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4275 Executive Square Suite 200
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 754-8277
Natalie C. Papagni, CPA - Tax, Planning & Advisory Services
4275 Executive Square Suite 200 La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 754-8277
A Different Kind of CPA Firm.
For Individuals & High-Income Earners, Physicians, S-corps, LLCs & Partnerships
That Expect & Deserve More.
​​For individuals & high income earners with incomes typically ranging from $250K to $2 Mil+, we act as a proactive tax strategist, coordinating the moving parts of a complex financial life - including wages, equity compensation (ISOs, RSUs, NSOs & restricted stock), bonuses, investment income, K-1s, rental real estate, and business income - into a firm yet flexible plan designed to minimize tax liabilities, effective tax rates, uncertainty, and year-end surprises.
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Throughout the year, we provide quarterly tax management services to update and refine projections and quarterly estimated tax payments, keeping our clients focused and on track to achieve year-end goals.
At year-end, we prepare our clients' individual, business and trust tax returns in full compliance with federal and state tax laws - capturing all deductions planned for, earned and deserved.
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Unlike most CPAs, we encourage our clients to call us anytime they have a question, information to share or can be of service in any way. Our mutual commitment to clear communications throughout the year provides our clients the best opportunity to achieve tax outcomes planned for, earned and deserved.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why do two households earning the same income pay very different taxes?
The type of income you are earning matters. For example, individuals with high W-2, interest and dividends income have a materially differenttax structure than individuals with the same level of income earned from self-employment income, qualified dividends, K-1s from a passive activity, real estate and capital gains capital gains.
What is the Net Investment Income Tax and additional Medicare Tax and Can They Be Avoided?
These surtaxes apply on top of federal and California tax once income crosses thresholds. They increase marginal rates without looking like a traditional bracket. Many households underestimate their impact. A well-architected tax strategy will assist you minimize taxes on income, NIIT, self-employment and other taxes.
When Should I Consider a Roth Conversion Strategy?
Roth conversions are a tax‑rate arbitrage decision. When future tax rates are expected to be higher than today’s effective rate, Roth conversions can lower lifetime taxes. But if the timing is wrong—meaning your current effective rate is not actually lower—you can accidentally increase taxes and trigger IRMAA/Medicare surcharges.
Roth Conversions should be a component in a well-defined multi-year tax strategy - and not performed as an isolated event.
Why do high earners pay more tax in California than anywhere else?
California taxes ordinary income at up to 13.3%, taxes capital gains at the same rates as ordinary income (no preferential rate), and does not conform to several federal benefits — including HSA deductions and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusions. Combined with federal rates, a high-income Californian can face a marginal rate approaching or exceeding 50%. That is exactly why proactive planning has more dollar impact in California than in almost any other state: every deduction, deferral, and election is worth more at a 50% marginal rate.
Should a high-income professional do a backdoor Roth?
Usually yes — the backdoor Roth is a standard, well-established strategy for anyone over the direct Roth income limits, moving $7,000+ per year (plus a spousal contribution) into permanently tax-free growth. The critical detail is the pro-rata rule: pre-tax balances in any traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA make the conversion partially taxable, so those balances must be dealt with first — often by rolling them into an employer plan. Executed for both spouses over a career, this single strategy compounds into hundreds of thousands of tax-free dollars.
How do I get the most out of my employer 401(k)?
Start with the full employee deferral — $24,500 for 2026, plus an $8,000 catch-up at age 50 ($11,250 at ages 60–63) — and never leave match dollars behind: an unclaimed employer match is a guaranteed, immediate 50–100% return no investment can replicate. From there, three moves separate high earners who fully use their plan from those who don't. First, check whether your plan allows after-tax contributions with in-plan Roth conversion — the "mega backdoor Roth" — which can add tens of thousands per year of Roth savings above the normal limit. Second, if you earned over $150,000 in 2025, your catch-up contributions must now be made as Roth — confirm your plan offers a Roth catch-up feature, or you lose the catch-up entirely. Third, coordinate the deferral if you have any outside income: your $24,500 limit is shared across all employers' plans, but a side business can open a second, separate bucket of employer-funded contribution capacity.
What retirement strategies go beyond the 401(k) for high earners?
Above the standard 401(k), the ladder runs: 457(b) plans (a second, separate deferral limit for hospital and university employees), mega backdoor Roth after-tax contributions inside an employer plan, backdoor Roth IRAs, HSAs treated as stealth retirement accounts, and taxable-account strategies like direct indexing with tax-loss harvesting. For professionals with any self-employment income — consulting, speaking, moonlighting, board service — a solo 401(k) or even a cash balance plan opens contribution capacity that W-2 income alone never reaches. That 1099 income is often the single biggest unlocked door in a high earner's tax picture.
Who needs to file an FBAR?
Any U.S. person — citizen, green card holder, or tax resident — must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if the combined value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, even for one day. The threshold is aggregate, not per account, and the definition is broader than most people expect: foreign bank and brokerage accounts, foreign pensions, foreign life insurance with cash value, and accounts you merely have signature authority over — such as a parent's account abroad. Common triggers include time spent working or training overseas, inherited accounts, and dual citizenship. The FBAR is filed separately from your tax return, and penalties start at over $10,000 per violation even for innocent oversights. If you have unfiled prior years, don't simply start filing — the IRS's streamlined procedures resolve past years properly, and choosing the right path matters.
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Tax Strategist for High-Income Earners & Businesses
— La Jolla, Greater San Diego & California —
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Who I Serve
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The firm provides tax planning services in La Jolla and works as a proactive tax strategist across San Diego for high-income earners, physicians, executives with equity compensation, and business owners. The vast majority of our engagements focus on proactive strategy and planning coupled with year-end compliance.
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Tax Planning, Preparation & Advisory Services
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Services include advanced tax planning, individual and business tax preparation in La Jolla, greater San Diego and throughout California. Many of our clients are physicians and healthcare professionals with multiple income streams and S-corporations that benefit from reasonable compensation analysis, QBI and California PTET optimization, multi-layered retirement plan strategies, and strategies to maximize the benefits of business ownership, professionals and executives with equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, NQOs, restricted stock, founder's stock) that benefit from equity compensation planning, multi-state tax preparation, retirement plan tax planning, trust tax preparation, tax projection and scenario planning, and amended return preparation and quarterly tax management.
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Serving La Jolla, Greater San Diego & California
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Recognized among the best CPAs for high earners in La Jolla (La Jolla Village News) the firm provides year-round tax planning for high-income clients across San Diego and California.​
Natalie C. Papagni, CPA
Tax, Planning & Advisory Services
4275 Executive Square Suite 200
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 754-8277