Library Guides: Federal Tax Research: Tax Cases

SOURCES OF TAX OPINIONS

Court Structure

Trial Courts in Tax Cases - three levels of court in which a tax case may originate

U.S. Tax Court

Cases are heard and determined by an individual tax judge, either after live testimony or upon stipulated facts;
Jury trial is not available.
A tax payer may bring a tax dispute to the tax court without first paying the amount at issue.
Types of cases/Decisions issued
- Regular cases deal with questions of law
- Memorandum cases focus on factual disputes

U.S District Courts

Have jurisdiction over general matters including tax issues.
Jury trial is available.
The taxpayer must pay the full amount in dispute and bring a district court case as an action for refund.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Also has jurisdiction over tax issues.
Jury trial is not available.
The taxpayer must pay the full amount in dispute and bring an action for refund.

INSTITUTION	REPORTED	BINDING UPON
Supreme Court	U.S. Reports Supreme Court Reports/U.S. Tax Cases	Parties and as precedent for all courts
Courts of Appeal	Federal Reporter/U.S. Tax Cases	Parties and as precedent for all courts of that circuit including cases before Tax Court
District Court/Court of Claims	Federal Supplement/U.S. Tax Cases Federal Claims Reporter	Parties and as precedent for that district (including Tax Court)
Tax Court	Reports of the U.S. Tax Court	Parties and as precedent in Tax Court (unless other Fed. Court decided) Tax Court Reports are cases of first impression. Tax Court Memo for cases where the issue is how to apply settled law.

Federal Tax Research by Gail Richmond & Kevin Yamamoto
The Eleventh Edition features updated coverage of electronic sources, both subscription-based (including Bloomberg Law, Westlaw Edge, Lexis+, Checkpoint, Wolters Kluwer (CCH), Tax Notes, and HeinOnline) and those available without charge (particularly those provided by the government). It discusses factors to be considered in deciding between print and online research. Chapters discussing primary sources illustrate several online sources for finding these materials. This book devotes considerable space to publicly available IRS documents and legislative history materials. There are updated problems for students to solve throughout the text. The Eleventh Edition has many illustrations that complement its textual discussions.