What choices are actually available?
Define realistic alternatives and remove paths that do not fit the facts or deadline.
Phænix Decision Memo
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See if this decision is worth analyzing
Federal + state analysis
5–10 business days after complete records
Committed date or the fee is waived
Why this matters
A decision you can act on.
A purchase, sale, exchange, cost-segregation decision, entity change, or management change can affect taxes well beyond the transaction itself. The right answer depends on your facts, timing, alternatives, and how the decision fits your current position.
What are the tax and cash-flow effects?
Model the relevant federal and state effects using clear, stated assumptions.
What should happen before the deadline?
Receive a written recommendation, required documents, an implementation owner, and next steps.
The questions clients bring us
Six questions to ask before it becomes permanent.
Each has a deadline attached. The free Readiness Intake helps determine whether the question is worth analyzing before you pay anything.
- 01
Should I do a cost segregation study, and in which year?
- 02
Can my rental losses offset my W-2 income?
- 03
Should I qualify as a real estate professional?
- 04
Is there a real tax benefit to buying this one?
- 05
Sell and pay the tax, or do a 1031 exchange?
- 06
Should each property have its own LLC?
Six decision areas
What Phænix analyzes.
We define the decision, compare the realistic paths, and test the facts and assumptions that could change the recommendation.
Decision facts & deadline
The transaction or event, ownership, timing, current tax position, decision owner, and hard dates.
Alternatives & constraints
Viable options, legal, lender, and operating limits, choices already made, and options no longer available.
Tax & cash-flow model
Relevant federal and state effects, basis, depreciation, gain or loss, timing, cash impact, and key limitations.
Risk & sensitivity
Assumptions, missing facts, ranges, breakpoints, and conditions that could change the recommendation.
Documentation & coordination
Records, elections, agreements, and questions for attorneys, lenders, cost segregation firms, or property managers.
Implementation path
The recommended action, required steps, owner for each step, record cutoff, and decision deadline.
The finished artifact
Your decision, delivered.
A decision-ready record you can keep, share with the right advisors, and use to move forward with clarity.
PhænixDecision Memo
Delivery manifest6 components
Executive recommendation
A plain-English decision, why it is recommended, the headline figures, the deadline, and the immediate action.
Decision facts & assumptions
A clear record of the facts, documents, sources, assumptions, and open items used in the analysis.
Alternatives & modeling
A side-by-side comparison of viable choices and the relevant federal and state tax effects.
Risks & tradeoffs
What could change the answer, the consequences of each choice, and sensitivity to key assumptions.
Documentation & action checklist
The records, elections, approvals, due dates, and the advisor best placed to own each step.
Advisor-led findings meeting
A 45-minute discussion of the recommendation, questions, implementation options, and the next step.
See the work product
From scattered facts to a clear position.
This illustrative Rental Loss Offset Decision Memo shows how Phænix organizes the facts, tests the support, states a conclusion, and assigns a practical action plan.
View the illustrative Decision Memo
A complete decision-specific engagement
A defined answer for a defined decision.
$4,500
Standard Memo
A single event with defined alternatives.
$8,500
Extended Memo
Multiple entities, states, or transactions.
Once Phænix accepts your records as complete, you receive the written recommendation by the stated date or the fee is waived. If the recommendation misses an item on the agreed facts list, Phænix completes that item at no additional charge.
Fifty percent of the fee credits toward an annual Phænix Advisory Partnership if you onboard within 60 days.
Before you decide
Questions you may be asking.
What exactly is a Decision Memo?
It is a complete, decision-specific professional engagement - not a sales teaser. It compares realistic alternatives, models the consequences, and gives you a written recommendation before a live event becomes final.
What decisions are a strong fit?
A specific acquisition, sale, 1031 exchange, cost-segregation timing choice, ownership or entity decision, or management change with a real deadline and meaningful tax, cash-flow, or documentation consequences.
How long does it take?
The standard timeline is 5–10 business days after Phænix accepts the required records as complete. Rush work is separate and subject to availability.
What if important records are missing?
Phænix limits or pauses the affected conclusion rather than guessing. New facts, added scenarios, or late records may require a revised fee or delivery date.
Will this replace my CPA or attorney?
No. Your current CPA can stay in place, and the Memo gives them a documented position to work from. Phænix models the tax side; your attorney handles governing documents, liability protection, and legal advice.
What is not included?
The engagement does not include return preparation, amended returns, bookkeeping cleanup, legal drafting, investment underwriting, property inspection, unlimited scenarios, or ongoing implementation unless separately scoped.
What happens after I complete the analysis?
Phænix reviews your decision and deadline, recommends the right scope, and tells you plainly if the Decision Memo is not a fit - before you pay anything.
The people behind the recommendation
Meet the Phænix team.
Technical depth, disciplined execution, and a people-first client experience - working together around every important decision.
Founder & Lead Advisor
Thanh ‘Jason’ Huynh, CPA
With 16 years of experience across public accounting, private industry, auditing, and tax advisory, Jason brings a rare depth of technical range to every engagement. He began his entrepreneurial path five years ago with Empyreal Group LLC, then went on to found Phænix Advisory Services in 2026. Today, he leads complex tax strategy, guides major client decisions, and provides final review on every Phænix advisory engagement.
Finance Manager
Emiliano Caballero
Emiliano has spent six years building his career in finance, working with a wide range of clients from individuals managing multiple rental properties to simple trusts and small to mid-sized S-corps and LLCs. At Phænix, he oversees financial execution and bookkeeping, supports tax preparation, and drives day-to-day implementation across client engagements.
Business Development Manager
Ray Lomeli, M.A.
Ray holds a master’s degree in a psychology-related field, bringing a people-first lens to every client relationship, one that fuels Phænix’s mission of making expert tax guidance both accessible and personal. Ray leads client acquisition and growth strategy, connecting individuals and businesses with tax advisory solutions built around their needs.
Start with the decision in front of you
See if this decision is worth analyzing.
Complete the short Readiness Intake. Tell us what decision you’re facing, the deadline, and what you need answered. Phænix will determine whether a Decision Memo is the right engagement - and say so plainly before you pay anything.
Readiness Intake
12
Readiness Intake received
Thank you.
Phænix has your request. We will review your decision, deadline, and whether the Decision Memo is the right engagement.
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