Federal Tax Research

Primary sources in tax law are the official, authoritative texts that make up the law itself. These sources include the Internal Revenue Code, tax cases, administrative materials, and tax legislation. Let's take a closer look at each of these.

Internal Revenue Code (IRC)
The IRC is the cornerstone of federal tax law in the United States. It's a compilation of the official federal tax laws passed by Congress and is organized into subtitles, chapters, subchapters, parts, and sections. The IRC covers all aspects of federal taxation, from income tax to estate and gift tax. When conducting tax research, the IRC is often the first place you'll look to understand the statutory basis of any tax issue.

Tax Cases
Tax cases are decisions made by courts that interpret and apply the IRC. These cases can come from various levels of courts, including the U.S. Tax Court, Federal District Courts, Court of Federal Claims, Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Tax cases are important because they help clarify how the IRC applies in specific situations. 

Administrative Materials
Administrative materials are documents produced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury that provide guidance on how the IRC should be interpreted and applied. These include:

• Treasury Regulations: These are official interpretations of the IRC by the Department of the Treasury. They provide detailed guidance on how the provisions of the IRC should be implemented and are binding on all taxpayers.
• Revenue Rulings and Procedures: These are official interpretations by the IRS on how the tax law applies to specific factual situations. Revenue rulings are published by the IRS to provide guidance to taxpayers and IRS officials. Revenue procedures are statements of procedure that affect the rights or duties of taxpayers or other members of the public under the law.
• Letter Rulings and Other Guidance Materials: These are written statements issued by the IRS that interpret and apply tax laws to the taxpayer's specific set of facts. They are usually requested by taxpayers or tax professionals to confirm the tax treatment of a proposed transaction.

Tax Legislation
Tax legislation refers to the process of passing new tax laws or amending existing ones. This process begins when a bill is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. A bill typically goes through at least several stages of review and amendment before it is passed by both houses and signed into law by the President. You can track the progress of tax legislation on the official websites of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Understanding and effectively using these primary sources of tax law is a crucial part of tax research. For a more in-depth look at how to do this, select the relevant primary source in the navigation bar.

Primary sources are the backbone of legal and tax research. They include the statutes, regulations, and case law that constitute the actual law. Whether you're starting with secondary sources (we highly recommend it) or diving straight into primary sources, understanding how to access and use these materials is crucial.

If you started with Secondary Sources:
If you've started your research with secondary sources, such as treatises, journals, or tax management portfolios, these sources will often guide you to relevant primary authorities. They may cite specific statutes, regulations, or cases that are relevant to your issue, and they may provide commentary or analysis that helps you understand these authorities.

When you find a citation to a primary source in a secondary source, you can usually find the full text of the primary source in any of the major tax databases. Enter the citation into the search bar of the database, and it should pull up the full text of the source.

If you're starting with Primary Sources:
If you're starting your research with primary sources, you'll need to use the search functions of the tax databases to find relevant materials. You can search for keywords that are related to your issue, or you can browse the databases' collections of statutes, regulations, or case law. When it comes to unannotated primary sources, legal research platforms have nearly identical coverage. 

Understanding Primary Sources
Once you've found relevant primary sources, take the time to read and understand them. Primary sources are often complex and difficult to understand, so don't rush this process. If you're having trouble understanding a source, consider consulting a secondary source for explanation and context, or seek advice from a mentor or colleague.

Remember, effective tax research involves not just finding primary sources, but understanding them and applying them to your specific issue. Whether you're starting with secondary sources or primary sources, the goal is to gain a thorough understanding of the law that governs your issue.