Good news for those of us who are not accountants. The IRS has released a free tax guide to help answer your questions. The guide serves as an "overview of common tax issues in one convenient place."
It covers:

•Plan to Retire at some point? Retirement accounts.
• New baby? Child Tax Credit.
• Sell stock? Capital Gains.

And it's free! —MEGHANN MARCO

Publication 17 (PDF) [IRS]