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A taxing challenge: Even experts can't agree when preparing a sample tax return
In 1913, the CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter, which spells out the U.S. tax code in all its riveting detail, was 400 pages long. In 2007, it contained 67,204 pages.

As the tax code turns ever more unwieldy, deciphering it has become more art than science, tax experts say.

With the April 17 deadline approaching, USA TODAY decided to test this theory by asking three veteran tax pros — two enrolled agents and one certified public accountant — to prepare a tax return for a hypothetical family, the Baileys....

...All the preparers came up with varying results....