Plan first
We want to hear about the building, the job offer or the sale before you sign. A decision modeled in advance is worth more than any deduction found afterward.
Our story · Since 2009
A safe harbor for people who'd rather plan than scramble.
Harbor Tax & Advisory was founded on a simple frustration: most tax firms are built to file, not to think. We built one that does the thinking first — for individuals, small businesses and real-estate investors across San Diego and beyond.
2009Founded by Elena Ruiz, CPA
How we started
Built by a CPA who was tired of meeting clients after the decision was made.
After years in the tax practice of a large national firm, Elena Ruiz kept seeing the same thing: a client would buy a building, sell a business or take a new job, and only then bring the paperwork in. By the time it reached her desk, the best options had already expired with the calendar.
In 2009 she rented two rooms a block from the marina and opened Harbor Tax & Advisory with forty clients and one rule — every engagement starts with a plan, and the return is simply the last step of it. Seventeen years later the firm has grown to a team of CPAs, Enrolled Agents and bookkeepers serving 3,200+ households, businesses and portfolios, but the rule hasn't changed.
Why "Harbor"? Partly the view. Mostly because a safe harbor is also a real IRS concept — pay in 100% of last year's tax (110% for higher earners) and you're protected from underpayment penalties no matter what the year brings. Certainty you can plan around: that's the whole idea of this firm.
Our mission
Our mission
Give every client the clarity a large company buys from its tax department — one named advisor, a written plan, and no surprises in April.
3,200+
Households, businesses and portfolios served
$48M+
Documented tax savings since 2009
600+
Client reviews averaging 4.9 out of 5
17 yrs
Planning first, filing second
What we stand for
Four promises, kept on every file
These aren't posters in the break room. They're the standards each engagement is reviewed against — and the reasons clients stay with us for a decade or more.
Plain English
You'll never get a 40-page PDF with no cover note. Every plan is one page, ranked by dollars saved, and explained until it actually makes sense.
Accountable
Fixed fees quoted up front. Two credentialed reviewers on every return. If we make an error, we fix it and cover the penalties — no debate.
Year-round
Tax happens in twelve months, not one. Quarterly check-ins are built into every package, so next year's return is shaped long before the forms arrive.
Milestones
Seventeen years, one steady course
From two rooms by the marina to a multi-practice firm with clients in fourteen states — and every step decided the same way we advise our clients to decide: deliberately.
Meet the people behind it-
2009Founded
Harbor Tax opens its doors
Elena Ruiz leaves a national firm and opens a two-room office near the marina. Forty clients sign on in the first season — most of them referred by the first ten.
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2012Resolution
IRS representation practice launches
Marcus Chen, EA, joins from the IRS side of the table and builds the Tax Resolution desk: audits, notices, payment plans and Offers in Compromise handled in-house.
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2015Framework
Acquire / Operate / Exit is written down
After the tenth investor arrives with a closed deal and an avoidable tax bill, the firm formalizes its real-estate framework and coordinates its first cost-segregation studies.
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2018Harbor Drive
Move to 210 Harbor Drive, Suite 400
A team of eight moves into a bright fourth-floor suite downtown, with meeting rooms built for planning sessions rather than paperwork drop-offs.
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2020Virtual
Fully remote service, without losing the conversation
Encrypted client portal, e-signature and video planning sessions become standard. Within two years the firm serves clients in fourteen states.
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2022Portfolio
Real-estate practice gets a dedicated lead
Priya Natarajan, CPA, joins to run investor tax. The Portfolio package launches for multi-entity, multi-state investors, with deal modeling built into every quarter.
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20243,000th
Three thousand clients, one standard
Daniel Brooks' client-success team introduces the two-reviewer standard on every return and month-end books delivered by the 5th, firm-wide.
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2026Today
3,200+ clients and $48M+ in documented savings
A 4.9-star rating from 600+ reviews, and the same rule as day one: plan the tax before the deal.
Our team
The people who'll actually pick up the phone
Every client is assigned a named advisor from this page. No call centers, no rotating seasonal staff — the person who plans your year is the person who signs your return.
Elena Ruiz, CPA
Founder & Managing Partner
Elena spent eight years in a national firm's private-client group before founding Harbor Tax. She leads planning engagements for owners and high-earning households and still reviews every plan the firm issues.
CPA (California) · MS Taxation · 25 years in practice
- Tax planning
- Equity comp
- Business owners
Marcus Chen, EA
Director of Tax Resolution
Marcus began his career as an IRS revenue agent, which is why nothing in a notice surprises him. He runs audits, appeals, payment plans and Offers in Compromise so clients never speak to the IRS alone.
Enrolled Agent · NTPI Fellow · Former IRS revenue agent
- IRS notices
- Audits & appeals
- Back taxes
Priya Natarajan, CPA
Real Estate Tax Lead
Priya models deals before clients sign them — entity choice, cost segregation, 1031 timelines and multi-state filings. She has worked on more than 400 investor portfolios, from a first duplex to 60-door syndications.
CPA (California) · MBA, Real Estate Finance · Cost-segregation coordinator
- 1031 exchanges
- Cost segregation
- Multi-state
Daniel Brooks
Client Success & Bookkeeping Manager
Daniel runs the monthly close for every Growth and Portfolio client and the team that keeps onboarding calm. If your books arrive on the 5th and your questions are answered by the next morning, that's his doing.
QuickBooks ProAdvisor · Xero Certified · Gusto payroll partner
- Monthly books
- Payroll
- Onboarding
Credentials, memberships and affiliations
AICPA Member CalCPA NAEA IRS Authorized e-file Provider QuickBooks ProAdvisorMarks shown as text for this demo. Memberships and designations are illustrative of a firm of this type and are not claims about a real business.
Our office
Fourth floor, harbor side — or your kitchen table, virtually
Our suite at 210 Harbor Drive was designed for planning conversations: quiet rooms, big screens for walking through numbers together, and no waiting-room drop-off counter. Most clients meet us in person once, then handle everything through the portal and video.
- Address210 Harbor Drive, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101 - HoursMon–Fri 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Sat 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Jan–Apr) - VirtualSecure portal, e-signature and video sessions for clients in 14 states
- ParkingValidated garage parking beneath the building; trolley two blocks east
Community
Rooted in San Diego, invested in the people who run it
A firm that helps businesses grow should help its own city grow, too. Each year the team gives time and expertise back to the neighborhoods our clients live and work in.
- Free tax clinics every February for first-year small-business owners, hosted with local chambers of commerce
- Pro bono IRS representation for a set number of low-income taxpayers each year, led by Marcus Chen, EA
- Investor education — quarterly "Plan the deal" workshops for first-time landlords, no sales pitch attached
- Team volunteer days with harbor clean-ups and food-bank shifts, on paid time
Client story
What eleven years with the same advisor looks like
★★★★★
"We came to Elena in 2015 with one café and a shoebox of receipts. Today it's three locations, an S-corp, a building we own through an LLC and a retirement plan for our staff — and every one of those steps was a conversation with Harbor Tax before it happened, not a scramble after. Same advisor, same phone number, eleven years."
Free 30-minute discovery call
Meet your advisor before you need one.
Tell us what's coming up this year — a purchase, a sale, a new venture — and we'll show you what a plan looks like. No obligation, no hourly meter.