Tax Research - State and Local Guide

State Tax Statutes

State tax statutes are found with the state code compilation for its respective state. Because each state code compilation has a different name, the easiest way to determine the name of a state code compilation is to use Jurisdiction Table 1 in the Bluebook or consult the Georgetown Law Library's state research guide for the state you are interested in.

Not every state has a stand-alone "tax code." In many states, tax-related statutes are spread throughout their code. For these states, using one of the state tax-specific resources listed in the "loose leaf services " section of this guide may be more helpful than using the state's annotated code.

Both Westlaw and Lexis have compiled each state's tax statutes into narrow, specialized databases.

• On Westlaw: State Tax Statutes & Court Rules
• On Lexis: Topics → Tax Law.  On the the Tax Law page select the tax area you are interested in.  Once in the database change the filter at the top left to "Statutes and Legislation" and set the "Jurisdiction" filter below it to the state you are researching.

State Tax Regulations and Administrative Guidance

Like in the Federal tax system, each state has an administrative agency that enforces the tax law, drafts regulations, and issues administrative guidance. In most states, this agency is usually the Treasury or the Office of the Comptroller. In some states, the Attorney General's office also produces administrative guidance in the form of letter rulings.

Each state's regulatory compilation has a different name. The easiest way to determine the name of the compilation is to use Jurisdiction Table 1 in the Bluebook or consult the Georgetown Law Library's state research guide for the state you are interested in.

Both Westlaw and Lexis have compiled each state's tax regulations into narrow, specialized subscription databases, and Tax Notes has a beta version of a free state tax codes and regulations database.

• On Westlaw:
  • State Tax Regulations
  • State Tax Administrative Decisions & Guidance
• On Lexis: Topics → Tax Law.  On the the Tax Law page select the tax area you are interested in.  Once in the database change the filter at the top left to "Administrative Codes and Regulations" and set the "Jurisdiction" filter below it to the state you are researching.
• On Tax Notes: Select a state to review codes and regulations (the beta version does not cover all states).

State Tax Cases

Most states do not have a specialized tax court like the United States Tax Court. However some states have special tax tribunals that hear tax disputes before they enter the court system. At the state level, there are no state tax case reporters such as American Federal Tax Reporter or United States Tax Cases. To locate state tax case law, state tax researchers must use the designated state digest and reporter system for their jurisdiction. Please consult the Georgetown Law Library's state research guide for the state you are interested in for additional information on conducting case research in that state.

Both Westlaw and Lexis provide options for searching each state's tax cases:

• On Westlaw: State Tax Cases - Individual States.  With the search box set to "Tax Cases" (at the left side of the search box at the top of the page) change the jurisdiction (at the right side of the search box) from "All States" to the state you are researching.
• On Lexis: Topics → Tax Law.  On the the Tax Law page select the tax area you are interested in.  Once in the database the filter is set to "Cases" by default, so you only need to set the "Jurisdiction" filter below it to the state you are researching.