What makes this book different?
Two Things: It is organized by life event instead of tax topics and it is written in English.
87 Chapters and 4 appendixes the majority of which are either absolutely necessary tax knowledge, timely updated information for a specific year or tax law, or a specific life event such as having kids or retiring for which it would be good to know how it affects your taxes, preferably BEFORE you file or make a mistake. Each chapter is organized in the best way possible to make it easy to understand, and, most importantly, easy to apply to your personal situation. Most chapters have a section on what you NEED to know, a section with nitty-gritty details, a section of the author's personal best advice and often some specifics for the military. If this system doesn't work for a chapter, a different system is used. Here is a simplified list of chapters: Read Me First
Do I Have to File a Tax Return?
How Should I Be Preparing my Taxes?
How Much Should Tax Preparation Cost?
10 Simple Pieces of Tax Advice
Common Tax Myths
The IRS is Having Problems
How Fast Can I Get my Refund?
Where's my Refund?
I Owe Taxes and Can't Pay
I Owe Taxes and Want to Get a Refund
I Get a Big Refund and Want a Bigger Paycheck
I Get a Big Refund, Is That Okay?
I Get a Big Refund and Don't Know What to Do with It
I Want to Lower my Taxes
I Can't File by April 15th
How do Taxes Work?
What is My Filing Status?
The Long Sordid Tax Forms Tale
Can I Use Itemized Deductions?
I am Getting Married
I am Having a Child
My Kid's Getting a Job
My Child Had a Child
My Child is Getting Married
I am Getting Divorced (or already am)
My Spouse Abandoned me and our Children
My Spouse Died
I Inherited Money or Property
I am Buying a Home
I Made Home Improvements
I Made Energy Efficient Home Improvements
I am Considering an Electric or Alternate Fuel Car
I Have to File Married Filing Separately
I Have Medical Expenses
I Have a High Deductible Health Plan and/or HSA
I am Donating to Charity
Let's Talk About Disasters and Coronavirus
I am Living with Someone Who Helps Pay my Bills
I am Supporting my Parents
I am Supporting an Adult Relative or Friend
I am Supporting a Minor Who is Not My Child
Someone Claimed my Child!
My Tax Return Got Rejected by the IRS!
I (or my Child) am Going to College
I Have Job Expenses
I Tele-Commute
I Work Oversea