Read the citation.
Know what you are opening.

26 = title; 704 = section; (b) = subsection. Further (2), (A), (i) identify nested subdivisions.

A bare § number needs context: § 704 of the Code is different from a regulation section. Check the version and effective date.

1.704-1 = complete regulation section number in Part 1; (b)(2) = nested paragraphs. It is not IRC § 1.704.

Distinguish final, temporary, and proposed text. The eCFR is an updated editorial compilation; verify the relevant historical version.

10000 = Treasury Decision number. The accompanying Federal Register citation locates its publication.

Read the actual regulatory text and applicability provisions; do not treat a preamble sentence as a substitute for the rule.

89 = volume; 56480 = first page; 2024 = publication year. This is the publication citation associated with T.D. 10000.

Publication date, effective date, and applicability date can differ. Locate all three before applying a regulation.

76-12 = ruling year/sequence as printed; 1976-2 = second Cumulative Bulletin volume for 1976; 88 = first page.

This historical example teaches citation form. It does not assert that the ruling remains applicable or unchanged.

2026 = procedure series year; 35 = sequence number. This actual document contains 2027 inflation-adjusted items.

Read purpose, scope, effective dates, and any modifications or superseding guidance.

95-67 = year/sequence as printed; 1995-2 C.B. 343 = publication location.

Do not confuse a guidance Notice with a taxpayer account letter such as CP14. Historical numbering does not establish current applicability.

96-124 = document year/sequence; 1996-49 = bulletin year/issue; 22 = page.

A document’s label alone does not establish that its subject or relief still applies.

2026 = publication year; 46 = issue number. A complete document citation may add its first page and a pinpoint page.

An issue number is not a document number. Rev. Proc. 2026-35 is not automatically found in bulletin 2026-35.

1963-1 = first volume for 1963; 71 = first page; 74 = pinpoint page being discussed.

A pinpoint page is not another ruling number. Check the document’s later history and the law for the relevant year.

The IRS citation guide uses this older seven-digit example: 82 identifies the 1982 release series. Modern weekly release identifiers normally have nine digits.

Section 6110(k)(3) generally bars using or citing written determinations as precedent. A ruling’s protection for its own recipient is a separate question.

96 identifies the 1996 release series in this historical IRS citation example. The remaining digits identify the weekly release and sequence.

Do not apply the specific taxpayer’s determination to another case as precedent; see § 6110(k)(3).

2025 / 04 / 014 identifies the public-release series, weekly group, and sequence. The document was released January 24, 2025, but dated July 17, 2024.

The release number is not the original advice date. This advice expressly states it may not be used or cited as precedent.

2026 = AOD series year; 04 = sequence. This document concerns Mylan and related capitalization litigation.

An AOD is not the judicial opinion. The example expressly says taxpayers must not rely on or cite the AOD as precedent.

4.10.7 identifies a manual section; .2.6 locates a nested subsection about revenue rulings and procedures. Revision dates belong to the particular provision.

The IRM does not itself have the force of law or independently create substantive taxpayer rights. Locate the controlling law and distinguish policy from statute.

Read the title and publication date; ATGs do not share one universal year-sequence citation system.

The IRS warns that later changes can affect a guide’s technical accuracy. An audit guide is not a statute or a guarantee of a deduction.

127 = volume; T.C. = reporter; 109 = first page; 2006 = decision year.

Read the holding, controlling jurisdiction, and later appellate history. The reporter label alone does not establish that a proposition remains good law.

2025 = opinion year; 47 = opinion number. A pinpoint such as “at *5” refers to the opinion’s star page.

Do not equate a memorandum opinion with a § 7463 summary opinion. Check its reasoning, court treatment, appeal history, and the proposition being cited.

2014 = opinion year; 59 = sequence in the summary-opinion series.

Section 7463(b) makes the decision unreviewable in another court and not precedent for another case. Do not use it as ordinary precedential authority.

14 = reporter volume; B.T.A. = Board reporter; 878 = first page.

Old Code numbering and later changes can alter the relevance of an older decision. Age alone neither validates nor disposes of its reasoning.

48 = volume; F.4th = reporter series; 1272 = first page; 11th Cir. = court; 2022 = year. The manual also cites 17 F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 1994).

Reporter series do not rank decisions. Identify the relevant circuit, holding, subsequent history, and any jurisdiction-specific rule.

294 = volume; 243 = first page; D.D.C. = District of Columbia district court; 1969 = decision year.

A reporter citation does not establish binding effect outside the relevant court system. Check the court and later history.

290 = volume; U.S. = reporter; 111 = first page; 1933 = decision year. Compare “26 U.S.C. § 704,” a statute.

A case may interpret older statutory language. Read the issue, holding, later legislation, and later decisions before applying it.

117 = Congress; 58 = public-law number; 135 = Statutes at Large volume; 429 = first page; 2021 = enactment year.

A session law section is not necessarily the same number as the amended Code section. Inspect amendment and effective-date language.