The J. K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2013 for Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) is a mega book filled with step-by-step instructions, tips and expert analysis of tax return filing. The front cover of the book touts it as the number one tax guide for the past 75 years.
Without question, this has been and will continue to be one of the best reference guides for individuals and small businesses for filing tax returns. Most individual taxpayers can find themselves in this book.
People with itemized deductions, casualty and theft losses, senior citizens, members of the armed forces, those with foreign income or those that experienced a divorce or the death of a spouse can find valuable tax information in the J.K. Lasser’s.
Those who pay to have their taxes prepared by a professional can also use the book to make sure that all their individual situations are reported properly.
The book begins with what’s new in 201 2 and offers predictions for 2013. It offers insights into who needs to file and which status to use when filing taxes. There is also a table of tax forms with descriptions of each.
There is a helpful section on how to interpret a W-2 form, along with details of many other forms and how to complete each one. Tax laws and the forms themselves can overwhelm the most informed taxpayer. Using this book as a reference guide can help reduce the fogginess that occurs when preparing tax returns.
As it has been for decades, the book is written in understandable language, at least as much as possible given the way the tax codes and laws are written. The guide helps taxpayers think ahead with a slew of planning reminders and strategies for going into the next year. The margins of each page will include filing tips, cautions, law alerts, IRS alerts and other helpful information.
Whether you are preparing your own tax returns or want to know if you accountant or professional tax preparer is making the right decisions on your returns, purchasing this book is an investment. And, it's an investment that can have great returns with little risk.
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