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Tax Law Research

Information on researching tax law, authored by the law librarians at Liberty University.

DISCLAIMER: This research guide is not legal advice and cannot be relied upon as legal advice.

The Complexity of Federal Tax Law

"In 1790, the nation which had fought a revolution against taxation without representation discovered that some of its citizens weren’t much happier about taxation with representation."–Lyndon B. Johnson. Commencement Address in New London at the United States Coast Guard Academy, Pub. Papers 382 (June 3, 1964).

"It might be appropriate to observe at this point that simplicity has never been the dominant factor of tax legislation. No other branch of the law touches human activities at so many points. Of course, it cannot be made simple, but we can try to avoid making it needlessly complex."

American Handling Equipment Co. v. Kosydar, 42 Ohio St. 2d 150, 154 (Ohio 1975).

Sources of Federal Tax Law

Federal tax law has many legislative and executive sources:

  • Internal Revenue Code
  • The Treasury Regulations  
  • Proposed Treasury Regulations 
  • Temporary and Final Treasury Regulations
  • Revenue Rulings
  • Revenue Procedures
  • Private Letter Rulings
  • Technical Advice Memoranda
  • General Counsel Memoranda
  • Circular 230
  • Internal Revenue Manual
  • IRS Field Service Advice
  • IRS Determination Letters
  • IRS Notices

Cases, a judicial source of tax law, are treated under the Tax Cases tab.