Basic Tax Research
Understanding tax research requires knowledge of the array of tax law sources (code, regulations, various administrative materials and rulings, cases, etc.) and how they fit together. But that is only half the battle. In addition, a researcher needs at least passing familiarity with where these sources can be found in either print or electronic format. Confounding this second challenge is the fact that, in an attempt to carve a niche in the lucrative tax research market, multiple commercial publishers take the same basic information (code, regulations, various administrative materials and rulings, cases, etc.) and add their own proprietary twists. Describing in detail those various twists is beyond the scope of this research guide. Instead, the intent here is solely to introduce the most common tax sources and describe the most common alternatives for finding those sources at Notre Dame and in the “real world”.
LOOSELEAFS
If you just need to check the text of an Internal Revenue Code section or Treasury regulation, it’s tough to beat the free, easy access through the IRS web site. (See Sample Page 1 at the end of this guide.) If, however, you are doing more extensive tax research, looseleafs provide an indispensable starting point. In addition to current text of the IRC and Treasury regulations, they offer expert explanation and citations to relevant administrative materials and rulings and judicial cases – all expertly integrated into a one-stop research package. There are two types of tax looseleafs: those organized by IRC section and those organized by subject.
A. Looseleafs organized by IRC section
RIA’s United States Tax Reporter and CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter are very similar in layout.
Arrangement:
- Text of each Code section is followed by:
- Text of corresponding regulations (final and temporary)
- Editorial explanation of IRC section and regs
- Annotations* listing citations to revenue rulings, revenue procedures, cased, and letter rulings interpreting the IRC section
- Spin-off sets with full text of judicial tax cases (see description in section C below).
Features:
- Detailed Index volume
- Table of Cases
- Finding List – IRS rulings listed numerically
- New Matters or Recent Developments volume – contains most recent material
- Citator volume – find prior and subsequent history of a case
- Tax calendars & rate tables
- Checklists (for such topics as taxable and nontaxable items)
Location/access:
1. Print – RIA’s United States Tax Reporter [KF 6285 .P76] and CCH Standard Federal Tax
Reporter [KF 6285 .S73] looseleaf volumes
2. Electronic -
a. RIA United States Tax Reporter
i. RIA Checkpoint web site – available through Hesburgh Library (see Sample Page 2 at the end of this guide)
ii. Westlaw (RIA-USTR)
b. CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter – through CCH Tax Research Network web site
(see Sample Page 3 at the end of this guide)
B. Looseleafs organized by subject
BNA Tax Management Portfolios and RIA Federal Tax Coordinator 2d offer a topical analysis of tax problems, an arrangement which is particularly helpful with problems involving multiple Code sections. These looseleafs are generally easier to navigate but are less complete as research tools, lacking (among other things) the full text of regulations and the judicial cases.
1. BNA Tax Management Portfolios (very popular in practice)
Each portfolio discusses a particular topic and includes:
- Analysis section with footnote reference to IRC, regs, ruling and cases
- Working Papers section including checklists, forms, and sample problems
- Bibliography and References section cites books, articles, legislative history, etc.
- Index binder accesses portfolios by major categories, key word, and Code section.
- Recent developments inserted at front of each portfolio
Location/access:
a. Print – Looseleaf volumes are in storage pending completion of construction project.
b. Electronic
i. BNA’s Tax Management Library web site (see Sample Page 4 at the end of this guide)
ii. Westlaw (TM-ALLPORT)
2. RIA Federal Tax Coordinator 2d (usually considered the most accessible looseleaf)
Arrangement – Topical chapters contain:
- Textual discussion with footnote citations to relevant IRC sections, regs, cases and IRS rulings
- Full text of relevant IRC sections and regs follow each chapter
- “Developments” section in each binder contains most current material
Features:
- Indexed by topic and by Code section
- Rulings and Releases Table – numerical lists cross-reference rulings to discussions in text bolumes
- Table of Cases
- Planning checklists, tax tables and tax calendar
- Text of U.S. tax treaties
Location/access:
a. Print – Looseleaf volumes are in storage pending completion of construction project.
b. Electronic
i. RIA Checkpoint web site – available through Hesburgh Library (see Sample Page 2 at the end of this guide)
ii. Westlaw (RIA-FTC)
C. REGULATIONS
1. Print – The text of final and temporary regulations are most easily found in one of the tax looseleafs (see description in section A above). Proposed regulations are published in numerous places, most notably the Internal Revenue Bulletin and Cumulative Bulletin. Internal Revenue Bulletin is a weekly publication and is re-published every six months as the hardbound Cumulative Bulletin.
2. Electronic –
a. IRS web site has free access to tax regulations. See Sample Page 1 at the end of this guide.
b. CCH Tax Research Network, BNA’s Tax Management Library, and RIA Checkpoint (through Hesburgh Library) contain all tax regulations.
c. Westlaw (FTX-REG), Lexis (FEDTAX;TXLAWS)
D. CASES
Federal courts issuing tax cases include the US Supreme Court, U.S. Tax Court (formerly Board of Tax Appeals), U.S. Courts of Appeal, Court of Federal Claims, and U.S. District Courts. The U.S. Tax Court issues three types of decisions: reported, memorandum, and summary opinions (not appealable).
1. _Print – While the West print reporters (_Supreme Court Reporter, Federal Reporter and Federal Supplement) do publish tax cases, their coverage is not comprehensive. When using print resources to research tax cases you should rely upon specialized tax reporters, which are organized by issuing court.
a. U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts of appeal and district court cases – The two competing looseleafs described in section A above each have spin-off reporters covering tax cases from U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts of appeal, district courts, and Court of Federal Claims. RIA’s American Federal Tax Reports [KF 6280 .A2 A5] links up to RIA’s United States Tax Reporter, and CCH U.S. Tax Cases [KF 6280 .A2 C63] complements CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter.
b. U.S. Tax Court – Reported decisions are found in the official reports, U.S. Tax Court Reports (TC) and its predecessor U.S. Board of Tax Appeals Reports (BTA). Memorandum decisions are not published officially but are available in the commercially published sets Tax Court Memorandum Decisions (PH TC Memo) and Board of Tax Appeals Memorandum Decisions (BTA Memo). These bound volume sets are in storage pending completion of the construction project.
2. Electronic –
a. Cumulative Bulletin is also on HeinOnline, and the Internal Revenue Bulletin is free through the IRS web site. See Sample Page 6 at the end of this guide.
b. CCH Tax Research Network, BNA’s Tax Management Library, and RIA Checkpoint (through Hesburgh Library) offer the text of revenue rulings and revenue procedures.
c. Westlaw (FTX-CB) and Lexis (FEDTAX; CB) consolidate the Cumulative Bulletin and Internal Revenue Bulletin.
F. Private letter rulings (PLR’s) and technical advice memoranda (TAM’s) – Private letter rulings are written determinations issued by the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service directly to taxpayers in response to requests about pre-filing transactions. Each PLR is identified by a unique number. Technical advice memoranda are also issued by the National Office of the IRS, but are in response to a request from a district IRS office about an issue raised in a filed return. The numbering scheme of TAM’s is similar to PLR’s.
1. Print – CCH IRS Letter Rulings Reports [KF 6282 .A2 C65] provides full text of PLR’s and TAM’s. Organized in document number order. Indexed by subject and by code section.
2. Electronic –
a. IRS web site (1997 to present) See Sample Page 7 at the end of this guide.
b. CCH Tax Research Network, BNA’s Tax Management Library, and RIA Checkpoint
c. Westlaw (FTX-PLR and FTX-TAM) and Lexis (FEDTAX; PLR)
G. CITATORS
Tax citators can be used to determine whether a particular tax authority has been criticized, approved, or otherwise commented on in a subsequent source. The different citators vary in the type of material being evaluated and in the scope of the citing sources.
1. RIA Citator (part of RIA United States Tax Reporter) – Considered the most thorough tax citator. Evaluates cases, regulations, and other IRS rulings. Available in print [KF 6285 .P76], on Westlaw (RIA-CITE), and through RIA Checkpoint web site (through Hesburgh Library).
2. Shepard’s on Lexis and KeyCite on Westlaw evaluate cases, IRC, regulations, revenue rulings and other IRS rulings. These services continue to expand coverage.
3. CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter Citator [KF 6285 .S73] evaluates only selected cases. For coverage of rulings, see the Finding Lists in the N-Z volume. Available online through CCH Tax Research Network.
H. FORMS
1. Blank forms – Federal tax forms are downloadable at the IRS web site – and that is probably the best way to go. Tax Management IRS Forms [KF 6301 .A64], a looseleaf tax forms set (5 volumes), is in storage pending completion of the construction project.
2. Filled-in forms – OK, now you have the blank form. But how exactly do you fill it in?
a. CCH Individuals’ Filled-In Tax Return Forms [KF 6369.5 .I5]
b. Singer’s Filled-In Tax Forms Encyclopedia [Reserve KF 6369.6 .S55]
I. JOURNAL ARTICLES
1. CCH Federal Tax Articles – offers convenient indexing by IRC section along with usual author and subject index. Available in looseleaf [KF6285 .F4] and on CCH Tax Research Network.
2. Legal Resource Index – indexing only by author/subject index; access through Westlaw (LRI) or Lexis (Legal Resource Index).
3. Search full-text journals in Westlaw (JLR) or Lexis (US Law Reviews).
J. TAX RESEARCH GUIDE
Need more info? Check out Gail Levin Richmond. Federal Tax Research: Guide to Materials and Techniques, 7th ed. [KF241 .T38 R5 2007]
