01
Unfiled Returns
One year behind is a problem. Three or more is a case file being built.
For CPAs, EAs & Bookkeepers Nationwide
The Call You Dread Is the One Where Your Client Has a Levy Date.
Not a Notice. A Date.
When your client crosses from compliance into crisis, you need one person you trust enough to hand them to. That person is Carlos Samaniego, EA, NTPI Fellow — the resolution specialist tax professionals nationwide call when the situation is beyond their lane.
📺 Featured on PBS w/ Dennis Quaid🏆 EXPY Award Winner📖 Amazon Bestselling Author🎖️ NTPI Fellow®
Tax Debt Consultants
Carlos Samaniego, EA
Liz Samaniego, Co-Founder
Two Kinds of Tax Problems
There is compliance work. And there is resolution work.
Your lane
Compliance
- Tax return preparation
- Bookkeeping & accounting
- Tax planning
- Filings & extensions
Carlos's lane
Resolution
- IRS & California FTB negotiation
- Stopping levies & wage garnishments
- Offers in Compromise
- Revenue Officer cases & unfiled years
When your client crosses from one lane into the other, you now have somewhere to send them.
As Seen On & Recognized By
The resolution specialist trusted by media, peers, and thousands of taxpayers.
NBCCBSABCPBSUSA TodayHollywood Live
2020 Tax Professional of the Year
EXPY Award — Media Communication
PBS Documentary w/ Dennis Quaid
Top 10 Small Business Tax Podcast
Amazon Bestselling Author
NTPI Fellow® — Elite Designation
Published Works
Four books. One mission: demystify tax enforcement.
The Tax Underworld
A Guide to the Villains
How to Make the IRS an Offer They Can't Refuse
The 3-Phase Rescue Playbook
Never Give Up!
Co-authored with Dick Vitale
Shut Down Cali Claw
Beating the California Franchise Tax Board
The Moment You Already Know
You have been in this situation.
A client sits across from you. The number on the IRS notice is bigger than you expected. Maybe they have unfiled returns going back three years. Maybe a Revenue Officer just called. Maybe they owe the FTB and have no idea a bank levy is already in the sequence.
You are good at what you do. But what they need right now is not a tax preparer.
It is a resolution specialist.
And until now, you probably did not have one you trusted enough to send your client to.
The part most CPAs want to hear first
Your client stays
your client.
When you refer a client to Tax Debt Consultants, nothing about your relationship with that client changes. Every piece of tax preparation, bookkeeping, accounting, or financial work you do for them continues exactly as it is.
Carlos handles the resolution. You keep the client. When the resolution is complete, they go right back to you. That is not a courtesy — it is in the Partner Agreement.
Your client stays your client. Period.
Who Carlos Is
Carlos Samaniego, EA — NTPI Fellow.
On Stage
National Speaker
Carlos Samaniego, EA
IRS & California FTB Resolution Specialist
- Credential
- EA · NTPI Fellow
- Focus
- Resolution only
- Experience
- 10+ years
- Prior career
- 11 yrs EMT
Carlos is an Enrolled Agent and NTPI Fellow (the highest post-EA credential in tax resolution — fewer than 1% of EAs hold it) based in California. He has spent the last decade resolving IRS and California FTB tax debt for individuals and small business owners across the country.
He has spent years cleaning up cases that came to him after resolution mills promised everything, documented nothing, and disappeared.
Where the System Came From
He spent his life rescuing people.
Before Carlos became an EA, he was an army veteran trained as a psychiatric tech and army medic. After that, he spent eleven years as an EMT in the Inland Empire. He learned something in that work that he has never stopped using. When someone is in crisis, you do not start with paperwork. You stop the bleeding first. Then you figure out the rest.
That is not a metaphor. It is a protocol. He calls it Triage, Stabilize, Rescue. Every client who walks through the door gets worked through that system in sequence. No exceptions.
What a Referral Actually Looks Like
A CPA calls on a Thursday afternoon. Her client has a Revenue Officer who made first contact two days earlier. Behind it: eighteen months of unfiled payroll returns and a trust fund penalty building against the owner personally. By Friday morning we had a Triage call with the client. By Monday the Revenue Officer had a Power of Attorney on file and the client had a written outline of exactly what the next ninety days would look like. The CPA kept the client. The client kept their business. That is the sequence.
Phase 1
Triage
Phase 2
Stabilize
Phase 3
Rescue
No mills. No paralegals running cases. Every referral is worked directly by a licensed professional on our team.
The 7 Signs
Your client needs a referral when you see any of these.
02
Payroll Tax Deposits Falling Behind
The trust fund penalty follows the owner personally. This is not a bookkeeping fix.
03
An FTB Notice in Their Hand
California does not send reminders. Every notice is a move in a collection sequence.
04
Your Client Went Quiet
They are not avoiding you. They are avoiding the problem. Silence makes it worse.
05
A Balance Growing Faster Than They Can Explain
Penalties and interest compound silently. A $20,000 problem becomes $35,000 while they wait.
06
A Revenue Officer Made Contact
This is the line. When an RO is assigned, the situation has moved beyond compliance.
07
They Said "I'll Handle It Myself"
The most dangerous sign of all. Unrepresented taxpayers trip landmines pros know to avoid.
How the Referral Works
Three steps. Two minutes. One follow-up within 24 hours.
Step 1
Spot It
Use the Spotter Card to identify clients who have crossed from compliance into resolution territory.
Step 2
Hand It Off
Give your client the Hand-Off Packet. Fill out the Referral Intake Form. Fax or email it to Carlos.
Step 3
Get Paid
When your client gets started, you receive a referral fee. No invoicing. Carlos tracks it and pays you.
Referral Fees
Earn on every referral. Grow with every partner year.
Per Client
Referral fee paid per client
When your client engages with Tax Debt Consultants, you receive a referral fee. No invoicing. We track it and pay you.
Long-Term Partners
Improved terms over time
Partners who refer regularly earn preferential rates. The exact structure is spelled out in the one-page Partner Agreement — nothing assumed, nothing hidden.
- Paid within 30 days of engagement
- By check or ACH — your choice
- No minimums. No exclusivity.
Referral fee amounts and terms are defined in the Partner Agreement and may vary by engagement.
What's Inside
The free Referral Partner Kit.
Download everything you need to start referring in the next 10 minutes.
01
The Spotter Card
Seven warning signs in plain language. Keep it at your desk.
02
The Hand-Off Packet
Give this to your client the moment you identify the problem. They arrive at Carlos's door already oriented.
03
The Referral Intake Form
Two minutes to complete. Fax or email it. Carlos follows up within one business day.
04
The Partner Agreement
One page. Plain English. Your client stays yours. Signed once and done.
Get the Kit
Get the Kit. Start Referring.
Fill out the form. The complete Referral Partner Kit downloads immediately. Carlos will follow up with a quick confirmation call.
Every week a referral partner operates without a resolution protocol in place is a week a client can hit a crisis with no handoff ready. The kit takes two minutes to download. The Spotter Card goes on your desk. The next time you see one of the seven signs, you will know exactly what to do.