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Federal Tax Accounting advises tax preparers, accountants, attorneys, and other professionals about timing issues, i.e. when an item, such as income, deduction, or credit may be reported on a tax return. Tax accounting rules govern the tax incidents of when tax events must be taken into account for federal income tax purposes. The when question is the subject of this book. In general, tax accounting is not concerned with whether an item is includable in income or deductible or even with the character of the item but when it may be reported. One may ask "how can a book''s sole subject be when? Consider the following issues which relate to timing: . Under the annual accounting doctrine, should tax accounting be transactional or periodic? . Should an item of income be considered income upon receipt even though the taxpayer might be obligated to return the item? What if the item is in dispute; should it be picked up as income or be deferred? . If a taxpayer takes a deduction in a previous year but recovers the item in a subsequent year, should the item recovered be income? . If the taxpayer dissolves his corporation and recognizes capital gain and is obligated to pay a liability of the corporation, is the deduction ordinary or capital? . What tax year should a partnership, S corporation, personal holding company or regular corporation use? What are the alternatives for the taxpayer? Can taxpayers make elections to use tax years other than those that are required? . If the taxpayer is using an erroneous tax year, how is the error corrected? . What are the requirements for choosing methods of accounting? . How does a taxpayer adopt a method of accounting? . Should the taxpayer be using the cash method of accounting; if so how should the taxpayer maintain his books? How should the books clearly reflect income? . When a taxpayer receives a promissory note, does the taxpayer have income? Can the taxpayer defer income? . If a taxpayer is involved in a commercial transaction a