Ramon Liriano Jr.
Managing Partner at Elevated Tax Strategies. Joel Salas and I are the managing partners, and we work with every client. 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. Joel Salas, my 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, Joel is the one signing your return + standing behind the tax positions. The two partners lead every client file. A small team helps with bookkeeping and scheduling, but you get the partners on the strategy and the signature.
The short version.
Husband. Dad. San Antonio resident. Read more about operations and how good teams actually work than about tax law (I leave that to Joel). I joined ETS to help make it 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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Per Diem Amount for Business Travel: FY2027 Rates
Per diem is a set daily amount for meals and lodging on a business trip. Here's how to find the right per diem amount, who can use it, and how the rules change for the self-employed and S-corp owners.
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Roth Conversion Deadline: Dec. 31 and How Much to Convert
Roth conversions are one of the few tax moves with a hard calendar-year cutoff. Miss December 31 and the window closes for that tax year. Here is how to size the conversion correctly.
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HELOC on Investment Property: How the Interest Is Taxed
Whether you tap your home to buy a rental or tap a rental for cash, the IRS follows the money. Here is how interest tracing decides where HELOC interest goes on your return, and the records that prove it.
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Year-End Close Checklist for Small Business Owners
Year-end close is bigger than a regular monthly close. Here is the owner's own checklist for closing out December cleanly, before any of it goes to a tax preparer.
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W-2 Box 14 Codes: What Each Entry Means for 2026
There is no official list of W-2 box 14 codes. Your employer writes its own labels. Here is how to read the common ones, what changed on the 2026 form, where qualified overtime and tips really go, and what S corp owners should see.
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How Much Does Tax Help Cost? What Drives the Fee
Two people can pay very different fees for tax help and both be paying fairly. The price follows the work: which forms you file, what kind of entity you own, how clean your books are, and whether the IRS has sent you a letter.
The Discovery call is where I do my best work. 20 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 20-min Discovery. I run every one personally.
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