The Best Tax Law Books for Beginners

This clearly written treatise is designed to make the complex subject of corporate taxation very accessible. It uses straightforward language, charts, checklists, diagrams, and numerous examples to aid readers' understanding, and the fourth edition is fully updated for the 2017 tax changes and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Understanding Corporate Taxation also includes discussion of relevant cases. It is designed to supplement any corporate tax casebook or to be used on its own.

The book starts with an introductory chapter that discusses the choice of business form; details the general principle that corporate profits are subject to double taxation (once at the corporate level and again at the shareholder level); introduces the Qualified Business Income deduction; and discusses the basics of anti-abuse rules, such as the step-transaction doctrine. Those anti-abuse rules are explored in more detail in a later chapter, as are proposals to partially or fully eliminate double taxation. The next several chapters are organized using a cradle-to-grave approach that traces the life cycle of a corporation, beginning with formation and capitalization and ending with liquidation of the corporation. Between those events, the book discusses operational issues, including the capital structure of a corporation, distributions of cash or property, stock redemptions, and stock dividends. After corporate liquidations, the book explores more advanced topics, such as taxable stock or asset acquisitions; non-taxable corporate reorganizations and divisions; the carryover of tax attributes (such as net operating losses) following certain non-recognition transactions; and the treatment of corporate tax shelters. In addition, a chapter addresses the taxation of S corporations, which generally provides a single-tax paradigm. That chapter also discusses the Qualified Business Income deduction in detail, including several examples.

Understanding Taxation of Business Entities, from the Understanding series, is now in its second edition. This book is designed primarily for use by law students taking a course on the taxation of business entities, or separate courses on partnership taxation and corporate taxation. It can be used as a supplemental text. But now it includes both a problem set and a teacher's manual, so it can be used as the main text for any of the three courses. The book is broken into parts on partnership taxation, C corporation taxation, and S corporation taxation.

Each chapter contains a basic overview and a detailed discussion; this allows for an understanding of the big picture before diving into the details, and the basic overview alone may be sufficient for some introductory topics in taxation courses. For each type of business tax entity, the book covers its life cycle―formation, operations, and liquidation―along with reorganizations and divisions. The book is full of descriptions and analyses of the relevant Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations provisions, summaries of leading cases and IRS rulings, and plenty of examples that apply the law to hypothetical situations. Understanding Taxation of Business Entities is designed primarily for law students, but it is also intended to be useful to practitioners, including generalists who need a relatively brief summary of a business entity tax topic, beginning lawyers who intend to specialize in partnership and corporate taxation or are working on an LL.M. in taxation, and experienced lawyers who wish to expand their practices into business entity taxation. The book would be similarly useful to accountants who are pursuing a master of science in taxation, as well as accountants practicing in the area of business entity taxation.

Taxation 2020 introduces all relevant tax topic covered in the CPA exam to undergraduate or graduate students in one-semester introductory tax courses. Offering a decision-making approach to the material, this comprehensive yet accessible text maintains the appropriate balance between concepts and specifics. Twelve concise, student-friendly chapters supply sufficient details to build upon for future careers in taxation and consulting while avoiding the minutiae rarely seen in everyday practice. The new tenth edition covers basic taxation of individuals, corporations, S corporations, partnerships, and fiduciary entities.

An emphasis on tax planning helps students understand the effect taxation has on decisions for both individuals and entities. Thoroughly updated for the coming tax year, this textbook covers fundamental areas of taxation and its environment including business and property concepts, property dispositions, business and wealth taxation, and income, expenses, and individual taxes. A wealth of instructor resources includes two solutions manuals—one of which provides solutions to the Research and Tax Return problems—an extensive test bank, and PowerPoint slides. Engaging, highly-readable text enables instructors to assign students out-of-class readings and spend classroom time on more complex topics.