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Does anyone know of anyone else who has compiled a machine-readable set of the IRS's SOI Tax Stats - Historical Table 2, i.e., these?

The .xls files available from the IRS are crosstabbed and contain multiple subcategories. Difficult to translate to something database compliant for analysis.

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    i'd say these already are open data. importing them into a single file would take maybe an hour of coding in R..
    – Anthony Damico
    Apr 24, 2014 at 0:35
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    I think you guys may be underestimating the nuances in the file structure across years. I've been at it with python for a while now. Of course, it's equally likely you're overestimating my programming ability, but both are sort of off-topic.
    – JMcClure
    Apr 24, 2014 at 12:14
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    @Mac : could you tell is what questions you're trying to answer from the data, as that might affect recommendations of how the data needs to be converted.
    – Joe
    May 7, 2014 at 12:25

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Been slightly inattentive here, but for posterity's sake, I wanted to post the results of my cleaning effort: machine-readable SOI data.

Like most intensive data cleaning I've been a part of, it wasn't the result of a single programming effort. For example, a fair bit of consideration went in to how to reconcile the individual annual series. The coverage.csv in the repo shows the series coverage for 1997-2011. Enjoy!

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using scraperwiki, i can parse the .xls just fine. place the url in the input field, after it is done uploading, select download as spreadsheet, and you'll get .csv/.xlsx.

not an answer to the question(s) you posed directly, but an answer nonetheless. hope its useful...

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    Can you please expand on the answer?
    – Jeanne Holm
    May 5, 2014 at 3:53
  • sure, but not sure on what part. can you be more specific?
    – albert
    May 5, 2014 at 13:50
  • um ... explain how to convert crosstabbed .xls files to something for analysis? .. so it's then an answer to the question being asked. If not, this should be a comment and not an answer.
    – Joe
    May 6, 2014 at 10:20
  • totally lost me on that one @joe....sorry. change this to a comment? i think it does what was asked...but if you disagree, i'll edit
    – albert
    May 6, 2014 at 23:39
  • @albert : My take on the question was that the second paragraph was the significant part -- not conversion of .xls to .xlsx or .csv
    – Joe
    May 7, 2014 at 12:25

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