Margarita Cabanillas, E.A., EA, NTPI Fellow, CTC
Elite Tax Agency, Inc.
About
Most tax professionals focus on filing returns. Margarita goes further—combining tax strategy, fractional CFO-level advisory, and hands-on accounting into one integrated engagement. With a proprietary approach grounded in business data and situational tax law research, she doesn’t just report on your finances; she helps you shape them. Clients benefit from a single trusted advisor who understands the full picture and stays engaged year-round. With a comprehensive approach covering tax strategy, accounting, and fractional CFO & COO-level advisory, she goes far beyond annual tax filing—helping clients reduce liability, improve cash flow, and plan with confidence. She works with businesses earning $5M–$10M across professional services, real estate, consulting, and more. Worth a conversation if this resonates.
Services and Specialties
IRS Power of Attorney Representation (Form 2848)
You stop talking to the IRS directly, because a licensed representative steps in and handles every call, notice, and deadline on your behalf.
Offer in Compromise
When you genuinely cannot pay the full balance, this settles the debt for less than what you owe and closes the account for good.
Installment Agreement Negotiation
Your balance gets converted into a monthly payment you can actually live with, and the collection calls stop while it stays current.
Partial Pay Installment Agreement
You pay only what your budget truly supports each month, and any balance still standing when the collection statute expires goes away.
Currently Not Collectible Status
When paying anything would leave you short on rent, food, or medicine, the IRS is required to back off and pause collection entirely.
Levy and Garnishment Release
Money already being pulled from your paycheck or bank account gets released, often within days, so you can cover your household again.
Federal Tax Lien Withdrawal, Discharge, or Subordination
The lien stops blocking your ability to sell your home, close a refinance, or get approved for business credit.
Penalty Abatement (First Time and Reasonable Cause)
Penalties that ballooned your balance get removed when you had a clean history or a legitimate reason you fell behind.
Interest Abatement
Interest caused by IRS delay or error is recalculated off your account instead of quietly compounding against you.
Unfiled and Back Tax Return Compliance
Years of missing returns get filed correctly and in the right order, which is the step that unlocks every other resolution option.
Substitute for Return (SFR) Reconsideration
The inflated return the IRS filed for you gets replaced with a real one, and the balance usually drops sharply.
IRS Account Transcript Analysis
You get a clear written picture of exactly what the IRS has on file, what they think you owe, and how long they can legally collect it.
Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) Analysis
You find out the date the debt legally expires, which sometimes means waiting is a far better strategy than paying.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Defense
Protects you personally from being held responsible for unpaid payroll taxes your business could not cover.
Payroll Tax (941) Resolution
Keeps an unpaid payroll tax problem from escalating to the point where the business is shut down and the doors close.
Innocent Spouse Relief
Separates you from a tax debt your spouse or former spouse created, so their decisions stop following you.
Injured Spouse Allocation
Recovers your share of a joint refund that was seized to pay a debt that belonged only to your spouse.
Collection Due Process and Equivalent Hearings
Forces a formal, independent review before the IRS is allowed to levy, and buys real time to put a solution in place.
Collection Appeals Program (CAP) Representation
Gives you a fast appeal route when a lien or levy action is about to happen and waiting is not an option.
Taxpayer Advocate Service Referrals and Hardship Cases
When the normal channels have stalled and you are facing real hardship, this escalates your case to someone who can break the logjam.
Passport Certification Reversal (Seriously Delinquent Debt)
Clears the tax flag that is blocking your passport renewal so your travel and work plans are not held hostage.
Federal Contractor and Levy Compliance Support
Restores your standing so a tax balance stops disqualifying you from contracts and payments you have already earned.
IRS Notice and Letter Response
Every notice gets answered accurately and on time, which is what keeps a small problem from turning into an enforced collection case.
Identity Theft and Fraudulent Return Resolution
Untangles a return someone else filed in your name and gets your real refund and your account restored.
Correspondence Audit Representation
The mail audit gets answered with the right documentation the first time, which is usually what keeps it from expanding.
Office Audit Representation
A licensed representative attends in your place, so you are not answering questions on the spot that you were never prepared for.
Field Audit Representation
Keeps a revenue agent inside agreed boundaries instead of roaming through years and issues that were never part of the exam.
CP2000 Underreporter Response
Challenges the matching notice line by line, and often the proposed balance drops to zero once the real basis is shown.
Audit Reconsideration
Reopens an audit you lost or never knew about, so an assessment built on missing records can finally be corrected.
Doubt as to Liability Offer in Compromise (Form 656-L)
For when the problem is not that you cannot pay, it is that you do not actually owe it, and this is the route to prove the assessment itself is wrong.
IRS Appeals Representation
Takes your case to an independent office with authority to settle, which is where most disputes actually get resolved.
Protest Letter Preparation
Puts your position in writing with the law and facts organized the way Appeals expects to see them.
Employment Tax Examination Representation
Defends how you classified and paid your workers before a payroll assessment lands on the business.
Worker Classification and Section 530 Relief
Protects you from years of retroactive payroll tax when you had a reasonable basis for treating workers as contractors.
Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Exam and Withdrawal Support
Handles an ERC claim under review or one you now need to withdraw, without turning it into a penalty case.
Criminal Tax Referral Support and Coordination with Counsel
Recognizes when a case has crossed into criminal exposure and gets the right attorney involved before you say too much.
Voluntary Disclosure and Streamlined Filing Compliance
Brings undisclosed income or foreign accounts current on your terms, which carries far lighter consequences than being found.
FBAR and Foreign Account Reporting Compliance
Gets offshore accounts reported properly so you are not exposed to penalties that can exceed the account balance itself.
State Income Tax Resolution
Handles a state balance with the same structure as an IRS case, because state agencies often move faster and hit harder.
State Sales and Use Tax Audit Defense
Defends the exemption certificates and records behind your sales tax, where assessments are frequently built on estimates.
State Sales Tax Representation
Handles the sales tax account itself, the filings, the balances, and the negotiations, not only the audit when one shows up.
State Payroll and Withholding Tax Resolution
Keeps a state payroll balance from turning into a personal assessment against you as an officer or owner.
State Offer in Compromise and Payment Plans
Settles or structures the state balance so you are not solving the federal problem while the state one grows.
Sales Tax Nexus and Registration Analysis
Tells you exactly which states you are required to collect in, before one of them tells you first with a bill attached.
State Voluntary Disclosure Agreements
Limits how many back years a state can reach and usually removes penalties when you come forward first.
Residency and Domicile Audit Defense
Proves where you actually live when a high tax state claims you never really left.
Local and Property Tax Appeals
Challenges an assessed value that is out of line with what your property is genuinely worth.
Individual Tax Return Preparation (Form 1040)
Your return is prepared accurately and defensibly, with every deduction and credit you are legitimately entitled to claim.
Self Employed and Schedule C Return Preparation
Your business income and expenses are reported in a way that holds up, which matters because Schedule C draws extra attention.
Rental and Real Estate Return Preparation
Depreciation, basis, and passive loss rules are handled correctly so you are not leaving deductions behind or inviting a notice.
Partnership Return Preparation (Form 1065)
Allocations and K-1s are prepared right and delivered on time, so your partners can file without chasing you.
S Corporation Return Preparation (Form 1120-S)
Reasonable compensation, basis, and distributions are documented properly, which is exactly where S corporation audits start.
C Corporation Return Preparation (Form 1120)
Your corporate return is filed accurately with the timing and elections that keep the overall tax bill down.
Trust Return Preparation (Form 1041)
Income is allocated correctly between the trust and its beneficiaries, so nobody pays tax twice on the same dollar.
Estate Income Tax Return Preparation (Form 1041)
Keeps the estate compliant during administration so the executor can close it without a lingering tax issue.
Estate Tax Return Preparation (Form 706)
Values the estate and preserves the portability election that can save a surviving spouse an enormous amount later.
Gift Tax Return Preparation (Form 709)
Documents lifetime gifts properly so the exemption you used is never in question years from now.
Multi-State Return Preparation
Income is sourced to the right states with the right credits, so you are not taxed twice on the same earnings.
Amended Return Preparation (Form 1040-X)
Corrects a return that was wrong or incomplete, and often recovers a refund you did not know you were owed.
Prior Year and Delinquent Return Preparation
Gets every open year filed and brings you current, which is the requirement behind almost every resolution option.
FBAR Preparation (FinCEN Form 114)
Reports your foreign accounts on time, which matters because the penalty for missing this one can exceed what is sitting in the account.
Fiduciary and Court Accounting Support
Gives the court and the beneficiaries a clean accounting so the fiduciary is protected from later challenge.
Annual Tax Planning
Decisions get made before December 31, while you can still change the outcome instead of just reporting it.
Quarterly Tax Projections
You know what you will owe long before it is due, so April is a confirmation rather than a shock.
Estimated Tax Payment Calculation
You pay the right amount at the right time, which keeps underpayment penalties off your return.
Entity Selection and Restructuring Analysis
Shows what your business structure is actually costing you and whether changing it would pay for itself.
Reasonable Compensation Studies
Sets and documents an owner salary that survives examination, which is the number S corporation audits turn on.
Retirement Plan Contribution Strategy
Turns money you were going to owe in tax into money that stays yours and compounds for retirement.
Capital Gains and Loss Harvesting Planning
Times your sales and offsets so a strong investment year does not hand back its gains at tax time.
Real Estate and 1031 Exchange Planning
Keeps the gain from a property sale working for you instead of going to tax in the year you sell.
Cost Segregation Coordination
Pulls depreciation forward on a building you already own and frees up cash in the near term.
Multi-Year Tax Modeling
Compares several years side by side so a move that looks good this year does not cost you more over time.
Business Sale and Exit Tax Planning
Structures the sale before you sign, which is the only point at which the tax result can still be changed.
Equity Compensation and Stock Option Planning
Times exercises and sales so your equity does not trigger a tax bill larger than the cash you received.
Outsourced CFO Services
Puts a financial strategist in the room for pricing, hiring, and growth decisions before you commit to them.
Owner and Officer Compensation Setup
Owner pay runs through payroll correctly, which supports the reasonable compensation position on your return.
Retirement Planning
You get a clear answer on whether you are actually on track to retire when you want to, and what to change if you are not.
Expense Reduction Analysis
A line by line review of what you spend that typically finds recurring costs you forgot you were still paying.
Business Valuation Services
Tells you what your business is genuinely worth, which you need for a sale, a buyout, a divorce, or an estate.
Estate Planning Coordination
Makes sure your tax picture and your estate documents agree with each other, because conflicts surface at the worst time.
Succession and Exit Planning
Builds the plan for handing off or selling the business years before you need it, which is what protects the value.
Cash Flow Forecasting and Management
Shows you what your bank balance will look like months ahead, so payroll is never a surprise.
Budgeting and Financial Modeling
Turns your plan for the year into numbers you can actually measure against month by month.
Key Performance Indicator Dashboards
Puts the handful of numbers that actually drive your business on one page you can read in a minute.
Pricing Strategy Analysis
Finds out whether your prices are covering what the work truly costs, which is where most margin quietly disappears.
Profitability by Product, Service, or Client
Reveals which parts of your business make money and which ones you have been subsidizing without realizing it.
Break-Even and Capacity Analysis
Tells you exactly how much you need to sell to cover costs, and what happens when you add another person or location.
Business Plan Development
Puts your plan in a form a lender, an investor, or a partner will take seriously.
Financing and Loan Package Preparation
Assembles the financial package lenders ask for so your application is not delayed or declined on paperwork.
Merger and Acquisition Advisory
Guides you through buying or merging so you understand what you are actually acquiring before you commit.
Buy-Sell Agreement Consulting
Sets the rules for what happens if a partner dies, leaves, or wants out, while everyone is still on good terms.
Due Diligence Support
Verifies that the numbers behind a deal are real before your money is committed to them.
Internal Control and Fraud Risk Assessment
Finds the gaps that let money walk out the door, which are almost always in the places owners trust most.
Litigation Support and Expert Witness
Gives your attorney a credentialed expert who can explain the financial evidence in terms a judge or jury follows.
Divorce and Marital Asset Analysis
Values and divides the financial picture accurately, including the tax consequences that most settlements overlook.
Asset Protection Planning
Structures what you own so a lawsuit or a creditor cannot reach everything you have built.
Risk Management and Insurance Review
Checks whether your coverage matches your actual exposure, before you find out during a claim that it does not.
Wealth Transfer and Gifting Strategy
Moves assets to the next generation deliberately, at the lowest tax cost the law allows.
Charitable Giving Strategy
Structures your giving so the causes you care about get more and the tax benefit to you is maximized.
Education Funding Planning
Builds a realistic plan for college costs using the accounts and credits that actually apply to your situation.
Roth Conversion Analysis
Shows whether converting now costs less than the tax your heirs or your future self would pay later.
Retirement Plan Design and Administration
Sets up the plan that fits your business, so you and your team get the largest allowed contribution.
Executive and Deferred Compensation Consulting
Designs pay packages that keep key people without creating a tax problem for them or for the company.
Technology and Accounting System Selection
Picks the software that fits how you actually work, instead of forcing your business to fit the software.
Process Improvement and Workflow Automation
Removes the manual steps that eat your team's week and introduce most of the errors.
Cybersecurity and Data Protection Advisory
Protects client and financial data, which is both a real risk and a written requirement for most licensed practices.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
Makes sure the business can keep operating and get paid after a storm, a fire, or a system failure.
Real Estate Investment Advisory
Runs the numbers on a property before you buy so the returns are based on math rather than optimism.
Startup and New Business Formation Advisory
Gets the entity, the books, and the tax elections right at the beginning, which is far cheaper than fixing them later.
Franchise Advisory
Reviews what the franchise agreement will actually cost you against what the earnings claims suggest.
Board and Governance Advisory
Gives your board the financial reporting and oversight structure it needs to govern responsibly.
Personal Financial Statement Preparation
Produces the personal financial statement lenders and bonding companies ask for, in the format they expect.
Debt Restructuring and Creditor Negotiation
Renegotiates what you owe outside of court so the business can breathe and keep operating.
Turnaround and Restructuring Advisory
Stabilizes a business that is losing money and builds the plan to bring it back.
Cost Accounting and Job Costing
Tells you what each job truly costs to deliver, which is the only way to bid work profitably.
Inventory and Supply Chain Advisory
Frees the cash sitting in overstocked inventory without leaving you short on what sells.
Financial Literacy and Owner Coaching
Teaches you to read your own numbers, so you stop waiting on someone else to tell you how the business is doing.
Family Office and Household Financial Management
Coordinates the accounting, tax, and reporting across everything a family owns, in one place.
Elder Care and Aging Parent Financial Planning
Plans for long term care costs and the tax side of caring for an aging parent, before a health event forces the decisions for you.
Software Selection, Analysis, and Setup
Evaluates what you are running today against what you actually need, then gets the replacement installed and working rather than half migrated.
AI Training and Implementation
Puts practical AI tools into your day to day work with the guardrails a regulated practice needs, so it saves time without putting client data at risk.
Industries Served
- Accounting Firms
- AI & Machine Learning
- Amusement Parks
- App Development
- Apparel & Fashion
- Architecture
- Artists & Craftspeople
- Auto Body Shops
- Auto Repair Shops
- Aviation
- Bakeries
- Bars & Nightclubs
- Bed & Breakfasts
- Brick & Mortar Retail
- Cannabis Dispensaries
- Car Dealerships
- Car Washes
- Catering
- Childcare & Daycare
- Chiropractic
- Cleaning Services
- Coffee Shops
- Commercial Real Estate
- Consulting
- Content Creators
- Courier Services
- Crop Farming
- Cybersecurity
- Data Centers
- Delivery Drivers
- Delivery Services
- Demolition
- Dental Practices
- Dropshipping
- E-commerce
- Elder Care
- Electrical Contracting
- Engineering
- Event Planning
- Event Venues
- Film & Video Production
- Financial Planning
- Fitness Studios & Gyms
- Flooring
- Food Manufacturing
- Food Trucks
- Freelancers
- Furniture Stores
- General Construction
- Grocery Stores
- Hair Salons & Barbershops
- Hardware
- Home Health Care
- Hotels & Motels
- HR & Staffing
- HVAC
- Independent Contractors
- Insurance
- Insurance Agencies
- Investment Firms
- IT Consulting
- IT Services
- Jewelry Stores
- Land Development
- Landscaping
- Laundry & Dry Cleaning
- Law Firms
- Lending & Financing
- Light Manufacturing
- Logistics
- Maritime
- Marketing Agencies
- Marketplace Sellers
- Masonry
- Medical Practices
- Medical Spas
- Mental Health Counseling
- Mobile Home Parks
- Mortgage Brokers
- Moving Companies
- Music & Arts Schools
- Music Venues
- Musicians & Bands
- Optometry
- Painting
- Parts & Accessories
- Personal Training
- Pet Services
- Pharmacies
- Photographers
- Physical Therapy
- Plumbing
- Podcasters
- Property Management
- Real Estate Brokerage
- Real Estate Investment
- REITs
- Residential Real Estate
- Resorts
- Restaurants
- Rideshare Drivers
- Roofing
- SaaS & Software
- Social Media Influencers
- Solar & Renewable Energy
- Spas & Wellness
- Specialty Shops
- Sports & Athletics
- Talent Agencies
- Taxi & Rideshare
- Theater & Performing Arts
- Tire Shops
- Tour Operators
- Towing Services
- Travel Agencies
- Trucking & Freight
- Tutoring & Coaching
- Vacation Rentals
- Veterinary
- Warehousing
- Wealth Management
- Web Development
- YouTubers & Streamers
Accounting Software
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Desktop
- Xero
- Wave
- Bill.com
- Expensify
- Melio
Payroll Software
- Gusto
- ADP
- Paychex
- QuickBooks Payroll
- Paylocity
- SurePayroll
- TriNet
- Zenefits
Credentials and Verification
Verification Status
Verification in progress
Professional Credentials
- EA (Enrolled Agent)
- NTPI Fellow®
- CTC (Certified Tax Coach)
License Information
Licensed States
AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, PR, GU, VI, AS, MP
Client Reviews
Results described are specific to that client's facts and are not a guarantee or prediction of the outcome of any other matter.