, and tax preparation are provided through Talley Tax, a separate business owned and operated by David Talley. Tax advice is given by Talley Tax. Talley Wealth and Talley Tax work in concert, and they are separate entities. Securities and advisory services are offered through Cambridge entities as described in the site footer; Talley Tax is not affiliated with Cambridge. Talley Wealth advisory services do not include tax preparation unless a separate Talley Tax relationship is established. About Tax Advisory.
The whole picture, in three numbers
The next conversation
Where to start
Every relationship here begins with an Explore Call. If you're looking for someone to prepare a return and we haven't worked together, a local preparer is probably the better fit, and that's worth knowing before either of us spends an hour. If you want your taxes handled by the people who hold your whole picture, that call is the first step.