Federal Tax Research

The United States Code is a subject-based codification of federal statutes.  It is divided into titles, and each title is further subdivided into smaller units.  A tax research project may involve several U.S.C. titles, but your primary focus is likely to be Title 26 or the Internal Revenue Code.  The Internal Revenue Code contains a majority of the laws covering income, estate and gift, excise, and employment taxes. 

The U.S. Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (Pub.L. 99–514, 100 Stat. 2085, enacted October 22, 1986) to simplify the income tax code, broaden the tax base, and eliminate many tax shelters. The 1986 Code replaced the 1954 Code, which had replaced the 1939 Code.  Although the current Code was enacted in 1986, it has been amended many times.  Newer tax amendments are incorporated into the Code in its appropriate location.  The Internal Revenue Code (Title 26 United States Code) is divided into subtitles and then further subdivided into chapters. 

The IRC is divided into the following subtitles:

A - Income Taxes (§§ 1-1564)

B - Estate and Gift Taxes (§§ 2001-2801)

C - Employment Taxes (§§ 3101-3510)

D - Miscellaneous Excise Taxes (§§ 4001-5000C)

E - Alcohol, Tobacco and Certain Other Excise Taxes (§§ 5001-5891)

F - Procedure and Administration (§§ 6001-7874)

G - Joint Committee on Taxation (§§ 8001-8023)

H - Financing of Presidential Election Campaigns (§§ 9001-9042)

I - Trust Fund Code (§§ 9500-9602)

J - Coal Industry Health Benefits (§§ 9701-9722)

K - Group Health Plan Requirements (§§ 9801-9834)

Tax laws can be found in all the standard legislative publications and you can follow the same steps as other laws (e.g. slip laws which are compiled in the Statutes at Large and later codified in the United States Code).

Citation:

• Bluebook R. 12.9.1 - In citations to the Internal Revenue Code, '26 U.S.C.' may be replaced with 'I.R.C.'
  Thus: 26 U.S.C. § 61 (2006) becomes: I.R.C. § 61 (2006).

The Internal Revenue Code is codified within Title 26 of the United States Code. Below are links to sources offering the U.S. Code.

• HeinOnline - This link takes you to the U.S. Code database in HeinOnline. From there you can select the edition you want and browse Title 26. HeinOnline provides pdf copies of every edition of the U.S. Code from 1925 to the current edition.  See the U.S.Code Quick Reference Guide for help in using the HeinOnline resource.
• Lexis Advance - This link should take you directly to the United States Code Service, but if not you can find Title 26 by following these steps: (1) login to Lexis Advance, (2) click the "Go To Lexis Advance" button, (3) type "United States Code Service" into the main search box, then (4) select the Table of Contents link that appears and click on the arrow next to Title 26. The U.S. Code Service is the annotated version of the U.S. Code maintained by LexisNexis.
• Westlaw - This link should take you directly to the United States Code Annotated, but if not you can find Title 26 by following these steps: (1) login to Westlaw (2) click on "Statutes & Court Rules" button, (3) select "United States Code Annotated then (4) and click on the arrow next to Title 26. The U.S. Code Annotated is the annotated version of the U.S. Code maintained by Westlaw.

Below are links to sources offering the Internal Revenue Code.

• Bloomberg Law: Tax: Internal Revenue Code
• Lexis Advance: Tax Law Statutes & Legislation
• Westlaw: 26 Internal Revenue Code