1Ask
Put the question in plain words
Ask the way you would ask a colleague. Virtus searches the primary sources it holds.
Federal tax research
Every answer should lead back to the source.
Virtus connects a tax question to the exact page of the public document behind its answer, with the authority status beside it, so the work can be checked and kept.
Illustrative workspace · verbatim ruling text
The passage shown is verbatim from IRS Private Letter Ruling 202627005 (Non-precedential). Original IRS PDF
- Sentences shown without a citation
- 0An uncited sentence is removed
- Searchable primary sources
- 4Collections and sections in the library
- A citation opens
- The pageWith the quoted passage marked
Why
Even a fluent answer can point at a page that does not say it. A citation is only as good as the page behind it.
Virtus shows a sentence only when it resolves to a published passage, and opens that page beside the answer, so the reader after you can check the same thing you did.
How it works
From a question to its page.
Three moves, from the question you type to the page the answer stands on.
2Check
Every sentence is tied to a passage
An answer is assembled sentence by sentence. A sentence that does not resolve to a published passage is removed.
3Open
Read the page it came from
A citation opens the publisher’s document at the page, with the quoted passage marked.
What stays true
Rely on it, then check it.
The source keeps its own form, the answer keeps to what the library holds, and the work keeps its trail.
The original stays the original
Virtus keeps the publisher’s document distinct from the text it searches, and marks the quoted passage where the publisher put it.
Every sentence points to its passage
Each sentence in an answer cites the passage it rests on, so a second reader can retrace it.
When the library has no support, it says so.
When nothing the library holds supports the question, the answer is “no cited answer” rather than a guess.
Authority status stays beside the text
A written determination is labelled non-precedential wherever its passages appear.
Solutions
One trail. Different work to do.
The same source trail, used for different work. Start with the situation closest to yours.
Resources
A better answer starts with reading the record.
Start with a source you can inspect
Research federal tax with the sources in view.
Create an account to ask your first question, or book a walkthrough for your team.