Tax Reporters   Tags: federal, tax  

Many resources listed in these guides require University of Denver or University of Denver Sturm College of Law IP addresses for access. Other resources, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis, require individual user accounts and passwords.

Most conflicts between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and taxpayers are resolved through an administrative appeals process. However, if parties fail to reach agreement, the dispute may be litigated in the federal court system. 

Taxpayers may decide to initiate trial court proceedings to:  

• Recover a tax overpayment the IRS refuses to refund 
• Reverse a deficiency assessment determined by the IRS

 The IRS can take trial court action to:

• Assert claim to a deficiency 
• Enforce collection of taxes 
• Impose civil penalties on taxpayers
• Impose criminal penalties on taxpayers

Litigation between taxpayers and the IRS begins in one of the following trial courts:

• U.S. Court of Federal Claims 
• U.S. District Courts
• U.S. Tax Court

If one of the parties disagrees with the subsequent trial court decision, it may be reviewed in the appropriate U. S. Courts of Appeals in the taxpayer's geographical residence and afterward to the U.S. Supreme Court. Appellate courts review the trial court decision and often hear new evidence and/or arguments. The trial court's decision may be upheld, modified, or reversed by the appellate court.   

• Federal Tax Research, 8th edition. By William A. Raabe, et al. Mason, Ohio: South-western Cengage Learning, 2009. Law-Level 3 Reference Desk KF 6288 .R33 2009. See "Glossary." (Revised edition of West's Federal Tax Research, 6th edition.)
• Federal Tax Research: Guide to Materials and Techniques, 8th edition. By Gail Levin Richmond. New York: Foundation Press, 2010. Law-Level  3 Reference Desk KF 241 .T38 R5 2010. See Chapter 13: Looseleaf Services, etc.
• Fundamentals of Legal Research, 9th edition. By Steven M Barkan, et al. New York: Thomson Reuters/Foundation Press, 2009. Law-Level 3 Reference KF 240 .J3. See Chapter 25: Federal Tax Research.
• Fundamentals of Legal Research, 8th edition. By Roy M. Mersky, et al. New York: Foundation Press, 2002. Law-Level 3 240 .J3 2002. See Chapter 24: Federal Tax Research.
• Fundamentals of Legal Research, 7th edition. By J. Myron Jacobstein,, et al. New York: Foundation Press, 1998. Law-Level 3 KF 240 .J3 1998. See Chapter 24: Federal Tax Research.
• Specialized Legal Research. (Hazelton, Penny A., ed.) Austin: Aspen Publishers, loose-leaf. Law-Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .S69 1987. See Chapter 3: Federal Income Taxation by Mary A. Hotchkiss. 
• Tax Research, 2nd edition. By Barbara H. Karlin. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. Law-Level 3 Reference Desk KF 6288.K37 2003. See Chapter Five: How to Discover Relevant Primary Authority: Using Reference Services and Other Secondary Sources.
• West's Federal Tax Research, 8th edition. See Federal Tax Research, 8th edition, above.
• West's Federal Tax Research, 6th edition. By William A. Raabe, et al. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western, 2003. Law-Level 3 KF 6288 .R33 2003. See "Glossary."
• West's Federal Tax Research, 5th edition. By Willilam A. Raabe, et al. Cincinnati: South-Western College Pub., 2000. Law-Level 3 KF 6288 .R33 2000. See "Glossary."
• West's Federal Tax Research, 3rd edition. By William A. Raabe, et al. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Pub. Co., 1994. Law-Level 3 KF 6288 .R33 1994. See "Glossary."

This research guide has been adapted from tax materials in the above references.