Yellow and Orange Tax Handbooks

Each edition of the Yellow Tax Handbook brings together the fully amended text of all of the direct tax legislation in force in the UK at the date of publication (both statutes and statutory instruments), along with related official material such as extra-statutory concessions, statements of practice, interpretations, and press releases.

Some editions also include relevant EU legislation and/or treaties.

Taxes covered by the Yellow Handbook include income tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax, national insurance contributions, and inheritance tax.

Editors’ annotations are provided along with the legislation texts, for instance to indicate where amendments have been made, provide definitions, or to refer readers to relevant parts of the HMRC manuals.

The Yellow Tax Handbook has been published annually since 1976, and the Library holds a copy of every edition from that date onwards. Between 1962 and 1975 it was issued under the title of Tax Handbook; the Library holds copies of that work going back to 1968.

Editions of the Orange Tax Handbook compile the up-to-date legislation relating to indirect taxes, also accompanied by editors’ annotations and related official non-statutory material.

Taxes covered by the Orange Handbook include value added tax, stamp and land transaction taxes, insurance premium tax, the soft drinks industry levy, plastic packaging tax, landfill taxes, the aggregates levy and the climate change levy.

Like its counterpart, the Orange Tax Handbook has been published annually since 1976, and the Library holds a copy of every edition.

These volumes serve both as invaluable reference tools for practical day-to-day tax work, and as resources through which one may track and measure the growth and development of UK tax legislation over time.

Notably, the combined length of the Yellow and Orange Handbooks is often used as a rough guide as to the size of the body of UK tax legislation at a particular point. As such, they are likely to be of interest to researchers looking to ascertain how the volume and complexity of tax legislation has changed over time. For more information on the use of the Handbooks for this purpose, see our guide to measuring the changing length of UK tax legislation.

The most recent edition of both Handbooks is held in the Business Centre at Chartered Accountants' Hall in London. All other editions are held in our off-site store. For full holdings information, please see the catalogue entries for the Yellow and Orange Handbooks respectively.

If you wish to access any of our holdings of this title, contact us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620, or email library@icaew.com. Should you wish to consult volumes in person in the Business Centre, please let us know well in advance of your visit so that we can ensure that they are available for you. Alternatively, the enquiry team can check the volumes for you to find the information you need.

In addition to the Yellow and Orange Handbooks, the ICAEW Library provides access to a wide range of other resources relating to tax in the UK.

• Browse our resources on taxation in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland