Customer Reviews

J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2001

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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.

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.

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.