Portrait · pending shoot Ramon Liriano Jr.
Co-founder and Managing Partner at Elevated Tax Strategies. The front-of-house at the firm — Discovery calls, client engagement, operations, the bookkeeping team, sales, marketing, brand, partnerships. If you've talked to ETS, you've probably talked to me.
The front-of-house. Six lanes.
- Client engagement. Every Discovery call. Every engagement intake. The relationship with every client from day one through every quarterly check-in.
- Operations + SOPs. How the firm actually runs — Basecamp workflow, monthly close discipline, intake mapping, Round N preparer review handoff, tech-stack integration.
- The bookkeeping team. Hiring, training, quality control, and the working relationship with Kick. Our bookkeeping practice is the foundation everything else runs on.
- Sales + marketing. The Tax Discovery → Tax Analysis → engagement pipeline. The website voice. The content engine. The Hormozi-direct mechanics behind every page.
- Brand + content. Articles, scripts, deliverables, design system. If it has the ETS name on it, it goes through my hands.
- Partnerships. Kick, Relay, Bluevine, Gusto, Ramp — the tech stack relationships. The partners on /partners. The criteria for new ones.
Two-partner role split. I run the front. My partner runs the back.
ETS has two partners. I run the front-of-house — everything client-facing, operational, marketing-driven. Our managing partner runs the tax practice itself — every tax position, every Round N preparer review on every return, every IRS representation matter, every advisory tax decision.
The split is what makes the firm work. When you book Discovery, I'm the one on the call. When you engage, our managing partner is the one signing your return + standing behind the tax positions. Neither of us delegates our half to associates. That's the entire pitch of the firm — you get the partners, not the associates.
The short version.
Husband. Dad. San Antonio resident. Lift heavy four days a week. Read more about operations and how good teams actually work than about tax law (I leave that to our managing partner). Built ETS to be the firm I would have wanted to call when I was on the other side of the table.
Long version is in the articles below — and in the From the Operator Seat category specifically. I write that lane in first person about how the firm actually operates.
6 articles from me
Most-recent published first. I write across all seven Resources categories — though I'm most active in From the Operator Seat (operations, brand, firm philosophy) and the operational lanes (Tax Planning, Bookkeeping, Operating a Business).
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How to Open a Trump Account on IRS.gov
The IRS enrollment is live and approval is fast. Here is the exact step-by-step for opening your child's Trump account on IRS.gov, claiming the $1,000 seed, and what to expect after you apply.
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The True Cost of Starting a Business
Startup capital is the cheap part. The costs that sink first-year founders are the ones no employer ever made them think about: their own taxes, their cash flow, and their books. Here's the full year-one cost picture.
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S-Corp QBI Deduction: Optimize Your §199A Wage Limit
High-income S-corp owners lose their full QBI deduction to a W-2 wage cap — and the salary you pay yourself controls that cap. Here's the math for finding the sweet spot.
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Multi-Shareholder S-Corps: Income Splits and Adding Owners
Adding a second owner to your S-corp changes everything. Here is what the IRS requires for income splits, who can legally hold shares, and what happens when ownership shifts mid-year.
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S-Corp Payroll Compliance: 941, FUTA, and W-2 Filing Guide
S-corp owner-employees face a year-round payroll compliance calendar most tax software doesn't explain well. Here's the full picture: quarterly 941s, deposit schedules, §6656 penalties, Form 940, and W-2 filings.
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S-Corp State Taxes: A State-by-State Guide for 2026
Your federal S election doesn't stop states from taxing your S-corp at the entity level. California charges 1.5% on net income plus an $800 minimum. Tennessee ignores the S election entirely. Here's what 8 states actually do.
The Discovery call is where I do my best work. 15 minutes. Real conversation.
If you're considering engaging ETS — or just want to know if we're the right fit for your situation — book a 15-min Discovery. I run every one personally.
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