What is this site?

This site contains the full text of the AARP Foundation California Counselor Reference Manual ("The Duck Book") used by Tax-Aide sites in California. It is not edited or modified in any way. There is one page for each heading in the book's table of contents. There is a different site for each year's book, see the title at the top of this page for the tax year that this site covers. 

Why would I want to use this site? 

The advantages of using a web site include the easier navigation, the built-in full-text search, and the ability to bookmark specific pages so they are easy to return to in the future.

Can I still get a printed copy of the book? 

Yes. Books are still printed every year. 

Can I still get a PDF version of the book? 

Yes. Download it here: Duck Book Current Year

What works/doesn't work in this site? 

  • Links that are references to other pages within the Duck Book do not work. For example, if you see some text that says something like "Use one of the Volunteer Hotlines listed on page 1", the "1" looks like a link. In the PDF, clicking that link takes you to page 1, but on a website there is no such thing as page 1, so the link doesn't do anything. 
  • Links that take you to external sites, such as the Modified 4012 or IRS publications, do work; however, since the content at the external sites is typically replaced every year without changing the URLs, the links in a prior year Duck Book website will take you to the current year's publication.


Search Tips

The built in search function returns pages that include any part of any of the search words, so less is more. For example, if you want to search for "jury duty pay" just search for "jury". If you include the word "pay" in a search, you will get every page that has the words "taxpayer" or "payment" (i.e. almost every page); whereas a search for "jury" will return only pages that include "jury" or "injury", which is a very short list.


Search terms that should be avoided include "Income", "Deduction", "Form", "Schedule" and single letters such as "C". 


To find topics that refer to Schedule C, use "business". For Schedule A, use "medical" or "property". For Schedule D, use "capital gains".

Where are the previous versions of the website?

The 2023 website is available here: https://cacrm.github.io/duckbook2023/

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