Federal Tax Law: Secondary Sources

Journals and periodicals are good sources for commentary, analysis, and scholarly discussions on tax issues.

These are some of the journals focused on tax law.

Loose-leaf services originally were papers in loose leaf binders, but now many exist online.

They bring together primary and secondary materials by providing relevant statutes, regulations, excerpts from Congressional reports, and administrative rulings. Tax loose-leafs also provide analysis and practical explanations for complex tax issues, as well as citations to court decisions. Loose-leafs and databases are updated on a regular basis (weekly to bi-weekly), so they are usually more up-to-date than other sources.

If you are using a loose-leaf or a database for the first time, it is recommended that you review the "How to" or "About this publication."  These will explain the scope and how to use the loose-leaf or database

BNA IRC Coverage in Portfolios Index

BNA US Portfolio Keyword Index

Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reporter, Law Library Main Stacks KF 6571 .A8 C656.

Federal Tax Coordinator 2d, on Westlaw, also in the law library stacks at KF 6335 .A6 T3

Lexis Tax Advisor

Standard Federal Tax Reporter, on VitalLaw, also in the law library stacks at KF 6365 .C58. HeinOnline has superseded issues from 1917-1985.

Tax Management and Portfolio Index, in the law library stacks at KF 6297 .A8 B8.

What is a treatise?

Treatises provide in-depth treatment of a single subject. They provide commentary, analysis, and citations to primary sources, and often come in multi-volume sets and provide overviews on specific topics.

Treatises are a great starting point to understand federal tax issues. They are also a helpful way to collect resources for further research.

BNA Portfolios on Bloomberg Law's Tax Practice Center provide an in-depth analysis of a specific tax law topic. Bloomberg Law has portfolios on a range of topics including US Income and Estates, Gifts, and Trusts.

Practicing Law Institute (PLI PLUS) is an ebook platform that provides access to treatises, course handbooks, and answer books on a variety of topics from the Practising Law Institute (PLI), a highly-respected non-profit continuing legal education organization. You can search the collection by keyword, book or chapter title, author, or subject. You can create a free PLI account using your LUC email address.

Income Tax

The Law of Federal Income Taxation: Jacob Mertens (Available on Westlaw).

IRS Practice & Procedure: Saltzman & Book (Available on Westlaw).

Federal Income Taxation of Individuals: Boris I. Bittker, Martin J McMahon, Jr. & Lawerence Zelendk (Available on Westlaw).

Estate & Gift Tax

Federal Estate and Gift Taxation: Richard B. Stephens, Guy B. Maxfield. Stephen A. Lind, & Dennis A Calfee (Available on Westlaw).

Estate Planning Law and Taxation: David Westfall and George Mair (Available on Westlaw)

Federal Income, Gift, and Estate Taxation: Jacob Rabkin and Mark Johnson (Available on Lexis)

Partnership & Corporate Tax

Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders: Boris Bittker (Available on Westlaw).

Federal Taxation of Partnerships and Partners: William S. McKee, William F. Nelson, and Robert L. Whitmire (Available on Westlaw).

You will need a password to access some of these resources. A complete list of the Law Library's subscription databases can be found on our A-Z Databases page.

CALI (Computer Assisted Legal Instruction) is a collection of interactive lessons authored by law professors and librarians. Over 1,000 lessons, covering more than 40 different legal subject areas, are included. To use CALI, you must obtain our Law School's "authorization code" from Joe Mitzenmacher, Reference and Electronic Services Librarian (jmitze1@luc.edu or x5-6844). Follow the "Not a registered user yet?" link on the CALI website, and use our authorization code to register for your own CALI username and password.

Available on Aspen Learning Library - a current Loyola Law School ID and password are required for access and also allow you to customize your experience by saving favorite titles and highlighting and annotating content.

Available on LexisNexis Digital Library - a current Loyola Law School ID and password are required for access to the Digital Library and also allow you to customize your experience by saving favorite titles and highlighting and annotating content.

Available on West Academic Study Aids - a current Loyola Law School ID and password are required for access and also allow you to customize your experience by saving favorite titles and highlighting and annotating content.