32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost as good as an accountant, January 13, 2000
By A Customer
This guide makes it quick and easy to find an answer to your tax question. Information is clear and concise, usually with examples of what qualifies and what doesn't. Often it includes IRS opinion and Tax Court rulings on how the law is interpreted. Contains virtually everything you need to file your own taxes, understand why or why not a deduction is allowed, and two copies of the forms you need. This is NOT a tutorial for someone who has never done their own taxes. In the past five years my 1040 has become more complex. I've bought a rental property, started investing in the market, and working from my home office. This guide is why I can still file my own return.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Helps You Make the Most Out of the 2001 Tax Law!, December 30, 2001
Helps You Make the Most Out of the 2001 Tax Law!
The new, 2002 version of this book deserves more than five stars.
As background for reading and considering this review, please be aware that I am an attorney, did well when I studied tax in law school, and employ a top CPA to help me do my tax planning and prepare my returns. Despite all of this background, I find it hard to keep up with the tax laws. Since I became a member of the bar, the number of pages in the Internal Revenue Code has doubled as have the number of pages of tax regulations.
I was inspired to read this book when a conversation with my CPA left me with 14 areas that I wanted to understand in much more detail. I could have asked him, but that would be very costly because he charges by the hour and would have to do research to find out what I wanted to know. Realizing from experience that working with the IRS code and regulations could take many hours, I hoped this book would serve as a time saver, and it did! I found the answers to my 14 questions in less than an hour, and also located several hundred dollars of potential tax savings that I need to discuss with my CPA. The experience was a very satisfying one.
The Federal tax laws changed in 2001, applying to both your 2001 tax return and to future years. Whenever Congress changes the tax law, you need to be alert. If you continue to do what you have done before, you may well make costly mistakes that could lead to extra taxes needing to be paid or even worse, owing money for penalties and interest.
The Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2002 is remarkably helpful in dealing with the 2001 tax law changes. The book opens with a summary of what changed, and gives you references to the sections where you can get more details for your 2001 return. The following section goes on to describe the other changes that will be phased in during 2002 and later years.
To test the guide, I also checked out the most difficult questions that I had had to deal with in the last 20 years, where I was pretty sure the law had not changed. Each of these questions was also accurately and succinctly described.
I was very impressed that I could look up answers in any one of many different ways. The actual 2001 tax forms and instructions are bound into the volume. So that was one starting point. There were also detailed chapters on common topics, from handling mutual funds to taxes on child-care providers. So I could start there. The index was also very complete, and I could dive in from that direction. In addition, the cross-references in the text were very complete and would send me to the right section of the right page.
If you prepare your own returns and have a somewhat complicated return, you will also benefit from the many worksheets in the book. If you are about to start working with an accountant, you will save time and money by using the many lists in the book for what to collect and how to organize it (a pile of paper in a shoe box is not the right way to go!).
You might think that it's too late to affect your 2001 taxes. Actually, you still have some choices open, such as whether or not to make contributions to IRAs between now and April 15. If you are going to be late in making your last estimated tax payment in January, you may also be able to avoid penalties by filing before February 1 and paying what you owe when you file.
May your future not tax you needlessly!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Tax Guide, January 7, 2001
By A Customer
I started doing my taxes early this year. Only two books worth buying, 1. The 2001 Ernst & Young Tax Guide or 2. The 2001 JK Lasser's Your Income Tax. All the others don't even come close to the thoroughness and reputation of both of these books. My preference is the Ernst & Young guide, although my business partner uses Lasser for reference.
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