ABOUT THE FIRM
A modern, forward-focused CPA firm
Natalie C. Papagni, CPA — Tax, Planning & Advisory Services serves individuals, high-income earners and businesses in La Jolla, greater San Diego and throughout California.
At higher incomes, the tax you pay depends less on what you earn than on how your income is structured and when it's recognized. Two households with the same income can pay very different amounts; the difference is the art of planning. Multi-year tax strategy and planning, refined quarter by quarter in the current year, allows you to make intentional decisions and achieve the best tax outcomes on your personal, business and trust tax returns. For those committed to tax efficiency, this approach is essential to planning for the future and living your best life.
IMPORTANT TO OUR CLIENTS
Sophisticated planning for complex financial lives
Our clients’ circumstances rarely fit a standard return. W-2 income with variable compensation, equity awards, 1099 locum tenens income, K-1s, real estate and complex investments, an LLC, S corporation or professional corporation with an S-corporation election, business ownership and income across state lines each carry their own rules. Optimizing the result requires intentional decisions and thoughtful planning, often years in advance.
OUR METHODOLOGY
The engineer and the chess player
Effective strategic tax planning takes two approaches integrated and aligned - and working together. Most firms provide one.
WHO WE SERVE
Tax, planning & advisory built around how you earn
Each specialty group we serve is governed by specific tax rules and have unique planning opportunities.
Individuals & High-income Earners
Multi-year strategic tax planning, quarterly tax management, tax preparation and advisory for households earning $250,000 and up. Withholding and estimated payments, retirement savings beyond the 401(k), the SALT deduction, charitable giving under the 2026 rules, rental property and Roth conversions, all planned together.
Executives with Equity Compensation
Multi-year planning and preparation for professionals and executives with RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, ESPP and restricted stock. Federal and California AMT modeled separately, ISO exercises sequenced to minimize AMT, AMT credit recovery plans, and planning around a move out of California.
Physicians & Healthcare Professionals
Planning, quarterly tax management, preparation and advisory for physicians with W-2, 1099 locum tenens and private practice income, from residency through retirement, including professional medical corporations with an S-corporation election.
Owner-entrepreneurs, S-corps & LLCs
The right entity choice, post-formation setup packages, reasonable compensation analysis, accountable plan design, the California PTET election, and personal and business returns planned together.
Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) ⟶
Explore Partnerships ⟶
Pre & Post IPO
Multi-year tax strategy for founders, executives and employees before and after their company goes public: early exercises and 83(b) elections, QSBS, ISO exercises sequenced around AMT, lockup expiration, and diversifying a concentrated position across tax years.
The Engineer Mindset
Rigorous, rule-bound and fluent in how each provision of the tax code actually operates.
The engineer makes sure every move is technically sound, every calculation is derived from the real mechanics rather than a rule of thumb, and every number holds up under scrutiny.
Without the engineer, a planning approach has no foundation.
The Chess Player Mindset
Thinks several moves ahead. Exercising options, selling stock or converting to Roth isn't just this year's transaction; it sets up, or blocks, what you can do next year and the year after.
The chess player arranges the sequence so each year's moves build toward the result you actually want.
Without the chess player, isolated decisions that appear attractive on the surface often quietly lead to the overpayment of taxes in the current year and future years.
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE NATALIE C. PAPAGNI, CPA
Large-firm expertise. Boutique-firm attention. Fixed fees.
With 15+ years of experience as a CPA specializing in tax, Natalie C. Papagni architects tax strategy, guides advanced planning, and personally prepares and signs her clients' individual, business and trust tax returns. There are no handoffs to junior staff.
A licensed California CPA and AICPA member, Natalie brings the technical depth and precision found at large firms, with the direct access, responsiveness and unhurried attention found at boutique firms.
Most large firms are built for high volume: hourly billing, uncertain fees and handoffs to rotating junior staff. Many small practices are generalists focused on high-volume preparation and basic tax planning when December rolls around.
Natalie C. Papagni, CPA was built for clients who expect and deserve more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work primarily with high-income earners?
Yes. Most clients have household incomes from $250,000 to $1 million + and financial lives that keep evolving: professionals and executives with equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, NSOs and founder stock), physicians and healthcare professionals, and owner-entrepreneurs with the S-corporations, LLCs, partnerships and sole proprietorships they own.
What does a proactive CPA firm do differently?
It plans ahead rather than recording what already happened. Instead of meeting once a year to file returns, it builds multi-year projections, reviews them quarterly and recommends moves before deadlines pass, such as timing stock option exercises, making the California PTET election or funding retirement plans. Natalie C. Papagni, CPA works this way for every client, for a fixed fee agreed in advance.
Can one La Jolla CPA handle both my personal and business taxes?
Yes. Natalie C. Papagni, CPA plans and prepares personal and business returns together for owner-entrepreneurs and their companies, so every decision is made with the total tax across both in view.
Do you work with clients throughout California?
Yes. The firm serves clients in La Jolla, greater San Diego and throughout California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as clients out of state. Meetings take place by Zoom, phone or in person, with documents exchanged through a secure client portal. When appropriate, Natalie travels to meet clients.
What is your fee structure?
Fixed fees, quoted and agreed in advance. For select services an hourly arrangement may be more appropriate, and that is agreed before any work begins.
Can the firm fix mistakes made by a previous tax preparer?
Yes. Natalie reviews returns prepared by prior CPAs and preparers and handles the remediation directly: amended individual and business returns, corrections to retirement plan contribution errors and penalty abatement requests where reasonable cause exists.
What should I ask before hiring a new CPA firm?
Six questions: Who will prepare my return? Who reviews and signs it? How long has that person been with the firm? Will I have direct access to a CPA? Are fees fixed and quoted in advance? Is any of the work outsourced? You should leave the first conversation knowing the one person responsible for your work. At Natalie C. Papagni, CPA, that person is Natalie, who architects your strategy and prepares and signs your returns, with no handoffs to junior staff.
How do I schedule a consultation?
Book a complimentary 30-minute consultation online at lajollataxcpa.com, call (858) 754-8277 or email service@lajollataxcpa.com. Meetings are available by phone, Zoom or in person at 4275 Executive Square, Suite 200, La Jolla.
