This highly-acclaimed text explains the conceptual basis of federal income taxation. It is designed to help students quickly pull together the entire subject for end-of-semester review and provide perspective about where a topic fits within the federal income tax scheme. While focusing on the present income tax, the text provides an explanation of the often-discussed consumption tax and contrasts the two taxes in a note at the end of the volume. The new edition reflects developments since the thirteenth edition, including many changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017—the most significant federal tax legislation in more than thirty years.