Leandra Lederman (IU Maurer) & Sarah B. Lawsky (U. of Illinois), Constructing Deductions (February 17, 2026). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6258958 

This Essay identifies drafting “building blocks” that are present in the Internal Revenue Code and that are used to construct many of the deductions available to individuals. The Essay represents these building blocks using mathematical formulas and graphically, and it then shows how the building blocks are combined to create complex deductions. These formalizations and visualizations yield insight into statutory drafting choices. They also reveal “negative space”–that is, ways that federal income tax deductions could be drafted but are not.