The current version of the tax code is the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The two preceding codes were the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and that of 1939. Before the compilation of the first Code in 1939, Congress enacted revenue acts every two or three years.
The current I.R.C. appears as Title 26 of United States Code [U.S. Reference]. The two annotated codes, the United States Code Annotated [U.S. Reference] and the United States Code Service [U.S. Reference] contain helpful references to case law and secondary sources. The library has superceded versions of the USC in print and they are available on HeinOnline. The I.R.C. is also available through looseleaf services discussed later in this guide.
The website of the IRS, www.irs.gov, has links to the I.R.C. as well, simply search for the Internal Revenue Code in the search box and choose the Tax Code, Regulations and Official Guidance option. The link is to the Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII).
Past versions of the I.R.C. for any year after 1953 appear in the United States Code Congressional & Administrative News—Internal Revenue Code [U.S. Reference]. Seidman’s Legislative History of Federal Income Tax and Excess Profits Tax Laws, 1954–1939 [Second Floor, KF6472.A15 S4 1947] compiles I.R.C. versions from before 1954. Seidman's is also on HeinOnline. Finally, both Lexis and Westlaw contain past versions of the I.R.C.
The term 'legislative history' covers all the documents generated in the life of a bill, including hearings before Congressional committees, transcripts of floor debates in the House and Senate, and the reports of various committees. In the case of tax legislation, reports are issued typically by the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Conference Committee.
1. Hearings:
Congressional hearings are available in print, on microfiche, and online. Check IUCAT for availability. Recent hearings can be found online at:
b. http://waysandmeans.house.gov/
c. FDsys, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
d. ProQuest Congressional, which also has older hearings, back to 1824.
2. Floor Debates:
The texts of House and Senate floor debates are published in the Congressional Record [Fourth Floor, X/A.] The Congressional Record is available in both a daily and a permanent edition and are also available, full text:
a. from 1994 for the daily edition at FDsys, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
b. from 1985 for the daily edition and the permanent edition from the beginning, on ProQuest Congressional,
c. from 1980 for the daily edition and the permanent edition from the beginning on HeinOnline, and
c. from 1995, at Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record.
3. Committee Reports:
Several sources contain Committee Reports on taxation. House and Senate Reports can be found in the United States Congressional Serial Set [Fourth Floor, Y 1.1/2: SERIAL] from 1968 to 2000, although the set is incomplete. Select reports from 1939 to the present, reprinted in the U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.) [U.S. Reference], are also scattered throughout the Cumulative Bulletin [Fourth Floor, T 22.25] by year, except those from 1954 which are to be found in the third volume of U.S.C.C.A.N. of the same year. Committee reports for revenue acts from 1913 to 1938 can be found in a separate edition of the Cumulative Bulletin, 1939-1 C.B. Part 2.
Online sources for committee reports include:
a. from 1995, Congress.gov at https://www.congress.gov/congressional-reports.
b. from 1948, Westlaw database: USSCAN.
c. from 1992, Lexis, filename: CMTRPT.
d. from 1789, U.S. Congressional Serial Set on ProQuest Congressional.
e. from 2007, Bloomberg in the “Legislative Materials” section.
f. and on FDsys.
Finally, there are several compiled legislative histories for taxation. Federal Income, Gift, and Estate Taxation, by Rabkin and Johnson [Second Floor, KF 6335.A6 R32] is a looseleaf service, of which volumes 6, 6A, 6B, 7, 7A, and 7B contain select committee reports concerning the 1954 I.R.C. These volumes are organized by section number. Seidman’s Legislative History of Federal Income Tax Laws, 1938–1861 [KF 6356.52.A15 S45 1938] and Seidman’s Legislative History of Federal Income and Excess Profits Tax Laws, 1953–1939 [Second Floor, KF6356.52.A15 S45 1953] compile legislative histories for early revenue acts and for the 1939 I.R.C., respectively, including the text of laws followed by committee reports and citations to hearings and to the Congressional Record. They are also available on HeinOnline, in the Taxation and Economic Reform in America database. ProQuest Legislative Insight also has compiled legislative histories.
Known as “Bluebooks”, Joint Committee Explanations are issued by the Joint Committee on Taxation after certain bills have become law. As such, they do not form part of the legislative history proper and are persuasive authority, rather than mandatory. Bluebooks can generally be found on the Fourth Floor as well as online. Check IUCAT for availability. The official website for the House of Representatives keeps Joint Committee Publications from 1920 at https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=select&id=6. The listings on this website serve as an excellent index for searching in IUCAT.
The Congressional Research Service is an agency within the Library of Congress. It researches and prepares reports on various legislative issues for Congress. Until relatively recently, these reports were only available on microfiche or by contacting local congressmen, but they are now available on ProQuest Congressional, as well as on Lexis, Bloomberg, and Westlaw. They are particularly helpful in summarizing recent issues and trends in taxation.
