Portrait · pending shoot Ramon Liriano Jr.
Co-founder and 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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S-Corp Termination and Revocation: How to Unwind the Election Cleanly
Most S-corp owners never plan for termination — until the business changes and the election no longer fits. Here's how to unwind cleanly: voluntary revocation, involuntary termination triggers, the 5-year wait, and the tax-year split mechanics.
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S-Corp Spouse on Payroll: Income Splitting, Reasonable Comp, and Retirement Stacking
Adding your spouse to S-corp payroll can unlock $20K–$50K of additional retirement contributions, build their Social Security earnings record, and shift income to a lower bracket — but only if the role and comp are real. Here's the strategy and the audit rules.
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S-Corp Home Office: Corporate Lease vs Accountable Plan vs Personal Deduction
S-corp owners can't deduct home office expenses personally — but the corporation can pay for the space three different ways. Here's the math on each approach, the IRS rules behind them, and the path that wins for most owners.
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The Augusta Rule for S-Corps: Renting Your Home to Your Business Tax-Free
The Augusta Rule lets S-corp owners rent their personal residence to the corporation for up to 14 days per year — tax-free to the owner, deductible by the corporation. Done right, it captures $5K–$25K of pure tax-free income annually. Done wrong, it's an audit lightning rod.
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S-Corp Accountable Plan Setup: The Reimbursement Workflow Step-by-Step
An accountable plan is paper, not magic — but the paper has to be right. Here's the operational walkthrough: the written policy, the reimbursement cadence, the substantiation workflow, and how to wire it through Gusto and your bookkeeping.
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S-Corp PTET Election: The SALT Cap Workaround Explained
The PTET election is the most-effective SALT cap workaround available to S-corp owners in 36 states. It converts non-deductible state tax into a deductible business expense — potentially saving $3K–$15K/yr for high-income owners. Here's how it works.
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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