The right reference does two things: it tells you what to read in the first place, and it tells you when to stop reading and call. The four shelves below are the ones we keep within arm's reach in both our NC and GA offices — federal, state, specialty small-business, and our own internal guides — so a specific question maps quickly to a specific publication. Pub 17 is the everyday companion; everything else earns its slot by handling one recurring question that actually walks through our door.
HOW TO USE THIS STACK
Each publication gets a one-sentence summary. Where the IRS has not changed the publication number, use the latest year. Where the topic shifts materially year to year (Pub 17 in particular, and any inflation-adjusted threshold inside other publications), confirm you're reading the current edition. IRS and state-DOR publications are linked in plain text on this page rather than tucked into an external sidebar.
Five Federal Publications — Every NC and GA Filer Should Know Them By Name
Pub 17 is the everyday companion; the rest handle specific recurring questions that we hear from the same clients year after year. If a household knows these five exist — even if they only ever open Pub 17 in practice — half of the April question list is already in their hands.
IRS Publication 17 — Tax Guide for Individuals
IRS
The annual IRS individual-tax guide: filing requirements, what counts as income, the standard vs. itemized decision, the most common credits, e-file rules, and the bottom-line mechanics of Form 1040. The single most useful federal reference for any individual return.
IRS Publication 54 — Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
IRS
Federal-tax rules for U.S. citizens and resident aliens with foreign income, foreign housing exclusions, and the FEIE (Form 2555) qualification rules. We pull it out for clients with overseas income or assets.
IRS Publication 525 — Taxable and Nontaxable Income
IRS
Line-by-line reference for what must be reported as income and what may be excluded. Useful when a 1099 doesn't fit a familiar category — barter, prize income, or unusual compensation.
IRS Publication 535 — Business Expenses
IRS
Categorical reference for what counts as an ordinary and necessary business expense. The companion to Schedule C for self-employed owners who need a clean definition of deductible vs. capitalizable costs.
IRS Publication 596 — Earned Income Credit (EIC)
IRS
Eligibility rules, income thresholds, and phaseouts for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Useful both for first-time claimers and for understanding why a prior EITC return was adjusted by IRS Notice CP2000.
North Carolina and Georgia State Booklets — The Two States Our Clients Actually Live (and File) In
The five state booklets below are the most current references for the NC and GA returns we work on. Both states use federal AGI as a starting point, then apply a flat rate (currently 4.5% in NC and 5.39% in GA). Every meaningful difference lives on the associated schedule pages, which is why we keep the schedule links alongside the form.
NC D-400 — North Carolina Individual Income Tax Return
North Carolina Department of Revenue
The current-year NC individual income tax booklet drives the state's flat-rate return. Pulls Schedule S additions and deductions into a single walk-through for every NC resident and part-year resident.
NC Schedule S — Additions and Deductions to Federal AGI
North Carolina Department of Revenue
North Carolina uses federal AGI as the starting point, then adds and subtracts specific items. Schedule S handles every NC-specific addition and deduction — bonus depreciation add-back, the 529 deduction, and the recent retirement-income-exclusion changes.
NC D-400 Schedule A — Itemized Deductions for NC
North Carolina Department of Revenue
The NC version of Schedule A. Often substantially different from the federal calculation — NC respects many federal amounts but adjusts for the federal SALT cap and uses its own mortgage-interest rules in some categories.
GA 500 — Georgia Individual Income Tax Return
Georgia Department of Revenue
The state's flat-rate return for every GA resident. Companion Schedule 1 captures Georgia additions and subtractions; several retirement-income exclusions sit on Schedule 1 for filers 62 and older.
GA 500 Schedule 1 — Additions and Subtractions to Federal AGI
Georgia Department of Revenue
Where Georgia differences from federal AGI are tallied: the retirement-income exclusion for those 62+, qualifying military-retirement pay, and the state's other target deductions. Often the most consequential page on a GA return.
Five Specialty IRS Pubs — The Ones That Quietly Earn Their Keep One Specific Year Each
These are the IRS publications every business owner should know exist, even if their current situation does not yet involve the topic. Each one becomes useful in a specific year — the year a home office appears, the year equipment is bought, the year a stock with unclear cost basis is inherited, or the year a Schedule F rolls into the return. Bookmark the slot in advance.
IRS Publication 334 — Tax Guide for Small Business
IRS
The IRS's plain-English overview for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. Walks through figuring business income, the most common deductions, SE-tax mechanics, and the steps for closing a business.
IRS Publication 225 — Farmer's Tax Guide
IRS
Annual reference covering farm income, farm-business expenses, depreciation of farm property, casualty losses, and the farmer-specific fuel and wage rules. Required reading for any client with significant Schedule F activity.
IRS Publication 551 — Basis of Assets
IRS
Cost-basis rules for nearly every asset transaction. The right reference when the basis on a brokerage statement doesn't match the actual cost — inherited-property step-ups, stock splits, and like-kind exchanges.
IRS Publication 587 — Business Use of Your Home
IRS
Detailed rules for claiming the home-office deduction — the regular-use and exclusive-use tests, the simplified-method square-foot cap, and the depreciation recapture that applies on sale of the home.
IRS Publication 529 — Miscellaneous Deductions
IRS
The historical home for the miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% AGI floor. The floor — and most of those deductions — were suspended for 2018–2025; the pub remains useful for the categories that did survive (casualty, certain impairment-related expenses).
The M&M-Authored Guides — Written Because the IRS Pubs Stop at the Rule and Don't Reach the Transaction
The seven guides in our Concepts section cover the everyday topics clients ask about most. Written in plain English, updated quarterly, and designed to be the right material to read before an appointment so the conversation stays on your specific numbers rather than background reading.
Recent Federal Tax Laws and Post-COVID Changes
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
Plain-English walkthrough of CARES, ARPA, the Inflation Reduction Act, and SECURE 2.0 — and what TCJA sunset provisions are likely to change after 2025 unless Congress acts.
Smart Tax Planning Strategies
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
Practical moves for individuals and small businesses: contribution-order discipline, timing income and deductions, Roth conversions in low-bracket years, charitable bunching, and the year-end checklist we use across NC and GA.
Deductions and Credits You May Be Missing
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
A reference for above-the-line deductions, itemized Schedule A categories, and the credits most often left on the table — Saver's Credit, child-and-dependent-care, residential clean-energy, NC 529, and GA retirement-exclusion subtractions.
Tax Essentials for Small Business
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
Entity-choice framework, owner-payroll mechanics for S-corp owners, quarterly estimates, 1099-NEC rules, and the home office / vehicle / Section 179 / QBI decisions small-business owners face every year.
Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
IRA, 401(k), SEP, SIMPLE, Roth, HSA, and the multi-bucket strategy that gives retired households flexibility regardless of how tax rates and income patterns shift.
IRS Audits and Notices — a Calm Walkthrough
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
What every CP2000, balance-due, examination, and Final-Notice letter actually means, the three audit types and what they look like, and the resolution pathways from installment agreement to U.S. Tax Court.
Bookkeeping Best Practices for Small Business
M&M Tax and Accounting Services LLC
The chart of accounts, monthly close rhythm, reconciliation discipline, and the year-end checklist that keep a small-business return from turning into a forensic-accounting project every April.
Where the Federal Pubs Plateau — And What We Reach For Once They Do
IRS publications explain the rules. They do not explain how the rules apply to a specific transaction. Two examples the pages above will not resolve on their own:
- Cost-basis reconciliation across multiple acquisitions. Pub 551 explains the rules. It does not produce a defensible per-lot reconciliation when a brokerage statement, an estate valuation, and a stock-split history all disagree. That needs a worked spreadsheet and a review — often an hour we put in front of a Winston Salem client in late January.
- Retirement-income exclusions across both states. Pub 17 walks through federal rules; the NC and GA booklets walk through their respective exclusions. A retiree moving between the two states usually needs a side-by-side review rather than a single publication.
Not sure which guide applies?
Book a free 15-minute consult — bring your question.