Taxes may be about numbers, but for Adam Markowitz, they have always been about people.
As the owner of Luminary Tax Advisors, Adam has built his Central Florida tax and accounting firm around a simple idea: financial advice should feel human. Rather than treating taxes as something you deal with once a year and forget about until next April, Luminary takes a year-round approach to helping individuals and small businesses understand their finances, make informed decisions, and find opportunities to save.
From Avoiding Taxes to Finding His Calling
Adam’s path into the tax world wasn’t exactly straightforward.
After graduating from Florida State University in 2007 with degrees in Music and History, Adam had considered careers ranging from meteorology and sports writing to hotel management. Accounting wasn’t originally part of the plan, then he joined his father’s Central Florida accounting practice.
What started as a family business eventually became Adam’s calling. He became an IRS-licensed Enrolled Agent and partnered with his father, Howard Markowitz, in 2014. When Howard retired after decades in the industry, Adam carried the family business forward, rebranding it as Luminary Tax Advisors in 2022.
The business traces its roots all the way back to 1993, when Howard opened his original practice in Leesburg. Today, Adam continues that legacy with what Luminary describes as a “human-first” approach to tax advising. And that human-first philosophy isn’t just a tagline.
Personal Testimony:
“I’m a long-time Turbo Tax user that finally hired an actual human to do my taxes! Between my husband and I, we have an interesting tax situation with W2 income, a small business, clergy income, housing allowance, 1099s, and kids in college. I’ve used Turbo Tax for years, but I always had a pit in my stomach after filing, wondering if I had done everything correct. This year I sat down with with Adam at Luminary and I’m glad I did! Not only did he find errors in Turbo Tax’s calculations that only a human would catch, he gave me big-picture insight into our tax situation and valuable advice that only a human can give!” -Sarah Lemp
Tax Advice Is Never Just Tax Advice
One of Adam’s favorite ways of describing his approach is: “Tax advice is never just ‘tax’ advice, it’s life advice.”
For Luminary, that means looking beyond the tax return itself.
The firm offers year-round tax planning and advising, meeting with clients virtually to understand their individual financial situations and goals. Instead of simply telling someone what they owe, the team works with clients throughout the year to consider how business decisions, purchases, investments, income and other life changes may affect their taxes.
A Different Kind of Tax Firm
For many people, finding a tax professional is about checking one more item off the to-do list.
For Adam Markowitz and the team at Luminary Tax Advisors, it’s about something bigger: helping people understand their financial lives, creating opportunities for small businesses, and building a workplace where different ways of thinking are valued.
From a family accounting practice that began in Central Florida more than 30 years ago to a modern, virtual-first advisory firm, Luminary has continued to evolve while holding onto the lesson Adam learned from his father: treat every client like they’re your grandmother.
Creating Space for Neurodivergent Talent
One of the things that makes Adam and Luminary especially unique is the work they are doing to create more opportunities for neurodivergent professionals. For Adam, the human-first philosophy extends to the people who work at Luminary, too.
Growing out of his own journey toward an autism diagnosis, Adam has helped inspire one of Luminary’s most distinctive initiatives: its Neurodivergent Hiring Program.
The program was created around an observation that makes a lot of sense in the tax industry. Many autistic and otherwise neurodivergent individuals may bring strengths such as focus, memory and attention to detail, qualities that can be valuable in tax and accounting work. Luminary’s goal is to create meaningful career opportunities while also bringing new talent into an industry that needs it.
And importantly, Luminary says the program is not an internship.
Participants become salaried employees from day one and receive competitive wages and benefits, an autism-friendly work environment with individualized accommodations when needed, and training from mentors who understand or have experience with neurodivergent minds.
The goal isn’t simply to give someone a temporary opportunity, either. Participants can earn a permanent place on the Luminary team, or receive help building their resumes and finding opportunities in another field if their goals take them somewhere else.
Luminary has partnered with organizations including PALS of UCF, the Florida Institute of Community Inclusion, Special Hearts Farm and the Jack & Ali Superhero 5K as part of its work supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families.
Learn more about Luminary Tax Advisors:
luminarytaxadvisors.com
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