Taxes 101: From Understanding Forms and Filing to Using Tax Laws and Policies to Minimize Costs and Maximize Wealth, an Essential Primer on the U.S. Tax System

“There are a lot of things you can do to manage and minimize your tax burden,” according to this helpful primer on the U.S. tax system. Accountant Cagan (Starting a Business 101) explains that tax code is first written by Congress, then fleshed out by Internal Revenue Service regulations. Offering a crash course on filing income taxes, Cagan shows how to calculate adjusted gross income and warns that virtually every form of income, including bartering, needs to be reported. For small business owners, Cagan discusses which tax forms to use with which business structures (income from partnerships is reported on the partners’ personal tax returns, but “corporations must file Form 1120 annually”) and how to write off business expenses (longer-lasting items can justify deductions over several years). The most useful material covers how to take advantage of deductions for student loans and medical expenses, as well as how to minimize the tax burden of investments by, for instance, purchasing municipal bonds, which aren’t subject to federal income tax. Though the guidance isn’t detailed enough to replace a tax expert, the cogent explanations of the U.S. tax system’s major features will help mystified taxpayers get their bearings. Wide-ranging and written in straightforward prose, this delivers. (Nov.)