Monograph No. 1
An Introduction to Legal Research
MMXXV
In Press
An Introduction to Legal Research
The hierarchy of authority and the discipline of citation.
Faculty of the School of Legal Research
← The Academy
A School of the Academy
School of Taxation
Department of Federal Taxation
Federal income tax, procedure, and primary tax authority.
§ I
Introduction
Scope of Study
Taxation
Tax is read in layers: Code, Regulations, published rulings, then case law. The School works in that order and stops where the authority stops.
§ II
Philosophy of the School
On how this School reads.
Tax authority is ordered. The Internal Revenue Code is first; Treasury Regulations interpret the Code; published rulings interpret the Regulations; case law construes all three. The School insists on reading in that order, and on noting where each layer ends.
§ III
What Students Will Study
The commitments of the School.
A School commits to a set of questions and to a method of reading them. The following are the working commitments of this department.
- 01
The structure of the Internal Revenue Code and its reading conventions
- 02
The weight accorded to Treasury Regulations and published guidance
- 03
The procedural avenues for contesting a federal tax determination
- 04
The information-reporting and withholding regime
- 05
The intersection of substantive tax doctrine with administrative law
§ IV
Curriculum
The syllabus.
The syllabus is read in sequence. Foundations are not optional; advanced study presumes them.
Foundations
- 01
Reading a Code section: subsections, paragraphs, and cross-references
- 02
Gross income, exclusions, and the assignment-of-income doctrine
- 03
Deductions, credits, and the standard of substantiation
Intermediate Study
- 01
Treasury Regulations: legislative, interpretive, and procedural
- 02
Revenue Rulings and the levels of published guidance
- 03
Audit, examination, and the thirty-day letter
Advanced Study
- 01
Tax Court jurisdiction and the ninety-day letter
- 02
Refund procedure in district court and the Court of Federal Claims
- 03
Penalties, the reasonable-cause defense, and supervisory approval
Research & Method
- 01
Locating Treasury Regulations under a Code section
- 02
Reading the Internal Revenue Bulletin for current guidance
- 03
Tracing a doctrine from Code to Regulation to Ruling to case
Reference Materials
- 01
Title 26, U.S. Code
- 02
Title 26, Code of Federal Regulations
- 03
Internal Revenue Bulletin
Suggested Reading
- 01
Bittker & Lokken, Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts
- 02
Saltzman & Book, IRS Practice and Procedure
§ V
Learning Outcomes
The capacities a member should leave with.
Outcomes are stated as capacities, not credentials. They describe what a member should be able to do after sustained reading.
- 01
Read a Code section in its statutory context
- 02
Distinguish levels of published Treasury guidance and the weight each carries
- 03
Choose the appropriate procedural forum for a tax controversy
§ VI
Primary Authorities
The texts the School takes seriously.
Authorities are listed by category. Entries marked in preparation are catalogued and reviewed before they enter the working record.
Statutes
1 entry
Authority
Internal Revenue Code (Title 26, U.S. Code)
Regulations
1 entry
Authority
Treasury Regulations (Title 26, C.F.R.)
Judicial Opinions
2 entries
Authority
Reports of the United States Tax Court
In Preparation
Forthcoming — district and circuit case selections in preparation
Administrative Guidance
3 entries
Authority
Revenue Rulings
Authority
Revenue Procedures
Authority
Notices and Announcements in the Internal Revenue Bulletin
Treatises & Restatements
1 entry
Authority
Bittker & Lokken, Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts
§ VII
Featured Publications
From the press of the institution.
The following volumes are drawn from, or supply, the work of this School. Each is reviewed by faculty before publication.
Vol. I
Estate Administration in Practice
MMXXV
Forthcoming
Estate Administration in Practice
Procedure, forms, and the record of the probate court.
Faculty of the School of Estate Administration
Vol. III
The Architecture of Civil Procedure
MMXXVI
Forthcoming
The Architecture of Civil Procedure
Pleadings, motions, and the path of a case.
Faculty of the School of Civil Procedure
The Society Press
All publications →§ VIII
Research in the Library
Where this School reads.
The divisions below carry the primary materials this School draws on. The catalogue opens in stages as the index is reviewed.
Library Division
Statutes
Codified federal and state statutory law, organized by title and chapter.
Library Division
Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations and state administrative codes.
Library Division
Administrative Guidance
Agency interpretive material — revenue rulings, advisory opinions, and policy statements.
Catalogue · XI Divisions
Enter the Research Library →§ IX
Related Schools
Departments that read alongside this one.
Doctrine does not respect departmental boundaries. The following Schools take up adjacent questions.
Admission
Join the founding cohort of the Taxation department.
All Founding Members are admitted into every School. Tuition and dues are not yet open.
The Real Law Society · Est. MMXXVRead Law. Not Lore.Vol. I — Folio I