Tips for Searching in Simulations

Organization of the Code:

In order to search the Code, it is helpful to know the structure of a Code section.
Following is an example:
170(b)(1)(A)(i)
Here, 170 is the section.
(b) is referred to as a subsection.
(1) is referred to as a paragraph.
(A) is a subparagraph.
(i) is a clause.

In addition to knowing the basic structure of a Code section, to be as effective as possible
with your research (whether it is in the Code or other sources), you also need to be
familiar with the basic numbering of the Code sections. Knowing these numbers can
greatly aid your research process. For this reason, it will be helpful if you know the basic
numbering provided in the table below.

Code Section Numbers and Their Related Material

Subtitle AIncome Taxes ( 11564)
61-90 Gross Income and Includible Items
100-140 Exclusions from Income
150-155 Personal and Dependency Exemptions
160-200 Deductions for Individuals and Corporations
211-230 Itemized Deductions
240-250 Special Deductions for Corporations
300-399 Corporate Taxation
440-490 Accounting Periods and Methods
700-780 Partnerships
1000-1050 Property Transactions and Non-taxable Transactions
1200-1260 Capital Gains and Losses
1360-1380 S Corporations
Subtitle BEstate and Gift Taxes ( 20012801)
2000-2100 Estate Tax
2500-2525 Gift Tax
Subtitle CEmployment Taxes ( 31013510)
Subtitle DMiscellaneous Excise Taxes ( 40015000C)
Subtitle EAlcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes ( 50015891)
Subtitle FProcedure and Administration ( 60017874)
Subtitle GThe J oint Committee on Taxation ( 80018023)
Subtitle HFinancing of Presidential Election Campaigns ( 90019042)
Subtitle ITrust Fund Code ( 95009602)
Subtitle J Coal Industry Health Benefits ( 97019722)
Subtitle KGroup Health Plan Requirements ( 98019834)


Searching in Checkpoint

Types of Searches
The most efficient means of searching one of the electronic databases is with a Keyword
Search. This method requires you to generate the appropriate keywords or search string.
If you are able to do this, you can generally quickly find the relevant material.

Refining Keyword Searches
One of the common problems with key word searches is that you get too many hits to
browse from your search. If this happens, there are several approaches that you can
consider:
1. Consider making the search more specific by adding additional key words.

2. Checkpoint operates using Boolean search. This means that if you use a search
string like business deduction, Checkpoint will actually search as if you input
business AND deduction. In other words, it will search for every instance in
which the words business and deduction occur in the same document.

In Checkpoint, spaces in a search strong are treated as AND. But, there are
several other connectors that can also be helpful in limiting your search. You can
also use OR and NOT to help limit your search.

3. In some cases, using connectors (like AND) will not take advantage of the
technical terminology that we have in tax. To take advantage of this, you can use
a phrase matching search. By typing in the search as business deduction
Checkpoint will look for the exact phrase business deduction rather than just the
occurrence of the two words in the same document. By adding the quotation
marks, you can greatly reduce the number of hits that arent as closely related to
your search.

While you will sometimes get too many hits, at other times you will have the opposite
problemyou will not get any hits. When this happens, there are several strategies that
you can employ to revise your search.
1. Consider using wildcard matching. At times, you may not know that exact word
that is used in the resources. For example, you might be interested in searching
for a particular aspect of depreciation, but you dont know if the resources will
use the word depreciation, depreciate or depreciable. If you just used depreciation
in your search string, you would not retrieve any documents that used depreciate
or depreciable instead. To retrieve documents that use any of the variation, you
can use a wildcard. Following are the two most common wildcards:
Examples of Wildcard Searches in Checkpoint

Syntax Example Search Results
* deprecia* will locate all words that contain everything up to the asterisk
? s????holder will locate any word that is the same length as your search but with any
letter filled in for the question marks (so this search would locate
both shareholder and stockholder)