West Federal Taxation 2008: Individual Income Taxes (with RIA Checkpoint and Turbo Tax Premier CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

by William H. Hoffman (Author), James E. Smith (Author), Eugene Willis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The 2008 edition of WEST FEDERAL TAXATION: INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAXES remains the most effective text for helping students master the ever-changing Individual Tax Code. Its current, comprehensive, and accessible presentation of the Tax Code and regulations pertaining to the individual taxpayer covers all major developments in federal taxation--complete with relevant, real-world examples that bring chapter concepts to life with realistic tax situations. The book gives strong emphasis to the importance of careful tax planning with special sections and integrated tax planning applications and suggestions throughout most chapters. It also offers solid coverage of how taxation is affected by international concerns. WFT is packed with tools to help you succeed on the CPA exam and well beyond. The new CPA exam includes tax research requiring students to use RIA Checkpoint®--and WFT users will be well prepared. The book includes a thorough simulation tutorial that walks students step-by-step through the process of how to apply RIA research strategies as well as numerous research exercises to put their skills to the test. New copies of the text include a code good for 12 months of free access to RIA Checkpoint Student Version as well as tax software bestseller TurboTax® Premier. Packed with examples, practical applications, and powerful learning tools, WEST FEDERAL TAXATION: INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAXES, 2008 EDITION delivers the most comprehensive coverage of individual taxation available.

About the Author
William H. Hoffman, Jr., earned B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Michigan and M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The University of Texas. He is a licensed CPA and attorney in Texas. His teaching experience includes: The University of Texas (1957-1961), Louisiana State University (1961-1967), and the University of Houston (1967-1999). Professor Hoffman has addressed many tax institutes and conferences and has published extensively in academic and professional journals. His articles appear in The Journal of Taxation, The Tax Adviser, Taxes--TheTax Magazine, The Journal of Accountancy, The Accounting Review, and Taxation for Accountants.

James E. Smith is the John S. Quinn Professor of Accounting at the College of William and Mary. He has been a member of the accounting faculty for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Professor Smith has served as a discussion leader for Continuing Professional Education programs for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Federal Tax Workshops, and various state CPA societies. He has conducted programs in more than 40 states for about 25,000 CPAs. He has been the recipient of the AICPA's Outstanding Discussion Leader Award and the American Taxation Association/Arthur Andersen Teaching Innovation Award. Among his other awards are the Virginia Society of CPAs' Outstanding Accounting Educator Award and the James Madison University's Outstanding Accounting Educator Award. He was the president of the Administrators of Accounting Programs Group (AAPG) in 1991-1992. He was the faculty adviser for the William and Mary teams that received first place in the Andersen Tax Challenge in 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001, and in the Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Eugene Willis is the Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor of Accountancy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He joined the Illinois faculty in 1975 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. He has published articles in leading academic and professional journals, including The Accounting Review, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, The Journal of Accountancy, and The Journal of Taxation. Professor Willis is co-director of the National Tax Education Program, a continuing education program co-sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs and the University of Illinois.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1088 pages
• Publisher: South-Western College/West; 31 edition (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0324380585
• ISBN-13: 978-0324380583
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Talk your teacher out of this book!!!, February 4, 2005

By	Kellie White "This review was made with 100% ... (Near Portland Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: West Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes 2004, Professional Version (West's Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes) (Hardcover)

If your course requires this book, like mine did, go to the administrator of the school if you have to but talk them out of it.
The book frequently references other later chapters.
The book uses out of date tax forms, when the current years are available for free on irs.gov!
The book 'shortens' tables by grouping together years that are not really at the same rate, when the correct tables are available for free on irs.gov! It only warns you about this once in chapter 8, despite doing so all thru the book.
It spends way too much time on tax laws from prior years, and decades.

The quiz that the book provides for use with the chapters is bad!
It does not take into accout §167(k) which, admittedly only apply to 2003 and 2004, but those are the years given on the test.
It allocates on a 365 day basis for the leap year 2004 when the book (5 times!) told you to use 366 days if it is a leap year.
Some of the questions do not provide enough information to determine the correct answer.
There are also questions about items not mentioned in the book at all.

Not even the woman in class who DID taxes liked this book. It is difficult to imagine anyone it would be good for, unless maybe you needed to figure out how to depreciate a building you purchased in 1986.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Written, May 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: West Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes 2004, Professional Version (West's Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes) (Hardcover)

This book was required by my professor so I had to buy it. It is probably one of the worst textbooks I have ever used. I found the writing poorly phrased and there were a few inconsistencies with the Code. (constructive receipt, etc)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, June 12, 2006

By	Nathan (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West's Federal Taxation 2005: Individual Income Taxes, Professional Version (West Federal Taxation Individual Income Taxes) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book to learn taxation from. I used West taxation books before going on to a career at a big 4 accounting firm!
As far as the previous reviewer, who is obsessed with out of date charts and tax forms....she/he doesn't really understand taxation. Tax codes change year in and out. When these books are published they go with the latest possible information.
Besides, if your goal is simply to learn the basics of preparing taxes, why is it so necessary to have all the current years tax code info? Especially when the tax code doesn't "usually" change a whole lot from year to year.
Anyways, I have checked out other tax textbooks, and this is the one I'd recommend (being someone with SOME experience in this field)