Tax research service and Quickfinders

[lkgcpa]

I want to invest in a tax research service that is informative and reasonably priced. I would welcome suggestions.

Also, I have always used the 1040 Quickfinder as well as the ones for Small Business and All States. I am considering investing in some of the others as well. I would be very interested to know which Quickfinders other tax professionals have found useful. Thank you!

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Thanks for posting this topic. @lkgcpa 

You read my mind because CCH Answer Connect has a 15% discount that expires tomorrow.  This is a good product. $1,500 per year before discount.  AnswerConnect essentials is $750. This product is for very small firms and is tempting.

I am feeling dissatisfied with the CCH product as finding answers seems to take more navigation than I have had time for.  So, I think the Master Tax Guide is what I'm going to purchase.

Quickfinder is good. I remember the ease of use and the intuitive organization of the printed copies.  I stopped it about five years but might restart.  How much does it cost?

There is a nice little newsletter, I forget the name.  Someone will jump in and tell me.

And, finally, in a less popular opinion, I am finding that ChatGPT will provide reliable answers...with citations. (Some extra work to verify answer you might think are not correct.)

I think I made up my mind:  CCH Master Tax Guide $349, Quickfinder Small Business $81, ChatGPT $20/month, Spidell CPE for California taxes $348, Google, and the Lacerte community comprise my library.

[Strongsilence-CPA]

US Master Tax Guide has a discount. I bought it for $182.86

Quickfinder Small Business (print) is $97.39

CCH answerConnect is good product but it increased sharply by about $300 from 2022 to 2024.  

[PATAX]

I get the Quickfinder books and also Taxbook Deluxe. Also two different US Master tax guide books from two different publishers. I think the newsletter that strongsilence is referring to is the Kiplinger Tax Report which I also get. All of the aforementioned are worth their weight in gold to me. Different tax pro organizations and CPE providers also have very informative newsletters . But you do what you want to do.

[lkgcpa]

Thanks so much for the information, Strongsilence and PATAX. I really appreciate it!

@PATAX, which Quickfinders do you use?

[PATAX]

@lkgcpa You're welcome. I get the individual 1040 quickfinder, the small business quickfinder, and the depreciation quickfinder. I was thinking about getting the All state quickfinder, do you recommend that?

[lkgcpa]

@PATAX I've used the All States Quickfinder in the past, but lately, I've found that going directly to the specific state's website is more informative. The Quickfinder has basic information for each state, which sometimes is enough, but it does not often have the specific information for which I am looking.   

I've used the printed copies of the Quickfinders in the past, but I've been looking at The Taxbook website, and am considering "Jacob's Special" because it includes WebLibrary Plus which looks like it would be an excellent resource. TTB - Products (thetaxbook.com)

I'm also considering the Parker Tax Pro Library Tax Research Products - Parker Tax Pro Library - Product (parkertaxpublishing.com) which is another online library. One thing that is very attractive is the Search Engine. I don't see a search engine on The Taxbook's website. Parker has a special 25% off offer that expires tomorrow.    

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Parker! That is it!  I used it ten years ago. 378 less 25% is a good price.

I've found that going directly to the specific state's website is more informative.

Same for me.

[BobKamman]

Some days I just want to pitch a revival tent and preach to tax practitioners, “Throw away your crutches.”

Before we had the Internet and Google, there wasn’t an alternative to cutting down trees and paying publishers to organize bits of tax law according to Code section (which, ultimately, is all they do). But today, you have the same resources they have. So use them.

Many of my clients are not wealthy. I tell them I don’t pay for my overhead; it all comes from them. I don’t want to bill them for buying stuff that I can find just as easily for free, if I know where and how to look.

Ask yourself, what are you finding in publications that doesn’t come from stuff you can locate with a few keystrokes online? It may take some practice to develop that skill, but it will maintain and improve your professionalism when you learn where these people are getting all that free information they are trying to sell you.

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Bob's rant is the LC community equivalent of "old man shakes fist at the clouds".  

Your revival approach works for you. Great!  It isn't for everyone.  We know we can get the info on the internet but many people like it organized and easily found. A few keystrokes can be equivalent to the locating a word on a TOC or an index then flipping to the relevant page.

I like trying to save trees. Good for us that you mention it.  But much paper that is made today is from recycled or repurposed materials.

[BobKamman]

@Strongsilence-CPA  Do you realize how much carbon fuel has to be burned to produce the energy needed to recycle all that paper?  But the online community will little note nor long remember my views on Internet research, which I post mostly to reassure others that they are not missing much if they don't spend their money on the gutta percha of information delivery systems.  Where newspaper and magazine publishing has gone, the textbooks and reference books are following without my help.  

[IRonMaN]

I'll join the revival.  I used to spend a bundle on research materials and little by little I have scaled down over the years.  I'm with Bob.  Why spend a bundle on research materials when so much is available on the internet.  For those folks that spend most of their day researching complex client situations, a good research library is important.  For most of the folks visiting here, we get stuck here and there every now and then so having an expensive and extensive library really isn't necessary.  Besides, most of the time I either couldn't figure out how to find an answer in my research materials, or when I did I couldn't understand what the materials were telling me anyway 😁

[lkgcpa]

@IRonMaN I'd really appreciate it if you'd provide some of the websites you use. I'm concerned about the misinformation that's on the internet. It would be very helpful if you'd share reliable sources.

[IRonMaN]

When I need a little guidance I just start out with a general Google search for the topic I am looking for.  Then I see what pops up and see where the information is coming from.  Then I will start taking a gander at sources that I believe are reputable.  The one thing you do have to be careful of are the dates of the sources.  There is a lot of information out there, including a lot of outdated information.