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 Overseas I Lost my Job I Had to Move I Sold my Home I Sold my Rental Property I Sold a Home that Wasn't my Primary Residence I Get Tips at Work I Receive Benefits from the Government I Have Investments Outside of Work A Quick Discussion of Cryptocurrency I Have Tax Sheltered Investments I Want to Take Money out of my IRA or 401k I Had Debt Written Off I Lost my House (Foreclosure) I am Retired (or retiring) I am Retiring from the Military I am Receiving Social Security (or Thinking about It) I am Receiving an Annuity or Pension I am Paying on Student Loans I am Changing Jobs What the Hell is Alternative Minimum Tax? I Sell Amway, Mary Kay, etc. I'm an Independent Contractor or I Got a Form 1099-NEC I Drive for UBER (or Lyft etc) I am a Real Estate Agent I am an Artist I am Renting out my Former Home What about Obamacare? I Get Health Insurance Through the Marketplace I Do Not Have Health Insurance State by State Tax Guide for Military The IRS Called and is Threatening Me! I Got a Letter from the IRS IRS Letter Types I Got a CP2000 Letter from the IRS! I Got This Tax Form What about the Trump Tax Plan? Do I Get the 20% Business Deduction? The 2020 Chapter The 2021 Chapter Appendix A - Support Worksheet Appendix B - Insolvency Worksheet Appendix C - Sample IRS Response Letter Appendix D - Fixing DFAS Witholding