List of Top 15 Tax Books [Updated 2021]
No matter who you are a financial consultant, or a human resource professional, an entrepreneur, or a fresher you need to know taxation. Taxation books will help you learn tax in-depth, few of the books are always relevant irrespective of the years of publication. Below is the list of such top tax books –
- Tax-Free Wealth ( Get this book )
- How to Pay Zero Taxes ( Get this book )
- J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2021 ( Get this book )
- Taxes Made Simple ( Get this book )
- 475 Tax Deductions for Businesses and Self-Employed Individuals ( Get this book )
- K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible ( Get this book )
- Fundamentals of Corporate Taxation (University Casebook Series) ( Get this book )
- Essentials of Federal Income Taxation for Individuals and Business ( Get this book )
- South-western Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes ( Get this book )
- Principles of Taxation for Business and Investment Planning ( Get this book )
- Examples & Explanations: Corporate Taxation ( Get this book )
- International Taxation in a Nutshell ( Get this book )
- Federal Taxation: Basic Principles ( Get this book )
- Federal Income Taxation (Concepts and Insights Series) ( Get this book )
- The Best Zero Tax Planning Tools ( Get this book )
Let us discuss each of the Taxation books in detail along with its key takeaways and reviews.
#1 – Tax-Free Wealth
by Tom Wheelwright
About the book
The book will tell you how the tax laws in your country work and how you can use them for your own benefit. Essentially, it explains various tax planning concepts that can be used to reduce tax liability.
Book review
This book offers you an outside-the-box tax book. The author is very passionate about tax laws and has the penchant to use them to your advantage. Consequently, he provides a high-level overview of the various tax considerations and techniques that you can employ to seize the available tax benefits, such as special tax treatment for real estate spending. He also touches upon and explains various technical concepts with good examples, such as depreciation, estate planning, etc. The only shortcoming of the book is that I can think of is that it has a lot of details that would be applicable for you only if you own a corporation. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that this book will definitely boost your tax planning strategies and help you accumulate more wealth.
Key takeaways
- It is an interesting book with exciting tips and ideas, which will otherwise take you many years to gather.
- It can help you build wealth by finding ways to cut down your taxes.
#2 – How to Pay Zero Taxes
by Jeff A. Schnepper
About the book
This book is predicated around the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sanctioned deductions, credits, shelters, and exemptions that can be used by taxpayers for the purpose of tax saving.
Book review
The author starts the book with a very strong statement that every year you may be paying far more than what you should actually do due to a lack of knowledge of available tax deductions. He states that you shouldn’t pay the IRS even a penny more than what the law mandates. As such, the books offer comprehensive coverage of deductions that no other tax book does. It includes deductions related to child care & elder care, job-hunting expenses, moving expenses, investment expenses, mortgages and points, and 401(k)s. Besides the current status of the tax rules, it also provides a historical account of the tax deductions and credits. Overall, it provides in-depth knowledge about the tax code in a way that is easy to read and apply.
Key takeaways
- It is very interesting, informative, and a must-read for you if you file taxes.
- It covers all the tax breaks available in the current tax code.
#3 – J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2021
by Barbara Weltman
About the book
The book will help you in limiting your tax liabilities legally by making the most of the tax deductions and credits. It covers all available tax relief and explains how you can claim them.
Book review
In this book, the author has used a straightforward and easy-to-read style of writing. The book covers the newest tax laws, IRS rulings, available write-offs, related court decisions, etc. in great detail that can help you in building tax planning strategies that can support running a tax-smart business. In other words, it focuses on the strategies that can help you leverage the currently available tax deductions and credits to shield business income while maximizing the other aspects of small business taxes. It is a practical guide that shows you how your actions today will impact the bottom line of your business tomorrow from a tax perspective.
Key takeaways
- It can help you in optimizing your tax savings and minimizing your audit exposure.
- It will help you with the tax filing process for 2020 and assist you in tax planning for 2021.
- It offers you the most relevant information as it is updated every year.
#4 – Taxes Made Simple
by Mike Piper
About the book
The book explains the most complex and essential tax matters in the simplest of ways. While it covers the basics of deductions, credits and retirement contributions, it avoids getting too detailed and academic.
Book review
The most striking feature of the book is its size – it is short, succinct, and no playing around. The author does an excellent job of breaking down the complex concepts into simple and reader-friendly units. However, he avoids getting too much into the details of the deductions and credits and gives to the point answer to most of the questions. This book is a must for people who want to learn about filing taxes. However, it is to be noted that it is won’t turn you into a specialist as it doesn’t provide advanced knowledge about any of the topics. In short, if you are a newbie, then it can be a great introduction for you to the world of taxes.
Key takeaways
- It should be the first read for people who are unacquainted with taxes.
- The simple vernacular makes it easy to understand for the readers.
- It can help you understand the language of your tax advisor, but it can’t become a substitute for professional help.
#5 – 475 Tax Deductions for Businesses and Self-Employed Individuals
by Bernard B. Kamoroff
About the book
The book discusses a wide spectrum of business tax topics including the various expense categories.
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Book review
The book guides you through the tax filing process with regard to tax deductions and credits. The author states that it is your duty as a taxpayer to do your basic homework on the available tax deductions to present a list of applicable deductions to the CPA for further processing. The fundamental idea is that if you don’t claim the deductions, then you just don’t get it. This book can be a good starting point for you if you have no idea about what is a tax deduction or credit. The explanation is very simple, to the point, and easy to understand. The layout is also fairly simple and easy to navigate.
Key takeaways
- It is best suited for beginners while the advanced students might not get much out of it.
- If not entirely, you should definitely take the primary responsibility for your tax filing.
#6 – K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible
by Barbara Weltman
Giving away all your money in taxes is a foolish thing to do. Why not read this best taxation book instead?
Book Review
As the title suggests, you would get everything that you need to know about taxes in this book. From you and your family, your home, your car, job or business, even casualty and theft losses or insurance, you would know everything and how you could save money and the deductions available under these heads. The book is very well organized so that you would find a particular deduction for your situation. And it’s just 480 pages long.
Key Takeaways
- This book should be used by everybody who would like to save on taxes in 2016-17.
- It will help you understand the why of taxation and where you can save taxes.
- The information available in this book would be immediately applicable. So you don’t need to go to any tax consultant to find out where you would get deductions in taxes.
#7 – Fundamentals of Corporate Taxation (University Casebook Series)
by Stephen Schwartz & Daniel Lathrope
It is used as a textbook in the university classes. You can avail all its benefit just by purchasing it.
Book Review
Don’t go by its words. The words of this edition are not as lucid as you would like it to be. But it’s not about the words that make the book count. It’s the information provided in it. Many people who have read this book have mentioned that it has worked as an advisor in all their taxation issues. Moreover, this book has given you cases from which the examples are being shown. Cases help students understand a scenario better than anything else.
Key Takeaways
- This publication is 756 pages long and includes everything you need to know about corporate taxation.
- This book will help you understand the cases along with the fundamentals.
#8 – Essentials of Federal Income Taxation for Individuals and Business
by Linda M. Johnson
If you are bothered about the tough language of taxation, pick this book up. It’s lucid, easy to read, and will guide you to take control of your taxes.
Book Review
People who have gone through this book have mentioned that if you read this book from cover to cover, you would be able to file your own tax return and understand tax as if you have years of training in the subject. The basic reason behind this is that it covers everything that’s relevant for you as an individual and for businesses.
Key Takeaways
- If you are looking for a book for your college education in taxes, this is the book you should pick up.
- This book will help you learn taxation like a student and will guide you to understand every part of federal taxation.
#9 – South-western Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes
by William H. Hoffman, James C. Young, William A. Raabe, David M. Maloney & Annette Nellen
We all know that tax is boring. But if you read this book, you would find out why tax could be interesting.
Book Review
This book is particularly useful for those who would like to understand federal taxes for individual purposes. If you don’t want to hire a tax consultant to file your return, you can read this book for yourself. Or else, you can also help others and how they could manage their returns by reading this book. This is a good book, but sometimes, you may feel bogged down under the heap of information. Just learn slowly, and you would enjoy the material.
Key Takeaways
- It is very much useful for individual taxation. So if you feel that you need to know individual income taxes in-depth, read this book.
- This book can be rented if you are in college, and you can return the book whenever you are done with the semester.
#10 – Principles of Taxation for Business and Investment Planning
by Sally Jones & Shelley Rhoades-Catanach
This book is particularly useful for people who are more interested in business and investment planning. Have a look at the review and the best takeaways to know more.
Book Review
Most people feel that taxation is boring because there are very few books that can concentrate on all the fundamentals in a summarized form. But in this book, you would get all the summary of tax fundamentals, which will help your understanding and application. Moreover, it is written in a very lucid language, and the chapters are short.
Key Takeaways
- There are two opposites that are organized here properly. The first taxation is dry. If you don’t have short chapters, it would be difficult for usual readers. The second taxation needs readers to go in-depth. And without explanation, the subject wouldn’t make any sense. This publication has done both of these things in the proper way.
- It can be used as a primary textbook in college.
#11 – Examples & Explanations: Corporate Taxation
by Cheryl D. Block
If you are searching for a book on taxation for dummies, this is the one which will fit the bill.
Book Review
This book has been read and revered by many students in the university. They have mentioned that it has helped them learn taxation in a new way. This edition on taxation is crisp, to the point, and acts as a great substitute for any thick corporate tax book you would like to read. Moreover, it has included several case studies so that students can relate to what they are learning. Not only tax students, but law students also can get a great benefit from this book.
Key Takeaways
- The best part of this book is the diagrams used in it. They are very informative and will help a student revise the concepts very well.
- You would not only learn concepts from this book; rather, you would also be able to apply the concepts in real life.
- You would also be able to use many examples to crystallize your understanding.
#12 – International Taxation in a Nutshell
by Richard Doernberg
This book would be a great addition to your taxation library. Have a glance at the review and best takeaways to know more about the book.
Book Review
It has not only helped many students to learn international taxation but also helped them in tax planning. And the students who have read this book hail from college students to professionals of different backgrounds. Moreover, it is a very easy read and acts as a great law supplement if you are studying law. If you are struggling with international taxation, it would also help you as a great reference book, and it would also be able to help you in preparing for your exam.
Key Takeaways
- If you are involved in any business, it’s of utter importance that you understand the cross border flow of taxation. And this book will help you do that.
- This book will not only help students in understanding the concepts, but it will also help them clear exams.
- This book is comparatively very cheap if you compare the value with the price.
#13 – Federal Taxation: Basic Principles
by Ephraim P. Smith, Philip J Harmelink & James R. Hasselback
This edition is written in such a way that learners will greatly benefit from the approach.
Book Review
If you are a student of finance or law, you would know how frustrating it becomes when you try to study taxation. Most of the books are overly technical and written in such a way that a student isn’t able to digest even the parts of the books. But this book is the exception. It is designed in such a way that you would be able to digest the whole book in a short period of time. You would learn most of the tax codes you need to learn because this book has explained the tax codes in a very logical manner. And the whole book is organized according to a flow chart, which will help you understand chapter after chapter without missing out on anything in between.
Key Takeaways
- It is particularly useful for students who are complete beginners. If you don’t have any idea about taxation, this book will help you understand taxes from the fundamental level. Even by the aid of this book, you would be able to learn tax filing.
- Once you buy this book, you would be provided with the free tax code, which will help you understand the fundamentals of tax codes very well.
- The book is written in a very lucid manner, and the chapters are very well organized.
#14 – Federal Income Taxation (Concepts and Insights Series)
by Marvin Chirelstein & Lawrence Zelenak
This is a perfect guide for students who want to make their mark in the examination. Read the review and best takeaways to know more.
Book Review
Why students struggle with tax laws? Because there are not many books that can explain the tax laws well (meaning in length with examples). As this publication is designed for students, it will help you learn the fundamental tax laws in a lucid manner. Students who have read this book have mentioned that if you want to read one single book on this subject, make it this book. It has explained everything in a lucid manner; however, it is not wordy and doesn’t deviate from the topics while describing.
Key Takeaways
- This edition is reasonably priced. If you compare the value it is providing; the price won’t seem very high. Even you can rent this book as a supplement for your current textbook.
- As mentioned earlier, it is most helpful for students who are from finance, law, or taxation background.
#15 – The Best Zero Tax Planning Tools
How to Maximize Tax-Efficient Lifetime Income, Transfers to Heirs and Gifts to Favorite Charities
by Tim Voorhees
This book is different in scope. It’s particularly useful for those who want to maximize their income.
Book Review
This book is written for a single purpose, and that’s why it can’t be called a textbook. It is written to teach you the secret of passing on wealth and to preserve wealth. If you read this, you will be able to ensure that your next generation would be able to enjoy the wealth you have created for them. And it is very easy to read. You would be able to read this book in a few hours (just 133 pages book).
Key Takeaways
- This is a useful book without any flowery language and serves one single purpose of helping you preserve and pass on your wealth to the next generation.
- Even professionals who are tax planners can also use this book to help their high net-worth clients.
