Book excerpt: McGraw-Hill’s Essentials of Federal Taxation is a new 17-chapter volume designed for a one-semester course, covering the basics of taxation of individuals and business entities. This volume includes topics covered in both Taxation of Individuals and Taxation of Business Entities. To facilitate a one-semester course, McGraw-Hill’s Essentials of Federal Taxation folds the key topics from the investments, compensation, retirement savings, and home ownership chapters that are found in Taxation of Individuals into three individual taxation chapters that discuss gross income and exclusions, for AGI deductions, and from AGI deductions, respectively. The essentials volume also includes a two-chapter C corporation sequence that uses a life-cycle approach covering corporate formations and then corporate operations in the first chapter and nonliquidating and liquidating corporate distributions in the second chapter. Available for fall 2013 courses, this volume is perfect for those teaching a one-semester course and for those who struggle to get through the comprehensive volume.