J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007: For Preparing Your 2006 Tax Return [Paperback]

J. K. Lasser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471786705 | ISBN-13: 978-0471786702 | Publication Date: November 3, 2006 | Edition: 13

Written by a team of tax specialists, J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2007 is the nation’s all-time top-selling tax guide. It’s filled with expert advice and guidance—including over 2,500 easy-to-follow tax tips and strategies—that will help you plan and file your 2006 tax return in the most efficient way possible.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Basics of Filing (Chap. 1) including:

• Which form to file – Chap. 1
• Filing as Head of Household – Chap. 1
• Filing for your children – Chap. 1
• Filing for married couples – Chap. 1

What Must You Report as Income? (Chaps. 2–11) including:

• Fringe Benefits – Chap. 3
• Capital gains & losses – Chap. 5
• Traditional & Roth IRAs – Chap. 8
• Rental Income – Chap. 9

What Deductions Can You Claim? (Chaps. 12–21) including:

• Moving expenses – Chap. 12
• Casualty Loss – Chap. 18
• Charitable deductions – Chap. 14
• Who is a dependent? – Chap. 21

How Much Tax Do You Owe? (Chaps. 22–27)including:

• The AMT – Chap. 23
• Your child's tax – Chap. 24
• Personal tax credits – Chap. 25
• Estimated taxes – Chap. 27

Strategies to Save You Taxes (Chaps. 28–39) including:

• Tax-free residence sales – Chap. 29
• Investing in securities – Chap. 30
• Armed forces rules – Chap. 35
• Tax credits for education – Chap. 33

Planning Ideas for Your Business (Chaps. 40–45) including:

• Home office deduction – Chap. 40
• Keogh, Simple, or SEP – Chap. 41
• Auto expenses – Chap. 43
• Self-employment tax – Chap. 45

Now That You're Done (Chaps. 46–49) including:

• Electronic filing – Chap. 46
• Filing extensions – Chap. 46
• IRS Audits – Chap. 48
• Amended returns – Chap. 47

The Most Trusted Name in Tax

For over 70 years, more than 39 million Americans have trusted J.K. Lasser to help them save money at tax time

Now with

• USABLE FORMS ONLINE
• FREE ONLINE BONUSESAND TAX PREP
• GUIDANCE FOR ALL YOUR TAX NEEDS
• COVERS ALL 2006 TAX LAW CHANGES

Easy-to-Use Format Explains Complex Tax Laws

• FILING TIPS and FILING INSTRUCTIONShelp you prepare your 2006 return
• PLANNING REMINDERS highlight year-end tax strategies for 2006 and planning opportunities for 2007 and later years
• CAUTIONS point out potential pitfalls toavoid and areas where you might expectIRS opposition
• LAW ALERTS indicate recent changes in the tax law and pending legislation before Congress
• COURT DECISIONS highlight key rulings from the Tax Court and other federal courts
• IRS ALERTS highlight key rulings andannouncements from the IRS

www.jklasser.com

About the Author

J.K. Lasser Institute has been the premier publisher of consumer tax guides since 1939, when Jacob Kay Lasser first published Your Income Tax. Since then, the guide has been published continuously for over sixty years and read by over 39,000,000 people. The J.K. Lasser Institute also publishes several personal finance books, including Small Business Taxes, Home Owner’s Tax Breaks, 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks, Year-Round Tax Planning, and more. J.K. Lasser Institute spokespeople are regularly sought after as media tax experts. They regularly appear on such broadcast programs as CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg TV. They are also often featured in numerous periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Self Magazine, The New York Times, Newsweek and Reader's Digest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 848 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 13 edition (November 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471786705
• ISBN-13: 978-0471786702
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If This Doesn't Help, You Need To Hire An Accountant!, January 18, 2007

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007: For Preparing Your 2006 Tax Return (Paperback)

I have used the J. K. Lasser income tax books for years and am always impressed with them: this book for the 2006 tax return is a further refinement of an already excellent product. I have moderately complex returns but always do them myself with the assistance of a computerized tax preparation program. While I believe that I better understand tax law and rules by doing my own returns, the experience is often very trying, which is where this book comes in. The book is well indexed and features realistic and reasonable examples of the common issues that can be encountered in the various areas of return preparation and planning.

The Lasser income tax guides are the best of the home reference books I have found, and I have compared all major publications. (For professionals or for exceptionally convoluted returns Lasser also publishes a much more expensive professional guide, though if you need it I would strongly recommend letting a professional do your returns.) I find that the Lasser book is the most user-friendly, comprehensive, and has the most easy to understand examples of all the competing publications. Don't let the huge size intimidate you; the bulk of the book doesn't apply to all returns, but it proves itself invaluable for the chapters that do pertain to your specific tax situation. I find it particularly helpful in determining the eligibility and legality of deductions and depreciation, as the IRS rules can be especially bewildering in those areas.

I recommend this book highly for anyone preparing their own taxes. Likewise, even if you have a professional prepare your return, this book is good for preparing receipts and lists of deductions and assets for the preparer.

If you can't find the answer to your tax question in this book, you definitely need a CPA!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in the Federal Tax Business, July 2, 2007

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007: For Preparing Your 2006 Tax Return (Paperback)

"JK Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007" is the best reference book for federal income taxes is the business. They have been publishing tax guides for 75 years. We first learned of this valuable resource when we saw it on an IRS auditor's shelf, many years ago. Since then when working in small public libraries it is the only tax guide purchased for the collection.
Of great value is their coding system: Filling tips-when and how, Planning Reminder gives the tax-payer suggestions for year-end tax strategies, Caution points out pitfalls to avoid, Law Alert indicates a recent change in the law, Court Decision signals new Tax Court rulings, and IRS Alert flags key rulings and announcements,not all rulings that affect the code come from the court-they maybe nothing more than a letter from the IRS. But these letters have influence within the department as to how an item is viewed as to its value as a deductible.
This is one of the big guys from which most smaller books have been devised. The volume is cumbersome as more and more information is packed into it, but it is easy to use with a fantastic index. We have include a diagram of the citation system in our book, because it helps the reader to understand the system of indexing. If it is used correctly you can go directly to the pertinent information for your situation.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference that's highly usable and readable..., February 19, 2007

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007: For Preparing Your 2006 Tax Return (Paperback)

So this year I decided to venture back into do-it-yourself tax preparation. Armed with TurboTax and J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007: For Preparing Your 2006 Tax Return, things went really well. If there's anything you need to know about preparing your taxes, you'll be able to find it somewhere in these 800+ pages...

Contents:
Filing Basics: Filing Status
Reporting Your Income: Taxable Wages, Salary, and Other Compensation; Fringe Benefits; Dividend and Interest Income; Reporting Property Sales; Tax-Free Exchanges of Property; Retirement and Annuity Income; IRAs; Income From Rent and Royalties; Loss Restrictions - Passive Activities and At-Risk Limits; Other Income
Claiming Deductions: Deductions Allowed in Figuring Adjusted Gross Income; Claiming the Standard Deduction or Itemized Deductions; Charitable Contribution Deductions; Itemized Deduction for Interest Expenses; Deduction for Taxes; Medical and Dental Expense Deductions; Casualty and Theft Losses and Involuntary Conversions; Deducting Job Costs and Other Miscellaneous Expenses; Travel and Entertainment Expense Deduction; Personal Exemptions
Personal Tax Computations: Figuring Your Regular Income Tax Liability; Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT); Computing the "Kiddie Tax" for Children Under Age 18; Personal Tax Credits Reduce Your Tax Liability; Tax Withholdings; Estimated Tax Payments
Tax Planning: Tax Planning Overview; Tax Savings for Residence Sales; Tax Savings for Investors in Securities; Tax Savings for Investors in Real Estate; Tax Pointers for Investors in Mutual Funds; Educational Tax Benefits; Special Tax Rules for Senior Citizens; Members of the Armed Forces; How To Treat Foreign Earned Income; Planning Alimony and Marital Settlements; Household Employment Taxes ("Nanny Tax"); Gift and Estate Tax Planning
Business Tax Planning: Income or Loss From Your Business or Profession; Retirement Plans for Self-Employed; Claiming Depreciation Deductions; Deducting Car and Truck Expenses; Sales of Business Property; Figuring Self-Employment Tax
Filing Your Return And What Happens After You File: Filing Your Return; Filing Refund Claims, and Amended Returns; If the IRS Examines Your Return
Sample 2006 Tax Forms and Tables; Glossary; Index

Tax preparation isn't fun, and the thought of having to work through an 800 page book to do so isn't appealing. But the layout of the book makes it easy to focus on the areas where you need help. Each section has a number of example situations where you can see the rules as they pertain to a real-life scenario. There are also a number of sidebars (law alerts, planning reminders, cautions, etc.) that are extremely valuable in determining exactly how the legal interpretation of the tax situation plays out. I also appreciate the numerous legal case examples where the IRS ruled one way and the Tax Court overturned the decision. It makes it apparently that an IRS decision does not necessarily mean that you have no other recourse.

This would be a recommended book to have by your side if you're doing anything more than a short-form filing. It will answer the questions behind what or if something is deductible or not, as well as helping you get a head-start on next year's "festivities"...