TCP — Quick Sheet
Tax Research & Documentation
Read time: ~5 minutes
Hierarchy
- Constitution → Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and treaties.
- Treasury Regulations (final and temporary > proposed).
- Revenue rulings and procedures; notices.
- Court decisions: Supreme Court > circuit courts > Tax Court, District Courts, Court of Federal Claims.
No precedent
Private letter rulings (bind only the requester) · Tax Court small case decisions.
Other
- Golsen rule: Tax Court follows the taxpayer's circuit.
- Acquiescence / nonacquiescence.
- 2024 Loper Bright decision: no automatic deference to agency interpretations.
- Secondary sources (treatises, citators): not authority.
Position standards
Reasonable basis (~20%, with disclosure) · substantial authority (~40%, undisclosed) · more likely than not (> 50%, tax shelters).
Process
Facts → issues → locate → evaluate (current law) → conclude → memo and client letter.
Exam traps
- Temporary regulations issued after 1988 expire after 3 years.
- Committee reports are legislative history — persuasive, but not binding authority.
- Revenue rulings carry less weight than regulations in court.
SimplyCPA quick sheet · simplycpa.in/quick-sheets/tcp/tax-research-and-documentation