Federal Tax Research Basics
Research in the area of federal taxation makes extensive use of both primary and secondary resources. The legislative, administrative and judicial branches of the federal government produce primary authority in the form of statutes, treaties, regulations, rulings and decisions. Secondary sources consist of unofficial publications such as treatises, tax services and periodical literature. Secondary materials may be used to locate, explain, analyze and interpret primary tax resources. This guide highlights many of the commonly used tax reference resources.
First time with Tax Law?
The following address the intricacies of researching issues of federal taxation. As tax research is complex, consulting one of the following may be helpful for the first time tax researcher.
- West's Tax Law DictionaryCall Number: KF6287 .W473Old Editions-Law Library, 2nd floor
Current Edition-Law Library, 1st floor
Loose-Leaf Services
Loose-leaf services are hybrid research tools that bring together primary and secondary materials, providing access to statutes, regulations and excerpts from Congressional reports, administrative rulings and references to judicial decisions , and that provide analysis and practical explanations for complex issues.
Standard federal tax reporter by Call Number: KF6280 .A2 C6Updated weekly, covering federal income tax laws and includes the Internal Revenue Code in the companion volumes marked “Internal Revenue Code I and II.”
Merten's the Law of Federal Income Taxation by Publication Date: Available on WestlawArranged by subject, covering income tax only- Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reporter by Call Number: KF6571 .A33 C6 1977Publication Date: 2012Arranged by code section
- Federal excise tax reporter by Call Number: KF6600 .A6 C62Publication Date: 2012Arranged by code section
- Tax Management PortfoliosThe BNA Tax and Accounting portfolios on various area of tax law, forms, practice tools, and news updates. These are available on Bloomberg Law
The Internal Revenue Code
There are three distinct Internal Revenue Codes: the 1939 Code, the 1954 Code and the 1986 Code. The 1986 code, as amended, is the present law. The Internal Revenue Code is Title 26 of the current United States Code.
- The United States CodeCall Number: KF62 2006 .A2 2008
- The United States Code AnnotatedCall Number: KF62.5 .W4
- The United States Code ServiceCall Number: KF62.5 .L38