Press kit

Title 26, for journalists

A free, independent site that puts the entire US federal tax code in one searchable place and explains, in plain English and Spanish, the parts that touch ordinary people.

Key facts

Site: taxcode.valevlaube.com · Spanish edition at /es/
Launched: November 2026
The law: All 2,114 sections and 1.76 million words of Title 26 of the US Code, from the official text of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, current through Public Law 119-102 (July 12, 2026), including the 2025 tax law
Explained: 28 key sections in plain English and Spanish, each with 2026 figures and a worked example, plus 4 guides by situation
Tools: A "What do I file?" forms finder, guides to 17 common IRS letters, a private document explainer for W-2s, 1099s and IRS notices, a 2026–2027 tax calendar and 4 calculators
Privacy: Documents are read inside the visitor's browser and never uploaded. No accounts and no ads. Analytics run only with consent and never on document pages.
Cost and license: Free. Code under the MIT license, explainers under CC BY 4.0, so others can reuse them with credit.
Made by: Valev Laube, independently, as part of his Lab at valevlaube.com/lab

What it does

Search the whole code by keyword, form number or section, the way you'd search a website.
Read the law next to an explanation of what it says, who it affects and how, with every figure tied to the statute or IRS guidance.
Find your forms. Citizens, green card holders, visa holders, students and nonresidents answer three questions and get their federal forms and due dates.
Understand an IRS letter: what a CP2000, CP14 or LT11 means, how serious it is, the deadline and what to do.
Explain a document privately. Drop in a W-2, a 1099 or an IRS notice and it's read on the device, with nothing sent anywhere.

Why it exists

In an episode of The Diary of a CEO, historian Sarah Paine said what's missing is someone who reads the tax code, breaks it into pieces and explains its human side. Title 26 is an attempt at that. It takes no side on what the law should say. It shows what it does say.

About the maker

Valev Laube is a designer and AI developer and the founder of The VL Studios, a New York company. He lived in the United States for more than a decade, studying at the University of Rochester and working in New York, before moving back to Tallinn, Estonia, in 2025. Title 26 is one of the free projects in his Lab, alongside a census map of where New Yorkers' families came from and a monthly tracker of great-power war risk. Portraits and bios are in his press kit.