The 1040 Quickfinder Handbook has been around for as long as I have been preparing 1040s – 35 years. I have been using this book for at least 17 years, based on the number of editions I have in my library. While I still get the CCH Master Tax Guide each year, lately as a gift from a broker-client, the Quickfinder Handbook has been my main source of tax research – my tax season “bible”.
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As the website for the competing The Tax Book explains, “In December of 2003, Practitioner's Publishing Company (PPC), a division of Thomson Corporation, acquired the privately held Quickfinder company from a family in Minnesota {and, a pleasant surprise, did not in any way change what was a great product – rdf}. The success of Quickfinder up to that time was due in a significant part to the efforts of the Quickfinder editorial staff. At the time of acquisition, the entire Quickfinder editorial staff consisted of five authors. Initially, four of these authors signed on with PPC/Quickfinder, and continued writing for Quickfinder. In February of 2005, a new company called Tax Materials, Incorporated (TMI) opened its doors in Minnesota. The four authors who had been hired by PPC/Quickfinder after the acquisition separated from that company and rejoined their colleague. The group of five authors joined forces to create a new line of products called TheTaxBook series, competing with the PPC owned Quickfinder.
As the website for the competing The Tax Book explains, “In December of 2003, Practitioner's Publishing Company (PPC), a division of Thomson Corporation, acquired the privately held Quickfinder company from a family in Minnesota {and, a pleasant surprise, did not in any way change what was a great product – rdf}. The success of Quickfinder up to that time was due in a significant part to the efforts of the Quickfinder editorial staff. At the time of acquisition, the entire Quickfinder editorial staff consisted of five authors. Initially, four of these authors signed on with PPC/Quickfinder, and continued writing for Quickfinder. In February of 2005, a new company called Tax Materials, Incorporated (TMI) opened its doors in Minnesota. The four authors who had been hired by PPC/Quickfinder after the acquisition separated from that company and rejoined their colleague. The group of five authors joined forces to create a new line of products called TheTaxBook series, competing with the PPC owned Quickfinder.
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For the past two tax seasons I have purchased both the 1040 Quickfinder Handbook and The Tax Book. For tax year 2006 I purchased “The Tax Book – Deluxe Edition”, which combines 1040s, small business, and estate and trust items. The Quickfinder series does not have an equivalent combined book. The Quickfinder cost $46.40 and “The Tax Book” combined edition cost $71.00.
For the past two tax seasons I have purchased both the 1040 Quickfinder Handbook and The Tax Book. For tax year 2006 I purchased “The Tax Book – Deluxe Edition”, which combines 1040s, small business, and estate and trust items. The Quickfinder series does not have an equivalent combined book. The Quickfinder cost $46.40 and “The Tax Book” combined edition cost $71.00.
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Both books have a selection of worksheets for taxable Social Security, capital gains calculations, itemized deduction and personal exemption phase-outs, calculating the student loan interest deduction and the Earned Income Credit, etc. These worksheets are very helpful to me and used frequently, especially since I prepare my nearly 400 Form 1040/1040As by hand and do not use any type of tax preparation software. I preferred The Tax Book worksheet in some instances and continued to use the Quickfinder forms in others.
Both books have a selection of worksheets for taxable Social Security, capital gains calculations, itemized deduction and personal exemption phase-outs, calculating the student loan interest deduction and the Earned Income Credit, etc. These worksheets are very helpful to me and used frequently, especially since I prepare my nearly 400 Form 1040/1040As by hand and do not use any type of tax preparation software. I preferred The Tax Book worksheet in some instances and continued to use the Quickfinder forms in others.
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Because of my history and familiarity with the Quickfinder book I admit that during the past two seasons this was my first source for looking up 1040 issues. I only referred to The Tax Book when I could not find what I wanted in Quickfinder, or I was looking for more detailed information than Quickfinder provided. In some cases I found additional information in The Tax Book and in others the basic information was the same.
Because of my history and familiarity with the Quickfinder book I admit that during the past two seasons this was my first source for looking up 1040 issues. I only referred to The Tax Book when I could not find what I wanted in Quickfinder, or I was looking for more detailed information than Quickfinder provided. In some cases I found additional information in The Tax Book and in others the basic information was the same.
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It really does not pay to consistently purchase both books each year. For tax year 2007 I will again order both books, but will use The Tax Book as my first source so I can get a real comparison.
It really does not pay to consistently purchase both books each year. For tax year 2007 I will again order both books, but will use The Tax Book as my first source so I can get a real comparison.
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The website of each book provides updates, corrections and additions on a regular basis, and each site has a message board where tax professionals can discuss tax issues.
The website of each book provides updates, corrections and additions on a regular basis, and each site has a message board where tax professionals can discuss tax issues.
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For purposes of this posting I have selected one “tab” in each book for a detailed comparison – Schedule A: Itemized Deductions.
For purposes of this posting I have selected one “tab” in each book for a detailed comparison – Schedule A: Itemized Deductions.
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1040 QUICKFINDER HANDBOOK: Schedule A and Schedule B are combined in the same “tab”. There are 21 pages devoted to Schedule A in the tab.
1040 QUICKFINDER HANDBOOK: Schedule A and Schedule B are combined in the same “tab”. There are 21 pages devoted to Schedule A in the tab.
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THE TAX BOOK: Schedule A has a tab all to itself. Schedule B is combined with Schedule D and Form 4797 in a tab titled “Investment Income”. There are 26 pages in the tab. The section begins with 2 pages of summary information, including a “New for 2006” listing, and a full page “Fair Market Value Guide for Used Items”. Each individual category of deduction starts off with a “Related Topics” listing of references to other tabs.
THE TAX BOOK: Schedule A has a tab all to itself. Schedule B is combined with Schedule D and Form 4797 in a tab titled “Investment Income”. There are 26 pages in the tab. The section begins with 2 pages of summary information, including a “New for 2006” listing, and a full page “Fair Market Value Guide for Used Items”. Each individual category of deduction starts off with a “Related Topics” listing of references to other tabs.
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While the same general information is covered in both books, each covers some topics in more detail – i.e. Quickfinder has more on the deduction for Personal Property Tax. However it appears that, on the whole, The Tax Book provides more detailed information on the various Schedule A topics.
While the same general information is covered in both books, each covers some topics in more detail – i.e. Quickfinder has more on the deduction for Personal Property Tax. However it appears that, on the whole, The Tax Book provides more detailed information on the various Schedule A topics.
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Each annual edition of Quickfinder is pretty much exactly the same. I expect that when preparing a new year’s version they take the prior year book and simply add, remove or edit the copy to reflect new developments, laws and regulations. When The Tax Book was created, by basically the same authors, I believe they updated the format to provide a more easy and appropriate flow of information.
Each annual edition of Quickfinder is pretty much exactly the same. I expect that when preparing a new year’s version they take the prior year book and simply add, remove or edit the copy to reflect new developments, laws and regulations. When The Tax Book was created, by basically the same authors, I believe they updated the format to provide a more easy and appropriate flow of information.
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From a first look it appears that The Tax Book is the “more better” value, especially the Deluxe Edition with tabs on corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts, exempt organization, and related issues. I pledge to from now through the end of the 2008 tax filing season use The Tax Book as my primary resource, with Quickfinder as the back-up, and let you know which product I prefer next May.
From a first look it appears that The Tax Book is the “more better” value, especially the Deluxe Edition with tabs on corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts, exempt organization, and related issues. I pledge to from now through the end of the 2008 tax filing season use The Tax Book as my primary resource, with Quickfinder as the back-up, and let you know which product I prefer next May.
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I welcome comments on your experiences with the Quickfinder Handbook and Tax Book products. I am aware that there are other similar products out there – I believe CCH has its own version – and would like to hear what you think about these other options.
I welcome comments on your experiences with the Quickfinder Handbook and Tax Book products. I am aware that there are other similar products out there – I believe CCH has its own version – and would like to hear what you think about these other options.
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TAFN
TAFN
1 comment:
Dear Mr. Flach,
I would like to thank you for considering a comparison between the two products: Quickfinder 1040 Edition, vs. TheTaxBook 1040 Edition. As you noted in your blog, a group of us who previously made up the entire editorial staff for Quickfinder at the time it was acquired by PPC left that company to write a competing product. I offer my opinion from the unique perspective of having been involved with the updating process for Quickfinder from 1988 through 2004, and for TheTaxBook from 2005 to present.
As you know, tax products need constant updating, as Congress and the IRS keep changing the rules on us. Our website asks you to compare quality and provides a verifiable checklist of items TheTaxBook covered that were missing in the 2006 edition of Quickfinder.
For example, TheTaxBook stopped the printing presses on December 9, 2006 to insert coverage of the new Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which extended the Educator Expense deduction, the Tuition and Fess Deduction, and the General Sales Tax deduction for 2006. Quickfinder provided that information on their website, but did not include any kind of insert in their printed publication, even though much of their product was shipped after that date.
Another example is that the Form 1040 instructions for 2006 changed on a number of items, including the reporting of nontaxable Social Security benefits. For years, the IRS instructions said to leave lines 20a and 20b blank if none of the benefits are taxable. That changed in 2006 where the instructions now indicate total benefits should be reported on line 20a, even if line 20b is zero. If you do tax returns by hand without the aid of a computer software program, that might be important information for you to know. Quickfinder did not include this information in their 1040 line-by-line tab, and in fact reported the old outdated information saying to leave the two lines blank if none of the benefits are taxable. The IRS released the official 2006 Form 1040 instruction booklet on November 17, 2006, weeks before TheTaxBook and Quickfinder began shipping their product. It has always been my policy to hold off printing the 1040 line-by-line Tab until after IRS releases the latest revision of their 1040 instruction booklet. Did Quickfinder print their 1040 line-by-line Tab before seeing the IRS instructions for 2006?
Another example is the size of our index. TheTaxBook has a separate Tab for the index, making it easy to find. It also contains some 3,500 page references, compared to 1,500 in Quickfinder. It does not matter how good the coverage a publication has on any given subject, if you can’t find the information in the book.
I ask you to examine the other comparisons mentioned on our website for tax year 2006. No two products are ever going to contain the exact same amount of coverage on every topic. Of course there will be some topics that are covered more extensive in Quickfinder than in TheTaxBook, as there are some topics covered more extensive in TheTaxBook than in Quickfinder. However, I’m sure you will agree that when we are in the middle of tax season trying to crank out tax returns before the deadline, we have little time to verify if the facts in our quick reference tax guide are accurate or outdated. We have to trust our book is accurate and updated. I update TheTaxBook with the idea that I will need to depend upon it to get me through tax season. TheTaxBook has a policy that all authors go through tax season each and every year. All of us are required to use the book during tax season so that we can test its usefulness and know what kind of changes need to be made for the following year. Can Quickfinder authors under its new ownership make the same claim? Are Quickfinder authors currently practicing tax preparers?
Sincerely,
Bradley, J. Imsdahl, EA
Executive Editor, TheTaxBook
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