Wisconsin State Law Library

Tax Law

Popular questions

Where’s my refund?

You can check on your federal refund on the IRS website, and your state refund on the WI Dept. of Revenue website.

Is there tax help for low income people and seniors?

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue has information about the VITA and TCE programs.

Free tax help locator (IRS)

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC)
Free help to low-income taxpayers from any Wisconsin county on some tax matters.

Laws

CCH AnswerConnect is available outside the library to all library cardholders. It's easy to use this database to find tax cases and IRS guidance. Enter a keyword search to find all sources on a given topic. Refine your search to cases and agency guidance using the filters on the left.

United States Sources

• United States Constitution
• United States Code – Title 26, Internal Revenue Code
• Code of Federal Regulations – Title 26, Federal tax regulations
• Internal Revenue Service administrative guidance
  • Internal Revenue Service rulings and memoranda may be used to provide authority or insight into the Treasury Department's view on some tax matters.
  • Revenue Rulings are official interpretations by the IRS of the Internal Revenue Code, related statutes, treaties, and regulations. Revenue Procedures are official statements of a procedure that affects the rights or duties of taxpayers and other members of the public and is deemed a matter of public knowledge. Both of these are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. You may see Revenue Rulings with a temporary or permanent citation, and they can also be found in publications like Merten's Law of Federal Income Taxation, the Federal Register, and tax reporters.
  • Letter rulings are not officially published by the IRS. These types of rulings may include private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda, notices, and announcements. The IRS primer on the agency's issued documents provides more detail about why and when these are issued. Generally speaking, these types of documents aren't relied on as authoritative sources. However, they can provide insight into how the IRS might approach a situation. Written guidance from the IRS can be found online, or in tax reporters or databases.
  • Understanding IRS Guidance: A Brief Primer (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
    Discusses Regulations, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum, Notices, and Announcements.
• International tax treaties (IRS)

Federal courts interpret our nation's tax laws. Tax cases are heard in the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Claims Court, federal district courts, the Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

• United States Tax Court
  The U.S. Tax Court produces regular and memorandum decisions. Find limited dockets and decisions on their website, going back to 1986. Regular decisions from this court are published in the Reports of the United States Tax Court, but other publications and database may include both types of decisions. This court may also hear "small tax cases" for certain cases that meet a dollar limit and other criteria. Tax Court cases are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and then the U.S. Supreme Court.
• United States Court of Federal Claims
  May hear cases involving tax refunds, and those opinions can be found on their website as well as within databases or tax reporters. These lower level court cases may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and then the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Federal District Courts
  District courts may hear tax cases, and those opinions can be found in federal reporters, specialized tax reporters, and online databases.
• United States Court of Appeals
• United States Supreme Court

Wisconsin Sources

• Wisconsin Constitution
• Wisconsin Statutes chs. 70-70, Taxation
• Wisconsin Administrative Code TAX, Department of Revenue
• Wisconsin Administrative Code TA, Tax Appeals Commission

Disputes between a taxpayer and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) are appealed to the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission (formerly Board of Tax Appeals). Wisconsin tax cases may be appealed to circuit courts, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

• Wisconsin Tax Bulletin (WI Dept. of Revenue)
  The Wisconsin Department of Revenue publishes several helpful sources including this quarterly newsletter published since 1976. The Bulletin includes articles on tax laws, administrative rules, reports on litigation, Tax Releases (agency interpretations of Wisconsin tax laws), and Private Letter Rulings. Similar to federal letter rulings, DOR Private Letter Rulings respond to a specific taxpayer’s inquiry, and may shed light on how the DOR would approach a particular issue.
• Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission
  Disputes between a taxpayer and the DOR are appealed to the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission (formerly Board of Tax Appeals). These decisions can be found on the Commission website, in tax reporters, and online databases. The Commission also handles small claims requests; these may not be included in all discovery sources but can occasionally be found in the Bulletin or other databases or reporters. An archive of decisions can also be found on the State Bar of Wisconsin website.
• Wisconsin Topical and Court Case Index (DOR)
  This hybrid super source references by topic Wisconsin statutes, administrative rules, tax releases, private letter rulings, Wisconsin tax publications, sales and use tax reports, Wisconsin tax bulletin articles, attorney general opinions, and court decisions of the Wisconsin tax appeals commission and the Wisconsin courts.
• Taxation Legal Captions of Opinions, 1997-Present (League of Wisconsin Municipalities)
• Wisconsin Attorney General Opinions
• Wisconsin Circuit Courts
  Wisconsin tax cases may appealed to circuit courts. Circuit court decisions are more difficult to find. However, in addition to incidental online or record requests, find these decisions included in databases such as CCH AnswerConnect. Tax cases can also move through the appellate system, and may be discovered in Court of Appeals or Supreme Court cases, which are more readily available online.
• Wisconsin Court of Appeals
• Wisconsin Supreme Court

Forms

• Federal Tax Forms & Publications (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
• WI Tax Forms & Publications (WI Dept. of Revenue)
• Employer Identification Number (EIN) Application (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
• Lottery and Gaming Credit Forms (Wisconsin Department of Revenue)
• Veteran Tax Credit Forms and Instructions (Milwaukee County)

Research links

Agencies & Organizations

• IRS (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
  • Free tax help locator
  • Internal Revenue Manual
  • Taxpayer Advocate Service
• WI Dept. of Revenue
  • Audits (WI Dept. of Revenue)
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC)
  Free help to low-income taxpayers from any Wisconsin county on some tax matters.
• Multistate Tax Commission
• State Tax Agencies (Federation of Tax Administrators)
• Search for Tax-Exempt Organizations (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

General Information

• Tax FAQs (WI Dept. of Revenue)

Appeals

• How to Appeal to the Tax Appeals Commission

Delinquent Tax

• Delinquent Tax (WI Dept. of Revenue)

Fraud / Frivolous Arguments

• Tax Fraud Alerts (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
• The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Identity Theft

• Identity theft prevention, detection, and victim assistance (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Property Assessment

• Property Assessment (WI State Law Library

Refund Intercept

• Tax Refund Interception Program (WI Dept. of Revenue)
• Treasury Offset Program - Federal Tax Refund Interception
• Refund Interception Guide for Counties and Municipalities
• Refund Interception Guide for State Agencies

Statistics

• State Government Tax Collections, 1992-Present
• Why Do I Have to Pay Taxes? (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Library books & articles

Related Topics

• Estate Planning
• Legal Assistance
• Real Property Law