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Top 8 Free US Tax Research Sites


The best free US tax research sites in my opinion are:

1. For actually referencing the US Tax Code – Cornell University Law School as they seem to do the best job with updates and maintenance and at the end of the day the only thing you can seem to rely on is the actual tax code.

2. Of course there is the US Government Printing Office Code of Federal Regulations which most people tend to believe to be a little more difficult to navigate.

3. Legal Bitstream has been live on the internet since 2003, and is owned and operated by Mayfield Publishing Company, a privately held corporation based in Houston, Texas. Usually anything produced in Texas appears suspect in my reality nevertheless this is a wonderfully efficient first resource.

4. Tax Almanac is a website designed by Intuit, the makers of professional tax preparation and financial software.It isnot necessarilya good consumer tax question site but provides a good first stop.

5. The IRS’ Taxmapthat actually began in 2002 as an IRS prototype to address the business need for improved access to tax law technical information for IRS phone operators that has grown intoa database designed to organize information around subjects of interest to taxpayers.

6. The IRS’ Electronic Reading Roomwhererecords are available for public inspection and copying underSubsection (a)(2) of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552, as amended) including:

  1. Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases;

  2. Those statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by the IRS and are not published in the Federal Register;

  3. Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;

  4. Copies of records previously released under the FOIA, which the IRS determines may become or are likely to become the subject of future requests for substantially the same records.

7. The United States Tax Court site is always a hit. Be sure to have a stiff cocktail on the ready as the legal ease is enough to make the head spin.

8. Of course there is no way I’m going to let you go without plugging my own personal tax research siteoutlining some of my most memorable experiences.

So before you decide to hire a tax pro or simply want to know a little bit more about what you are up against start by checking out these sites.

 

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