Tax Code "Rule-as-Code" Engine

Principal workflows

• Draft: A tax law specialist opens the provision being implemented and writes the rule in a structured format of definitions, conditions, calculations and effective dates, with each part linked to the clause it comes from.
• Test: Each rule is run against worked examples written by the specialist, including edge cases and examples from published guidance, so the logic is checked before anyone downstream relies on it.
• Review: Counsel and a second specialist review the rule beside its legal source, the interpretation notes and the test results, and approve or return it.
• Publish: Approved rule versions are released as a versioned, machine-readable package that processing systems consume through an API or file export, with release notes describing what changed.

Who uses it

• Tax administration agencies implementing changes to tax law and guidance
• Tax law specialists and policy analysts who interpret new provisions
• Counsel who review the legal reading of each rule
• Engineering teams who maintain tax processing and forms systems
• Testing, audit and oversight staff who need to trace logic to law

Reporting

• Rules by status: drafting, in review, approved and released
• Test results by rule and release
• Open interpretation questions and their age
• Releases and the consuming systems that have adopted them
• Clause coverage: which provisions have rules and which do not
• Change history for any rule, with approvers

Features

• Structured rule format: Rules are written as definitions, conditions, calculations and effective dates in a format specialists can read and processing systems can run.
• Clause-level citations: Every part of a rule links to the clause of statute, regulation or guidance it implements, and the link is kept across versions.
• Effective dating: Rules carry effective and end dates, and transition provisions are modeled explicitly, so the right version applies to each tax period.
• Worked-example testing: Specialists write examples with expected results, and every rule change is run against the full example set.
• Step-by-step trace: Each result can be explained step by step, showing the conditions met, values used and the clause behind each step.
• Version comparison: Compare two versions of a rule to see changed conditions, calculations, dates and citations, and which examples now give a different result.
• Review and approval: Clause-level comments, recorded interpretation questions and answers, and separate approvals for the legal reading and for release.
• Shared definitions: Terms used across many provisions are defined once and referenced, so a change to a definition shows every rule it affects.
• Release packages: Approved versions published as versioned packages with release notes, for consumption by API or file export.
• Impact view: Before release, see which rules, forms and consuming systems a change touches, from the dependencies recorded in the engine.
• Synthetic test data: Worked examples use constructed scenarios rather than real return information, so testing does not require access to taxpayer data.
• Audit trail: Every edit, test run, comment, approval and release recorded with the person and time.

Integrations

• Tax processing systems: Released rule packages are consumed by your processing systems through the engine's API or a scheduled file export, in a format agreed during implementation.
• Legal source library: Statutory, regulatory and guidance text loaded from the sources your agency uses, with versions kept as the text changes.
• Source control and build pipelines: Rule packages can be exported to your source control and continuous integration tools so consuming teams test them like any other dependency.
• Requirements and work tracking: Rule changes can be linked to the work items your agency uses to manage legislative implementation.
• Forms and instructions: Rule references can be shared with the teams that produce forms and instructions, so they can check that the published guidance and the logic agree.
• Single sign-on: Staff sign in through your agency's identity provider, including PIV-based authentication where your provider supports it.
• Work API: Rule, version, test and approval data available to your reporting tools through the Moraph Work API.

Deployment

• Moraph cloud, United States: Hosted in the United States region, with data kept in the US.
• Dedicated environment: A single-tenant environment for agencies that require isolation, scoped in the proposal.
• Rule packages run in your systems: Released packages are executed by your own processing systems or by an execution component installed in your environment, so production calculations do not depend on Moraph's cloud.
• With a managed service: Optionally run alongside a Moraph managed service for administration, rule-engineering support and integration support.

Security and privacy

• Hosted in the United States: Rules, examples and review records are hosted in the United States region.
• Cleared support lane: Support tickets from federal clients are routed only to US citizens with active security clearances.
• Access by role: Drafting, legal approval and release are separate permissions, and unreleased rules can be limited to the people working on them.
• Encryption under controlled keys: Client data is encrypted with keys our staff cannot access without explicit, time-bound authorization.
• Complete audit trail: Every edit, test, approval and release is recorded with the user and time, and cannot be edited.
• Independent audits: Moraph's controls are covered by its SOC 2 Type II report and ISO/IEC 27001 certification, available through the Trust Center.

Limitations

• It does not interpret the law for your agency. Every rule reflects the reading of your specialists and counsel, and Moraph does not provide tax or legal advice.
• It does not process returns or hold taxpayer accounts. Your processing systems run the released rules.
• Some provisions depend on judgment, facts and circumstances that cannot be reduced to conditions and calculations; these are recorded as inputs a person or system must supply, not decided by the engine.
• A rule is only as reliable as its worked examples. Testing shows the rule matches the examples written, not that the examples cover every case.
• Moraph holds no FedRAMP authorization for this product. We provide control documentation to support your agency's own authorization decision.
• Existing logic in legacy processing systems is not converted automatically; provisions are modeled in the engine as your agency chooses to bring them across.
• Consuming systems must be changed to read the released packages, and that work sits with the teams that own them.
• It is designed for tax provisions. Other areas of law can be modeled but are outside the conventions delivered at implementation.

Next steps

Book a demonstration or a technical briefing at www.moraph.com/solutions/tax-code-rule-as-code-engine. Purchasing routes and company information: www.moraph.com/how-to-buy.