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.