The Bluebook includes a description of present tax law, an explanation of the provision, and the effective date

The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation has prepared its Bluebook for the 116th Congress. Known formally as the General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 116th Congress, the Bluebook provides explanations of more than 200 tax provisions across eight different Acts, starting with the Taxpayer First Act (Public Law 116-25) and ending with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260).

For each provision, the Bluebook includes a description of present law, an explanation of the provision, and the effective date. For a bill with a Committee report (or, in the absence of one, a contemporaneous technical explanation prepared and published by the Joint Committee staff), the document is based on the language of the report (or explanation).

An appendix provides a table with the estimated budget effects of the tax legislation in the Bluebook.

The Bluebook is available via download only.