Tax-filing season is here. Experts will tell you preparation for taxes should be done well before this time — ideally, by the last quarter of the last calendar year Unless you are one of those lucky ones who gets to file an EZ tax form without deductions, you may want to heed the information we, here at the Providence Public Library, have to offer.
Visit the reference department at the Central Library: here you will find everything from tax forms to books and periodicals on how to plan for the next year and every year down the road.
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Because we are a federal government depository library, we receive books of reproducible tax forms and publications from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS.) We also have stacks of copies of the most popular tax forms — including all Rhode Island state income tax forms and Massachusetts resident and non-resident forms – so if you are looking for the right paperwork to get through this tax season, drop by the Library on 225 Washington Street, next to the Police and Fire Headquarters, and pick some up.
Many states offer tax forms on-line: We can help you retrieve these, too. Just visit our Web site, at www.provlib.org. Other reference sources within our collection include the United States Code, the standard official source for federal laws, and the United States Code Service, which has additional research aids besides the actual U.S. Code; Title 26 is the Internal Revenue code.
If you are looking for a description and explanation of tax law — specifically the federal income tax — consider consulting The Commerce Clearing House Federal Tax Guide. The Rhode Island Tax Reporter describes Rhode Island tax law and the State Tax Handbook gives readers an overview of the tax structure of every state and the District of Columbia.
Tax language can be daunting — if you are confused about the meaning of any given tax term, consider the West’s Tax Law Dictionary.
For the non-profit organization, consider taking a look at the Law of Tax Exempt Organizations, written by Bruce Hopkins. If you own a small business or a home-based business, you may want to read 422 Tax Deductions for Businesses and Self Employed Individuals by Bernard Kamoroff, first, or perhaps, J.K. Lasser’s Taxes Made Easy for your Home-based Business.
Many financial groups offer tax-planning guides to help you understand the most up-to-date changes in tax law, and these are generally published annually. Among that group, you will find:
- J.K.Lasser’s Your Income Tax, The Ernst & Young Tax Guide, and the user-friendly Taxes for
Dummies by Eric Tyson. It’s never too soon to start looking at ways to trim your tax burden. - Consider, How to Pay Zero Taxes, by Jeff Schepper, What the IRS Doesn’t Want You to Know: A CPA Reveals the Tricks of the Trade, by Marty Kaplan, or The Complete Idiot’s guide to Tax Deductions, by Lisa Collins. And, if the unthinkable happens, and your tax return gets pulled for an audit, there is always hope with Surviving an IRS Audit, by Frederick Daily.
If you have already filed your taxes — or are procrastinating and looking for something to do in the meantime — consider a great ‘read’ on the topic of taxes. The Great American Tax Dodge: How Spiraling Fraud and Avoidance are Killing Fairness, Destroying the Income Tax and Costing You, by Donald Barlett and James B. Steele. This exposé of the federal income tax system, sheds light on how widespread tax fraud has become — especially with the advent of the Internet — and steps that could be taken to close ‘the loops,’ and make the system fairer.
There is always a way to do your taxes and access this information on-line: Go to the Providence Public Library’s Web site, www.provlib.org, select Access to Information, then click on Business Resources, and then, go to Tax Information. Our Web page includes links to retrieve both federal and state tax forms. So, there goes another excuse. Get filing!
