Research Guides: Federal Tax Law Research: Databases & Websites

Databases

These databases provide comprehensive coverage of state and federal tax law, e.g. statutes, codes, rules, regulations, court opinions, administrative decisions and IRS materials. Some tax law periodicals and other publications are also provided.

Bloomberg Law This link opens in a new window
Click on the Practices Centers tab and select Tax from the menu to access primary and secondary tax law resources available to law school faculty, students and Bloomberg Law subscription holders.
Checkpoint Edge This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive database of primary and secondary source materials including statutes, case law, administrative materials, editorial and analysis, and current awareness publications. Practice areas include federal, state and local tax, estate planning, pension and benefits, and payroll
VitalLaw (formerly Cheetah) This link opens in a new window
Cheetah, the Wolters Kluwer legal research platform provides access to tax law collections of primary and secondary materials for state & local, federal and international tax law.
Lexis This link opens in a new window
Click on the Browse > Sources > By Practice Area > Tax Law to retrieve a title list of publications and use the Narrow By feature to limit scope as appropriate.
Westlaw This link opens in a new window
Click on the Practice Areas tab and select Tax. Contains a substantial collection of primary and secondary tax law materials.

Websites

IRS Website Resources

U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
IRS forms, publications and more. Click on the Help & Resources tab for links to the tax code, regulations and other official guidance documents (revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices and announcements). Also includes links to U.S tax treaties by country name.
IRS Electronic Reading Room
A comprehensive list of documents and other information available on the IRS.gov website. Documents grouped in categories: Published Tax Guidance; Non-precedential Rulings & Advice; Admin Manuals & Instructions; Program Plans & Reports; Training & Reference Materials; Frequently Requested Documents.
Understanding IRS Guidance - A Brief Primer
Describes various IRS guidance documents: regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedure, private letter rulings, technical advice memorandum, notices and announcements.
Tax Statistics (IRS)
Here you will find a wide range of tables, articles, and data that describe and measure elements of the U.S. tax system. Includes business tax statistics, individual tax statistics and more.

Other Federal Government Websites

United States Tax Court
Includes TC and Memorandum Opinions starting 09/25/95; TC Opinions in published format starting 01/11/10; Summary Opinions starting 01/10/01. Tax Court Orders, docket records and court forms are also available from the Court's website.
Resource Center, Office of Tax Policy, U.S. Treasury Department
The Office of Tax Policy develops and implements tax policies and programs; reviews regulations and rulings to administer the Internal Revenue Code, negotiates tax treaties, provides economic and legal policy analysis for domestic and international tax policy decisions. It also provides estimates for the President's budget, fiscal policy decisions, and cash management decisions. The Resource Center contains various policy documents and reports with research and analysis including the Greenbook (explains the Administration's revenue proposals).

Other Related Websites

Income Tax (Wex Legal Encyclopedia, Legal Information Institute)
The menu of sources following the encyclopedia article on income tax includes links to the Internal Revenue Code, federal tax regulations, and federal court decisions.
Nolo Press - Taxes Topic Page
Nolo Press is one of the leading publishers of self-help legal publications. This page features articles aimed at providing practical advice for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Business taxes and deductions, personal income taxes, back taxes and debt, and tax audits are among topical areas covered.
ABA Section of Taxation
Tax policy related documents and a catalog of the Section's text and periodical publications are available.
Tax Council Policy Institute (TCPI)
TCPI is a non-profit and non-partisan public policy research and educational organization.
Tax Foundation
The Tax Foundation is a non-partisan tax policy research think tank.
Tax Policy Center (TPC)
The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The TPC provides research and analysis of tax policy to policymakers and others through various publications (papers, reports, books, etc.).
USA.gov - Tax Information Page
Basic information for those researching personal and business income tax topics.