Self Study

SELF STUDY SUGGESTIONS &
2023 PROGRAM CLASS SUPPLEMENTS

If you prefer to study on your own, we provide this guidance and resources:  

Tax Court Rules (ustaxcourt.gov): Typically 25% of the exam covers Practice & Procedure and jurisdiction; this resource is required for your studies. It can be purchased from the Tax Court directly, or printed/read from their website.

Gleim Federal Tax Questions and Explanations (gleim.com): Typically 40% of the exam covers Federal Taxation issues including corporate and partnership organizations and liquidations, gross income, estates and trusts. This resource allows you to bolster your tax knowledge in those areas that may be less familiar to you and it is utilized in our program, but you may find other resources are effective as well.

Federal Rules of Evidence:  Typically 25% of the exam covers Evidence, which is generally the most difficult area for nonattorneys to learn. Purchase any current copy of the FRE with commentary to help you understand this critical area (I like the In A Nutshell book if you can locate it). Law school bookstores (or amazon.com) usually have CDs, flashcards, or study guides that may also assist your studies. This resource is required for your studies.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct:  Typically 10% of the exam covers Legal Ethics. If you are studying on your own, purchase any current copy of the Model Rules. If you are working with us, our text may be sufficient for these studies; students may choose to purchase the Model Rules or a study guide or workbook to supplement their studies.

Tax Court cases (ustaxcourt.gov or commercially available research tool):  It is useful to look at Tax Court cases, particularly regular opinions (TC Opinions) and memorandum opinions (TC Memo). Small cases (TC Summary) may be of interest for your practice or your studies, but historically weren’t tested as the S decisions cannot be cited or appealed (although it appears one was tested in 2014). The Tax Court uses its own cases for exam questions so it is helpful to become familiar not only with the language and procedures of the court but also with new and recurring topics that are likely to be tested.

New cases are posted daily on ustaxcourt.gov at 3:30 pm Eastern. It is again possible to search Opinions at ustaxcourt.gov (under Orders & Opinions, Search (Case, Order, Opinion) by keyword and phrase, docket number or petitioner name, judge, date range, and type of case.  Tax Court cases are also available on various research services.

Reading Tax Court cases should be part of your studies, but students don’t need to do a full IRAC analysis on the cases or spend time doing in depth analysis on the case during the exam. We’ll discuss how to approach this during our class.