FEDERAL TAX RESEARCH Internal Revenue Service Materials and Secondary Sources

Transcription

1 Law Library James E. Beasley School of Law Temple University FEDERAL TAX RESEARCH Internal Revenue Service Materials and Secondary Sources This guide briefly describes the major tax resources available in the Law Library. It focuses on materials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and provides information on a few of the major secondary sources in the collection. For additional resources, see the complementary federal tax research guides on legislation, regulations, and court decisions. An effort has been made to include and describe the available electronic resources. Most are LexisNexis or Westlaw files, freely available on the internet, or accessible to current Temple students after signing on at the University Library website with an AccessNet ID and password. Offerings on all these electronic services change frequently. Consult a librarian for further assistance. I. Internal Revenue Service Materials A. Internal Revenue Bulletin and Cumulative Bulletin The IRS publishes a variety of materials which are of public interest in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, which is cumulated annually as the Cumulative Bulletin. The Bulletin also reprints Supreme Court decisions involving the Code, tax treaties, tax legislation, and selected background material on tax legislation. HeinOnline: U.S. Federal Agency Library Lexis: FEDTAX;CB Westlaw: FTX-CB Web: B. Revenue Rulings Revenue rulings represent the conclusions of the IRS on the application of the law to the facts stated in the ruling. They are rulings that the IRS has determined can be used as precedents. Rulings are assigned numbers chronologically. For example, Rev. Rul , would be the 15th ruling issued in Merten's Law of Federal Income Taxation (Callaghan), Westlaw: MERTENS 2. IRS Advance Releases Lexis: FEDTAX;HOTIRS

2 3. Revenue Rulings Westlaw: FTX-RR 4. IRS Documents 5. Rulings and Other Documents (CCH) 6. BNA TaxCore IRS Documents: Revenue Rulings C. Revenue Procedures Revenue Procedures are statements of IRS practices. Procedures are numbered chronologically. 1. Internal Revenue Bulletin and Cumulative Bulletin Web: 2. IRS Advance Releases Lexis: FEDTAX;HOTIRS 3. Revenue Procedures Westlaw: FTX-RP 4. IRS Documents 5. Rulings and Other Documents (CCH) 6. BNA TaxCore IRS Documents: Revenue Procedures D. Announcements The IRS publishes a variety of "items of general interest" in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. These items are often reprinted in superseded volumes of the Standard Federal Tax Reporter. Or consult: 1. IRS Advance Releases Lexis: FEDTAX;HOTIRS 2. IRS Annoucements Westlaw: FTX-ANN 2

3 3. BNA TaxCore IRS Documents: Announcements 4. IRS Documents 5. Rulings and Other Documents (CCH) E. Forms and Publications 1. Forms a. IRS Forms (IRS) Web: b. Federal Tax Forms (CCH), KF 6335 A65 F42 c. BNA TaxCore IRS Documents: Tax Forms 2. IRS Publications The IRS issues a number of pamphlets designed to assist taxpayers. The most frequently requested pamphlets are reprinted in commercial publications. a. IRS Publications (IRS) Web: b. IRS Publications (CCH), KF 6335 A65 F42 c. IRS Documents d. IRS Taxpayer Information Publication Westlaw: FTX-IRSPUBS F. Internal Revenue Manual 1. Internal Revenue Manual (IRS) Lexis: FEDTAX;MAN Westlaw: RIA-IRM Web: 3

4 2. Internal Revenue Manual (CCH), KF 6301 A4 I52 3. Internal Revenue Manual II. Secondary Sources A. Current Awareness Newsletters are invaluable for locating current and ephemeral material. They generally report on recent IRS actions, court decisions, and legislative initiatives, and reprint the full-text of important documents, many of which cannot be located by any method other than contacting an agency directly. 1. Tax Notes, Summaries of events and pronouncements, making reference to the full text of documents in companion sets of services. After 1990, issues can be found on Lexis., current 5 years Lexis: FEDTAX;TNT Web: Library E-Resources, Tax Analysts, Federal News and Analysis 2. Tax Notes International, Level 4 Tax Alcove, current 5 years Lexis: FEDTAX;TNIMAG Web: Library E-Resources, Tax Analysts, International News and Analysis 3. BNA Tax Management Daily/Weekly Report Legislative, regulatory, judicial and policy actions reported as well as industry developments. Lexis: FEDTAX;TMWEEK Westlaw: BNA-DTR Web: Library E-Resources, BNA Online, TM Weekly Report 4. CCH Federal Tax Day/Weekly Monitors policy and documents from Congress, the Judiciary, the White House, the Treasury and the IRS. Web: Library E-Resources, IntelliConnect CCH, News and Current Awareness B. Looseleaf Services These multi-volume sets are useful resources when beginning tax research. They are arranged by topic and have excellent subject indexes and finding lists. 1. Federal Tax Service (CCH),

5 2. Merten's Law of Federal Income Taxation (Callaghan), Westlaw: MERTENS 3. Tax Management Portfolios, (BNA) The Tax Management Portfolios are particularly useful because each portfolio deals with a very narrow topic and includes sample forms, planning documents, and references to other sources. This collection offers materials in five series: U.S. Income; Foreign Income; Estates, Gifts, and Trusts; Real Estate; and Compensation Planning. The companion binder volume indexes the portfolios from all five series. Print: Desk Reserve Lexis: FEDTAX;TMPORT Westlaw: TM;ALLPORT Web: Library E-Resources, BNA Online, TM Tax Practice Series C. Treatises, Hornbooks, and Nutshells These resources can be used to gain a general overview of tax issues. Some of the works, such as the Bittker set, are very scholarly. Others, such as titles in the Nutshell series, are very brief and provide only basic information. In both cases, however, these titles can be used to obtain references to cases and other materials for further research. Search the full collection of tax treatises using the Diamond online library catalog: 1. Rabkin & Johnson, Federal Income, Gift and Estate Taxation Lexis: FEDTAX;FIGETX 2. Bittker, Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders, 7th ed., KF 6464.B Bittker & Lokken, Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts, 3d ed., KF 6335.B57 4. Chirelstein, Federal Income Taxation, 10th ed., Reserve KF 6369.C Master Tax Guide (CCH), annual Reserve KF 6352.C65 Web: Library E-Resources; IntelliConnect; Explanations, Treatises & Guidebooks 6. McNulty, Federal Estate and Gift Taxation in a Nutshell, 6th ed., Reserve Nutshells by title 7. McNulty, Federal Income Taxation of Individuals in a Nutshell, 7th ed., Reserve Nutshells by title 8. Posin, Principles of Federal Income Taxation, Reserve KF 6369.P

6 9. Rose, Federal Income Taxation, 3d ed., 1988 Reserve KF 6369 R D. Periodicals Legal periodicals can provide a quick overview of a recent event or in-depth analysis of a complicated topic. The two standard print indexes to legal periodicals, Index to Legal Periodicals and Current Law Index, both shelved on 3A, can be used to find these articles. Also consult the standard electronic journal files in Lexis (FEDTAX;TAXLR), Westlaw (TX-TP) and HeinOnline. The Temple Law Library subscribes to many periodicals which can provide information on tax issues. Current issues are located at the Reference Desk. Bound volumes are located on stack levels 3A (A-M) or 4A (N-Z) depending on the call number retrieved from the Diamond online library catalog: Here is a sample of top ranked tax periodicals and their availability at the Temple Law Library. Journal Title Call # Print Hein Lexis Westlaw Akron Tax Journal P.A Corporate Taxation online Florida Tax Review P.F Houston Business & Tax Journal P.H70 A International Tax Journal P.IN Journal of Taxation P.J Journal on Taxation of Investments online National Tax Journal P.N Pittsburgh Tax Review P.P34 A State & Local Tax Lawyer P.S152 A Tax Law Review P.T Tax Lawyer P.T Tax Notes Tax Alcove Taxes P.T Virginia Tax Review P.V82 A

7 E. Institutes and Congresses Many law schools and practitioner groups hold annual meetings and publish papers that are presented. Some of the major proceedings which are published on a regular basis, usually annually, are listed here. 1. College of William and Mary Tax Conference, KF 6274.T3 2. Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Taxation held under the Auspices of the National Tax Association Tax Institute of America HJ 2240.N3 3. Tax Institute (University of Southern California) Major Tax Planning KF 6297.A5 T3 4. Tulane Institute on Federal Taxation, Level 4 Tax Alcove, KF 6289.A2 T84 5. New York University Institute on Federal Taxation Level 4 Tax Alcove, KF 6289.A2 I58 6. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning KF 750.A1 I58 F. Research Guides For additional information regarding federal tax research, consult the following guides. 1. Karlin, Tax Research, KF 241.T38 K Raabe, et al., West's Federal Tax Research, 6th ed., KF 241.T38 W Richmond, Federal Tax Research: Guide to Materials and Techniques, 5th ed., KF 241.T38 R ALWD Citation Manual, Appendix 7 Federal Tax Citations Reserve KF 245.A G. Online Services 1. Lexis: Area of Law By Topic; Taxation This page and the LexisNexis Tax Center put frequently used tax resources in one place. Consult these pages to start primary, secondary or task-based research. 7

8 2. Westlaw: Topical Practice Areas Taxation This portal brings together all of Westlaw's tax-related files. 3. BNA TaxCore Database sections cover Congressional, Court, International, IRS and Miscellaneous Documents. Retrieve by court, date or IRC section. 4. IntelliConnect CCH A specialized source for federal, state and international tax resources. Key secondary titles Standard Federal Income Tax Reporter and U.S. Master Tax Guide offer commentary, analysis and links to other resources. Select Federal Tax Archives back to 1939 and strong legislative history and bill tracking features for recent years. Web: Library E-Resources, IntelliConnect 5. Tax Analysts Web Services Federal, State and International News and Analysis sections provide current awareness sources. The Federal Research Library covers Code, Regulations, IRS Documents, Court Opinions, Tax Legislation, IRS Written Determinations and the IRS Manual. Web: Library E-Resources, Tax Analysts Web Services September 9,