Almanac Tax & Advisory · Wilmington, NC

Plan the year, not the return.

By the time a return is being prepared, every decision that could have changed it has already been made. Adam Shay, CPA, works on your income taxes all year, so you know where you stand while there’s still time to change it.

CPA · NC license #35961
UVA Commerce · Maryland MBA
AICPA member
Capped at 100 clients
Wilmington, NC · virtual

Request my free 30-minute call Call (910) 240-2595

Not ready to talk? Take the 60-second Fit Check Get the Dec 31 checklist

Adam Shay, CPA, founder of Almanac Tax & Advisory — Adam Shay, CPA Founder & CPA · “You’ll work with me.”

Why Almanac

Most income tax relationships are built backward.

The filing is accurate, but it’s also too late to be useful. Almost everything that determines an income tax outcome is decided during the year. Filing is one month. The other eleven are where the outcome is actually decided.

“An almanac is a book about the year ahead. When to plant, when to harvest, what to expect and when. It exists so decisions get made in advance instead of after the fact.”

The usual way

FebruaryYou send documents.
AprilA return is filed.
May – JanuaryYou hear nothing.

Every decision that could have changed the return was already made.

The Almanac way

All yearA written strategy, at least two meetings, quarterly estimates explained.
FallThe year-end planning call, while decisions can still change the outcome.
WinterThe return is the byproduct. Nothing in it is a surprise.

The return is the byproduct. The planning is the work.

The Almanac Wheel

Not a filing season. A calendar.

Four seasons, one CPA. Pick a season to see what happens in it. The needle starts where you are today.

Quarterly estimate dates Tax year closes Today

Spring · April – June

Reset.

We meet to review what happened, what it means, and what the year ahead should look like. Your written strategy is updated while last year is still fresh.

You get: Review meeting + updated written income tax strategy

Summer · July – September

Steady.

Quarterly estimates go out with an explanation, not just a number. A mid-year check on whether anything has drifted from the plan.

You get: Quarterly estimates, calculated and explained

Fall · October – December

Decide.

The year-end planning call, timed while decisions can still change the outcome. Retirement contributions, conversion windows, timing of income and expenses, entity-level moves.

You get: The year-end planning call, the most valuable conversation of the year

Winter · January – March

File.

Documents come in, income tax returns get prepared, questions get answered. Nothing here should be a surprise, because the decisions were made in the fall.

You get: Federal and state returns, prepared, reviewed and filed

Get my year-end call on the calendar

Onboarding starts with a review of your recent returns, a current-year projection and your first written strategy.

Two types of clients

Built for people whose income taxes deserve a plan.

Homes along a lake in Wilmington, North Carolina, in autumn

Individuals & families

Situations where waiting until February costs real money.

High-earning W-2 professionals, dual-income households, real estate investors, and pre-retirees with meaningful investment income.

Equity compensation and bonusesWithholding that never matched what you actually owe, found in April instead of in time.
Rental and real estate incomeIncome and expense timing decided during the year, not reconstructed after it.
Approaching or in retirementConversion windows and distribution timing, coordinated directly with your financial advisor.
Quarterly estimatesCalculated and explained: what to pay, when to pay it, and why the number is what it is.

Plan my household’s year

Business owners

The entity return and the personal return are one situation.

S corporation and partnership owners whose income is growing faster than their planning.

Reasonable compensationCalculated and revisited as needed, rather than set once and forgotten.
One picture, not two engagementsYour S corporation or partnership return and your personal return prepared and reviewed together.
Retirement plan selectionChosen for what the business does and what it costs you personally.
Timing of major purchasesPlanned with the income tax consequence known before the check is written.

Plan my business and personal return as one

Fall · Decide

Moves to make before Dec 31.

By filing season the year is closed and the return simply reports what already happened. These are the decisions that are still open right now.

Download the checklist (PDF) Get my year-end call on the calendar

Free, two pages, no sign-up.

01
Settle retirement contributions

Decide what goes in, and for business owners which retirement plan fits, while the year is still open.
Households · Owners
02
Look at the Roth conversion window

A conversion is a this-year income decision. It works better when the income tax side and the investment side are talking.
Pre-retirees · Investors
03
Time income and expenses

Which side of December 31 a bonus, a sale or a large expense lands on can change the outcome.
Everyone
04
Review reasonable compensation

Check S corporation salary against distributions before the final payroll of the year runs.
S corp owners
05
Coordinate harvesting with your advisor

Gains and losses taken before year-end, with the income tax consequence known first.
Investors
06
Put the January 15 estimate on the calendar

The fourth-quarter estimated payment for the year is due January 15. Know the number, and why it is what it is.
Everyone with estimates

General information only, not income tax advice for your situation. Whether a move makes sense depends on your full picture; talk to a CPA before acting.

A boardwalk over the water in Wilmington, North Carolina

Why it’s built small

Adam built a $2 million firm. Then he built this one capped at 100.

From 2010 to 2023, Adam Shay built a Wilmington tax and accounting practice to $2 million+ in annual revenue. It grew every year, it had a good reputation, and he sold it.

Somewhere in the growth, the job stopped being income tax work. By the end he was reviewing returns for clients he had never spoken with. Almanac is designed so that doesn’t happen again: capped, priced so planning is the product, and small enough that the person who signs your return is the person who knows your situation.

Outside Almanac, Adam coaches accounting firm owners through Share the Knowledge. He’s a husband and the father of two teenage boys; most of his time outside the office goes to the outdoors, sports, reading and cooking.

Certified Public Accountant, licensed in North Carolina (#35961)
B.S. in Commerce, University of Virginia
M.B.A., University of Maryland
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

100client cap. The number of clients is a decision.
2+scheduled meetings a year, not squeezed in.
1business day to a reply, all year, not just January to April.

What you get in year one

A written income tax strategy, not a summary of what happened.

Before anything else, Adam reviews your recent returns, because a single return never reveals the patterns that show up across years. From there: a current-year projection and your first written strategy, in writing, that you both reference and update.

Start my written strategy

Illustrative sample of the document’s structure. Not a client’s plan and not advice.

The engagement

One engagement, built around the year.

Every client gets the same core service. What changes is how often you meet. You go into decisions knowing the income tax consequence, instead of learning it after the fact.

Hands working through papers with a calculator and laptop at a desk

What every client gets

Federal and state income tax returnsPrepared, reviewed and filed. Included in the engagement rather than billed as an event.
A written income tax strategyA plan for what’s ahead, in writing, built in year one and updated every year.
At least two meetings a yearOne before year-end, while decisions can still change the outcome. One to review where things landed.
Quarterly estimatesCalculated, explained, and adjusted when your situation changes.
Proactive outreachWhen a law changes or your situation shifts, you hear from Adam. You shouldn’t have to know to ask.
Coordination with your financial advisorRoth conversions, harvesting and distribution timing, with your permission.
Questions answered year-roundWithin one business day. Not just from January to April.

Adding the entity

Business owners engage the core service plus their entity return, handled together.

S corporation and partnership returnsEntity and personal returns reviewed as one picture.
Reasonable compensation reviewCalculated and revisited as needed.
Entity-level planningRetirement plan selection, timing of major purchases, and what the business does to your personal return.

Plan my business and personal return as one

What isn’t included

Clear up front, so nobody has a difficult conversation later.

Bookkeeping. Your books need to be in good enough shape to work from. If they aren’t, cleanup is engaged separately.
Payroll processing. Adam advises on reasonable compensation and withholding. Running payroll is you or your provider.
Prior-year cleanup and amended returns. Engaged separately when needed.

Who this isn’t for

Being direct about this saves you time.

If it isn’t a fit, Adam will say so and point you somewhere better.

Not sure? Take the Fit Check

If you want the cheapest possible income tax return, this isn’t the right fit.
If you want someone to file what you send and nothing more, you’d be paying for planning you won’t use.
If you’re looking for aggressive positions, Adam won’t be the right fit. Everything here is defensible, documented, and the kind of thing you’d be comfortable explaining to the IRS.

Questions

Straight answers before you reach out.

Adam reads every inquiry himself and replies within one business day. The first call is free, 30 minutes, by video.

Request my free 30-minute call Call (910) 240-2595

Who will actually work on my taxes?

Adam Shay, CPA. No account manager routing your question to someone else and no rotating preparer relearning your situation every January. The person who signs your income tax return is the person who knows your situation.

Why is the practice capped at 100 clients?

At least two meetings a year, a written strategy that gets revisited, and a reply to every message within one business day are only possible at a size where the number of clients is intentional. The cap is the point.

Do I have to live in Wilmington?

No. The practice is virtual by design. Documents move through a secure portal, meetings happen by video, and nothing depends on being in the same city.

Are my tax returns included?

Yes. Federal and state income tax returns are prepared, reviewed and filed as part of the engagement rather than billed as an event. Business owners add their S corporation or partnership return, handled together with the personal return.

What isn’t included?

Bookkeeping, payroll processing, and prior-year cleanup or amended returns. Your books need to be in good enough shape to work from; if they aren’t, cleanup is engaged separately.

What happens in the first year?

Adam reviews your recent income tax returns for the patterns a single return never shows: missed elections, positions worth revisiting, deductions left on the table. Then a current-year projection and your first written income tax strategy.

How do I get started?

Tell Adam a bit about your situation through the new-client form. He reads every inquiry himself and replies within one business day. If it’s a fit, the first call is free, 30 minutes, by video. If it isn’t, he’ll say so and point you somewhere that’s a better fit.

Start with a conversation

There’s still time to change this year’s outcome.

Tell Adam a bit about your situation. If it’s a fit, he’ll set up a free 30-minute video call. If it isn’t, he’ll say so and point you somewhere that’s a better fit.

Save my spot in the 100 Call (910) 240-2595

Or take the 60-second Fit Check first