Book Description

How should capital income be taxed to achieve efficiency and equity? In this detailed study, tax policy analyst Jane Gravelle, brings together comprehensive estimates of effective tax rates on a wide variety of capital by type, industry, legal form, method of financing, and across time. These estimates are combined with a history and survey of issues regarding capital income taxation that are aimed especially at bringing the findings of economic theory and recent empirical research to nonspecialists and policymakers. Many of the topics treated have been the subject of policy debate and legislation over the last ten or fifteen years.

Should capital income be taxed at all? And, if capital income is to be taxed, what is the best way to do it? Gravelle devotes two chapters to the first question, and then, in answer to the second question, covers a broad range of topics - corporate taxation, tax neutrality, capital gains taxes, tax treatment of retirement savings, and capital income taxation and international competitiveness. Gravelle also includes a comprehensive history of tax institutions and data on constructing effective tax rates that are not available elsewhere. ... Read more

Book Description

Comprehensive Coverage
Completely Up-To-Date!

MINIMIZE YOUR TAXES
MAXIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS

Getting Started in Tax-Savvy Investing

The financial future looks bright for those coming of investment age in the new millennium. The only catch is that Americans are paying higher taxes than ever before. Yet, thanks to our lawmakers in Washington, the U.S. tax code is filled with tax deductions, tax exemptions, and tax credits. Until now, most of these lucrative loopholes have been the privileged information of those wealthy enough to hire personal accountants and lawyers. Getting Started in Tax-Savvy Investing breaks the code of silence to reveal these closely held, wealth-building secrets. Learn how to:

• Get started with stocks
• Find the best bond bargains
• Win the tax deferral game
• Invest for the truly long term
• Invest through insurance
• Take advantage of annuities
• Minimize the cruelest tax in America

. . . and much more. Regardless of your profession or income level, now you can make the U.S. tax codes work for you! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great resource
This books includes alot of great, sound information, and is detailed enough to allow a person to discuss the options with their attorney/CPA. It does not provide enough info to allow the nonprofessional to draft any documents. A little disappointed that nearly all of the wealth transfer techniques deal with CRTs. However, they are described in the context of their application in different scenarios, which provides a clear illustration of their benefits (which are significant). In summary, this book provided a number (about a dozen) great ideas for using ones assets to generate income while alive and transferring the assets to children with reduced estate taxes. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

The most comprehensive estate planning book available, Plan Your Estate covers everything from basic estate planning to sophisticated tax-saving strategies for people with estates worth up to $1,200,000 or more. It demystifies:

• probate avoidance
• living wills
• estate tax saving trusts
• funerals and burials
• federal estate and gift taxes
• charitable remainder trusts
• durable powers of attorney.

This useful book includes valuable information about estate-tax savings and family "pot trusts." Good in all states except Louisiana. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

very good study guide and book
Great for law students taking an estate planning course or an estate and gift tax course. Also good for people wanting to learn about estate planning in general. I would recommend this book.

A real find!
At first I was hesitant about doing something so important as planning my estate without a lawyer but this book really changed my mind. It is comprehensive, well organized and very easy to use. Plan Your Estate took me through every step of the process, even the more complicated parts such as providing for both my child from my first marriage and my current family. This book includes sample estate plans so you can get a better idea of what you want to do and even includes the tricky state-by-state rules.
I bought both this book and Estate Planning for Dummies but ended up only using this one. I'm so happy about how much money I saved in legal fees by doing it myself that I've been recommending it to everyone!

Very Thorough
If you expect to have a $1,000,000+ estate and want to understand your tax saving options, this book is excellent. It's readable, usually clear, well organized & well indexed. It progresses into many advanced topics such as QTIP trusts, GSTT trusts, GRATs, GRUTs, GRITs, etc. and explains them in good detail, with examples. Includes some very useful state-by-state info.

You'll work much better with your lawyer if you read this book first.

I read a library copy, but then bought my own.

This book works well with Condon's "Beyond the Grave", which is much weaker on the nuts and bolts of estate tax planning but much better at getting you to think through the human (family conflict) side.

Great primer and resource, but get the companion software
BOTTOM LINE: Many people looking into getting an attorney to prepare a simple will have probably had sticker shock - several hundred dollars minimum for a competent attorney to prepare it. But as this book explains, do it yourself estate lawyering, while not prudent for complex situations, is clearly within the reach of those with even moderately complex situations and the patience to spend a leisurely weekend reading this book.

WHAT IT COVERS: This book is primarily a primer, explaining the foundations of estate planning including: an overview and whether you actually need to spend time reading the book and drafting estate docs, drafting a will, how to think about what assets will go to which family members and other beneficiaries, financial instruments such as brokerage accounts/bank accounts/life insurance and how they fit into wealth transfer, as well as powers of attorney and health care directives. What I like best about the book is that you know you are getting candid advice from someone not trying to bill you by the hour or sell you variable annuity life insurance. In my own area of expertise - finance - the fact that the author's opinion regarding life insurance is dead on (tax planning should be kept separate from investing strategies and as such variable annuities are complete bunk) gives me great comfort that I'm getting straight shooting advice in the rest of the book.

WHAT IT CAN BE USED FOR: The book can serve readers on two different levels. If you are going to get a lawyer anyway but are the type of person that wants to be educated when you talk to lawyers/accountants/brokers, this book will have you speaking the same language and is an easy read over the course of a weekend. If you want to prepare an estate plan yourself, this book serves as an ample resource to help create the necessary docs. The fill-in forms in the back are certainly capable of serving as the basis for your basic estate docs, but at the same time it may be more comforting to most people to have a seamless document that they are not penciling in blanks, which leads to my next point...

THINK ABOUT GETTING THE COMPANION SOFTWARE: This book is published by Nolo Press, a well-respected publisher of legal self-help books. They also publish a software title in conjunction with Quicken (makers of the financial planning software) called Quicken Lawyer which not only has an offline/online legal manual with much of the info included in this book, but its main function is to create a battery of estate documents for you through very simple step-by-step interviews - you answer the questions, it drafts the legalese, you print and execute it. I would almost recommend just getting the software instead b/c there is a decent offline/online manual included, but for those that really want to know the why behind what they're doing, get this book and the software. See my review on Quicken Lawyer Personal Deluxe for more info.

LIMITATIONS: The book readily admits there are situations that require an attorney and points out throughout the book which situations require it. In general, get an attorney if you expect to owe federal estate tax (threshold is currently estates over $1.5 mm, but rising rapidly through 2010), have an ex-wife or two, have kids that don't speak to each other, or other complex family dynamic.

A practical, comprehsive guide
I have read about 10 books on estate planning, and this is by far the clearest, best organized, and most comprehensive of the lot. The authors cover the issues of trusts, tax planning and tax reduction, and asset preservation. This is the book to start with, and is really as good as they get. ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com

Last year it contained 94 pages. This year it's 368. Last year it focused on investment tax matters. This year it covers not only those, but also stuff that's not on Schedule D, such as adoption taxpayer identification numbers and tips on mortgage interest credit. And this year it adds an index and an appendix with a tax calendar and resource section. The Motley Fool Investment Tax Guide 2000 is bigger and better, yet still retains that "please don't take me too seriously" tone that has become the hallmark of the Fool. Written by Selena Maranjian and Roy Lewis, the 2000 edition covers everything from restrictions on wash sales and how to account for taxes on DRIPs to taking medical and home-office deductions. Clearly the Fool is trying to broaden its appeal beyond stock picking, and this edition is one step in that direction. If you manage your own investments and are looking for a readable tax guide that can also help you maximize that education deduction for junior or offer advice on converting your regular IRA to a Roth IRA, then you'll find this a worthwhile addition to your investment library. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best Tax book!
This is the only Tax Book Ive ever read that didnt put me to sleep. Easy to read, lots of great tax advice and lots of humor to keep it interesting. If your an investor, I highly recommend this book. It could save you thousands of dollars!

Easy, Comprehensive Overview of Taxes
This book is worth reading cover-to-cover to learn what you need to know before filing your taxes, and it's also a handy reference that can be used to answer specific questions (I've used it for both). The examples are humorous and clear, and the book does a good job of anticipating what questions will come to mind as you prepare for your tax filing. If your tax situation is getting complicated because of your investments, this book should really help. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

This Is Where It's At!
If you're looking here, you're looking fo real answers.

The truth is that, if the fed gov was operation within its constitutional limits we wouldn't need the N.R.S.T., but such a method of taxation is a step in the right direction.

We must be sure to repeal the 16th amendment first, or we may end up with a worst-case scenario: An N.R.S.T. AND an income tax both!

Be sure also to read "Freedom in Chains" by James Bovard.

Makes the case that a national sales tax would help everyone
I thought this book was excellent. He demonstrates that a national sales tax truly would work, that it would raise enough money to operate the government with less strain on the tax-paying public. And he backs it up with all the facts and figures. He shows that the money that we would save each year just supporting accountants, tax preparers, and tax lawyers would represent billions of dollars in savings. And it would reel in the ever growing underground economy because even dope peddlers and gangsters have to consume every time they buy food, clothes, houses, cars or whatever. There is just no good reason not to try this. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the first, simple to understand, no-nonsense guide on how to fight the IRS and WIN.Written by one of America's most successful tax, attorneys, Cheryl Frank writes about strategies and guidelines that have proven successful in hundreds of cases. Cheryl Frank will teach you: *How to win an IRS audit *How to appeal the decision of an IRS auditor, if you disagree with the findings. *Whether or not you should take your case to court. *What are your 3 best options if you owe taxes; *How to negotiate an installment plan *How to offer to pay less *How to completely discharge the taxes; *If you haven't filed, how to get back in the system unscathed. *How to get the IRS to release your property if it is seized

This book covers a taxpayer's legal rights, negotiation strategies and tips on how to survive an IRS attack and WIN.Learn the strategies that have won hundreds of cases. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money shows that any numbskull can master personal finance. In this second edition, a father-and-daughter writing team, Robert K. Heady and Christy Heady, give readers the best advice culled from their many years of experience in consumer rights and money management. The Headys believe that money must be managed for the long haul and that there are no quick ways to build wealth. The guide is easy to read, witty, and scornful of the hype dished out by banks and other peddlers of personal finance. It provides a plethora of personal-finance tips for consumers, including how to get the best deal on a mortgage, pay off debt, and bank online. The authors expose financial pitfalls such as bank-sold mutual funds, dealer financing for motor vehicles, extended warranties, and those dreaded bank fees. A full chapter is devoted to the evils of credit cards, which they feel is the biggest ripoff in the financial world. The writers contend that the toughest thing about saving is making the decision to do it. You should get going by putting aside a little amount of money each month through a mutual fund or dividend reinvestment plan. "The whole idea of managing money is to save a dollar here and there and then take that dollar and build it into two," they write. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to understand that. --Dan Ring ... Read more

Reviews (9)

If You Know Nothing About Financing; Start Here...
This has the basic knowledge need to manage your finacing ranging from simple budgeting, credit, stocks and mutual funds, Certificate of Deposit, how to read the market and the prime rate and what it all means. Also, it provides the mental mindset you need to manage and spend money properly, without resorting to short term spending splurges. There's tables for calcuating college funds, morgages, and retirements but most importantly how to avoid the many traps and scams many vendors use to make money off of you without providing any extra services. The one thing I found somewhat worrysome is the way the authors protrayed the banks and other institutions to the point of scaring the reader into being nearly paranoid of all financial instistutions. The fees these institutions charge are describe in the book with good details. A good "how to avoid pitfalls" book.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money, Second Ed
I love this book!Before reading this book, I wondered how anyone could ever save money in the world today.It has helped me to mangage my money easily.An easy to read book, which I use now as a reference whenever I have a question concerning my personal finances. I finally started a 401K, bought a house, a new car, and I am finally learning to save some money,instead of living paycheck to paycheck.

Very Helpful!
This book gave me invaluable advice regarding my finances. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! I have adopted many strategies in the book to save for a rainy day. Thank you, and when are you coming out with another edition?

The Complete Idiots Guide to Managing Your Money
This book did a great job of explaining to the average person how to save, invest and avoid the common financial pitfalls we so often make.It was done with humor and wit, which is a breath of fresh air in this often hard to understand, jargon loaded industry.This book is beneficial to anyone who has thought about developing a financial plan but does not know how or where to begin.It is an easy read, fun and should be a required reading for the masses of people buried in credit card debt! Great job!!

Highly Recommended for Everyone
Anyone can easily understand and make a decision about their personal financial future, and also what the best approach for getting out of debt. Good analogies- ... Read more

Book Description

For over 60 years, millions of Americans have trusted Your Income Tax to help them save money at tax time.Now updated to reflect the latest tax law and filing changes for 1997 returns, and redesigned to make the content even more user-friendly, this all-time bestseller is sure to be the taxpayers number-one choice for the upcoming season.Comprehensive yet easy-to-use, Your Income Tax 1998 is paced with all the expert advice, practical examples, money-saving filing tips, and long-term planning strategies that readers have come to expect from the J.K. Lasser Institute.It includes a special tax-planning section for self-employeds, investors, senior citizens, homeowners, and families.Detailed coverage of the latest tax legislation is provided, along with new IRS rulings and court decisions.The user-friendly format includes easy-to-spot tax alert symbols that highlight new laws, filing tips, planning pointers, and tax traps.For ease of use, key tax issues are targeted by specialized contents, detailed indexes and glossary, and frequently asked questions.The many valuable extras included with Your Income Tax make this book a super bargain!Featured include:c Free update supplementfor late-breaking icec Tax forms for filingincluded in the supplementc Tax tips on the Internetlate-breaking tax news with special tax tips on the J.K. Lasser World Wide Web home pages.Visit us at www.JKLasser.comc Publishers rebate available by coupon(Hardback Binding) ... Read more

Reviews (7)

very complete with citations
The professional edition is a hardcover copy of the regular edition plus a second professional section that includes an additional 100 pages or so of citations to the code, the regs, rev ruls, letter rulings and cases that support the text in the first section; this is very well done and very useful. for instance: in the main section 19.24 discusses Deductible Investment Expenses; if you want to know more, the professional section in the back refers you to IRC 212 and Reg. 1.212-1(b) and journal article that discusses the topic generally; then there are two columns of citations dealing with very specific topics in this category; for instance, on the topic of deductions for investor's home office expenses it refers to IRC 280A and Joseph Moller, 721 F.2d 810 (fed. Cir. 1983).

Then there are an additional 100 pages or so of narrative on tax authorities, praciticing before the IRS and preparing returns for estates. Overall, very useful.

Make sure it's a reference you want, not a tutorial
This book IS a reference. The author assumes you already know how to do your basic return and he means this by barely giving any introduction. The author wants to help maximize your deductions by having you reference individual sections on how to report those deductions. It's massive and it contains all kinds of tips on what to do on your return under certain conditions. It follows this type of convention: 6.21 Reporting Gambling Losses or 7.5 Deducting Mortgage Interest. Therefore you don't read this book front to back, and people filing 1040EZ's or (unless it's complex) perhaps a 1040A won't use very much of this book, only certain parts relevant to them.

This book has some great information. I located where I needed to send my return in a matter of seconds with this book as opposed to the IRS pamphlet which I still haven't found the address. In addition, it creates a great, one-page table to help you decide what return to file (1040, A, or EZ). It was the first thing I had seen that conclusively summed up exactly which one I should file.

In a one sentence summary, if you are dead set on doing your own taxes, the more complex your taxes are, the more you will use this reference book.

A great reference but not for complete idiots
This is one the best tax guides and will assist in clarifying any tax questions you may have. You can easily navigate the book and zero in on the sections to help you figure out how much you owe and even how to reduce your total tax bill. The recommendations here have been right on target and I'm glad I bought this book. This book has helped me understand the somewhat incomprehensible tax laws. The layout of the book is nicely done with large easy to read print. The table of contents is a great starting place and while the book is not intended for the complete idiot, ANYONE with a modicum of intelligence should find the book easy to use. You will find the volume to be large and very comprehensive ( as it should be ) and a great value considering amount of information contained within those pages. I have used this book every year and as my situation has grown from simply to more complicated this book has always provided me with the necessary information. Whether you are single, married or own a business, I recommend the book. It is very fortunate that this classic series exists -- I guess thats why its the #1 guide to understanding taxes.

Disturbing
This may be the best guide to taxes, but I'm still baffled. All I want to know is what do I owe and how to minimize it. I bought this book on the recommendations here and I'm greatly disappointed. Of course, this is probably due to the incomprehensible tax laws in this country, but I think this could be organized much better. 700+ pages is overkill and tries to address every possible twist you might see. How about a chapter that represents the "average" working class American, 1 house, 2.5 kids, etc. If this really is the best guide to understanding taxes, we're all doomed.

Paperback Edition 2000 Jk Lasser
It's the best value for the money. It's very concise and you can find your topic quickly. I will continue to use it in the future as I have in the past 12 years. ... Read more

Book Description

West Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes continues to set the standard in introductory tax. With its through, accessible coverage, no other text helps users better master the ever-changing Individual Tax Code. This text provides comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the relevant code and regulations as they pertain to the individual taxpayer, as well as coverage of all major developments in federal taxation. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Most tax guides these days are hundreds of pages long, resemble telephone books, and require two arms to carry. And unless you're an accountant, you probably need to refer only to a handful of pages to complete your return--and even then, you might feel like you've missed something. Which is probably what the Motley Fool realized when they put together The Motley Fool Investment Tax Guide. This guide is designed to do one thing--help investors get through the tax year. Written by Fools Selena Maranjian and Roy Lewis, this slim volume covers subjects such as the best time to sell stocks and other investments; how to make sense of mutual-fund distributions; when you should pay estimated taxes; and evaluating whether to opt for the traditional or Roth IRA. This book should complement any overall investment strategy and is a worthwhile read for every investor--and not just on April 14.--Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great for the tax novice, or beginner
I was a great introductory to the basic tax issues to investors. It gives several tips that pay off immeadiately, and opens doors to things to consider and read further upon. It was a quick read, and easy to understand. A good followup, book is the 'Ernst & Young Tax Saver's Guide'.

Very Useful, Easy to Understand and Charmingly Written
As someone who began investing four years ago and began doing my own taxes just one year ago, I found this tax guide to be extremely informative. It is a quick and enjoyable read - perhaps an unsurpassed feat for a tax guide - with lots of helpful examples. This tax guide provided great tips for dealing with my taxes this year (i.e., what to do with that one worthless security) as well as numerous ideas for how to plan my investment strategies in the future. It also contained the most understandable explanation of the New Roth IRA that I have read this year. I highly recommend this tax guide to anyone who invests. I certainly feel more confident about preparing this year's tax return. Indeed, in a strange way I am almost looking forward to doing my taxes now.

I know the Fool tries to simplify things, but . . .
this is probably too simplified. I foolishly (note the lower case "f") assumed this book would be as great as the Fool's other publications, and never checked, say, the amount of pages the book has (the deal was too good . . .). I was a bit disappointed when all I got in the mail was a mere pamphlet. The IRS website is actually more helpful.

Still, the book is an ok start to considering investment tax strategies, and will make the unknowing reader knowing enough to tackle more hefty guides.

Most readable tax book
I had never done our taxes. But after reading this most simple and informative book, I am going to try my hand at doing our taxes. I am a 66-year-old woman, and not good at these things. But I shall try this year. This book explained a lot of things for me, so now I'm more confident. (It was entertaining, too!)

Lightweight and highly biased
I was looking for a meaty tax guide and should have known better than to buy a 94 page book! The authors spend most of the book bashing mutual funds and praising stock picking while using twisted and contorted logic to brainwash the reader. Tax decisions are rarely simply but these authors seem to think they are. ... Read more