Federal Tax Research: Regulations & Administrative Decisions

Federal Tax Research:
Regulations & Administrative Decisions,
Relevant Standards
[Commercial links in teal only accessible to subscribers]
[Last reviewed Apr. 30, 2008]

C.F.R & Federal Register
♦ Code of Federal Regulations (NARA) Begins 1997 with selected titles back to 1996. Browse or keyword search.
♦ eCFR (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) (NARA, GPO, OFR) Text of continuously updated C.F.R. See "important user info" link for details.
♦ Code of Federal Regulations on LexisNexis or Westlaw (require subscriber ID).
♦ Updating the C.F.R. (GPO) List of CFR Sections Affected and current services. Daily updating. Alternative is to do date restricted search in Federal Register below.

♦ Federal Register (GPO) Begins 1994. Browse or keyword search. Advanced search page very useful.
♦ Federal Register available from July 1, 1980 forward on LexisNexis and Westlaw (require subscriber ID).
♦ Full text of Federal Register volumes 1 (1936) - 72 (Feb. 2007) from Hein Online through Underwood Law Library's Research Tools―Find Articles & Databases page. (Access through law school network or VPN).
♦ Regulations.gov (FirstGov). Search for comments submitted on proposed regulations, final rules, and notices. Access to text of agency comments in Federal Register as well as supporting documents & materials from others. Click on "docket ID" link to see additional supporting documents & text links.

Administrative Decisions
♦ Internal Revenue Bulletin. (IRS) I.R.B. issues begin at no. 2003-27 (July 7, 2003). PDF and HTML formats.
♦ Written Determinations. (IRS) List of PLR's, TAM's, and Chief Counsel advice in numerical order. (PDF format)

Two new forms of advice memoranda may be added to the list in the near future: the Generic Legal Advice memoranda and the Case-Specific Legal Advice memoranda. See Chief Counsel Notice CC-2006-013 (May 5, 2006). GLA's are being created "to provide advice on issues pending in audits of multiple taxpayers within a particular industry." CSLA's are to provide advice on case development or case-specific strategic, tactical, or other legal advice from a field counsel or from the national office. The conclusions of CSLA's are to be based solely upon the facts provided by IRS personnel and therefore will differ from TAM procedures. This CC Notice also abolishes the TEAM process.

♦ Written Determinations. (IRS) PLR's, TAM's, & Chief Counsel advice beginning Nov. 1998. (PDF format.) This table is organized in Uniform Issue List order.
♦ Written determinations on Westlaw, on LexisNexis. (Requires ID.)
♦ IRS Revenue Rulings from 1954 to July 2005. (TaxLinks) Browse by year and number or search by keyword(s). Use "and" connector for multiple keywords. Phrases must be in quotation marks. A header in the ruling texts denotes subsequent treatment, such as revocation by a later ruling. Browsing list also notes subsequent treatment beginning with rulings in 1990.
♦ Legalbitstream Tax Law Databases. (Mayfield Publishing Co.) Advertising-supported site of keyword and/or citation searchable databases. Coverage of different types of publications varies. For example, IRS Revenue Rulings are covered back to 1954. See the "Coverage" tab for details, exceptions, and contents notes. Also provides links to other tax resources.
♦ Actions on Decisions (IRS) Downloadable from 1997-1 forward. Listed by number with short title. (PDF format)
♦ Administrative Decisions & Other Actions - by Agency  (U. Va.) Scrollable list and links to wide range of federal agencies and web available administrative decisions, orders, etc. Alternate access to I.R.B. and written determinations.
♦ Chief Counsel Notices (CC). (IRS) Notices for various purposes including amendments to the Chief Counsel Directives Manual. Listed in reverse chronological order, these are notices not yet incorporated into the CCDM.   The text of the CCDM is published in Parts 30-39 of the Internal Revenue Manual. (The IRM pages contain only those sections that have been rewritten and that are not "official use only." )
♦ Field Attorney Advice (IRS). (FAA) Documents prepared by Field Attorneys in the Office of Chief Counsel, reviewed by an Associate Office, and issued to field or service center employees of the IRS.

Standards Links
♦ Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Access to full text of FASB Statements, FASB Staff Positions (FSP), Exposure Documents, Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) materials, reports, articles, and more.
♦ Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Text of current standards, rulemaking information, and documentation.
♦ Accounting & Tax with Standards is a commercial database containing accounting standards from FASB, IASB, and GASB along with accounting-related literature. Includes current text, original pronouncements, statements, interpretations, board opinions, AICPA interpretations, EITF abstracts, and more. This database is accessible to all SMU students and faculty through the SMU Online Resources page. (restricted to SMU; off-campus access requires SMU ID)

*SMU*	Underwood Law Library
*SMU*	Dedman School of Law