Burns Law Library Q&A

The Tax Court issues three types of opinions: regular, memorandum, and summary opinions.  Regular opinions involve questions of law, whereas memorandum opinions involve questions of fact where the law is well settled.  Summary opinions are issued under the small case procedure and have no precedential value, nor can they be appealed.

The official sources for regular opinions are:

• Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals (1924-1942)
• Reports of the Tax Court of the United States (1943-1969)
• United States Tax Court

Regular, memorandum, and summary opinions are also available from the following sources:

• Bloomberg Law: Tax
• VitalLaw

For additional information, consult the Library’s Tax Law guide.