Best Accelerated Master's in Taxation Programs in 2027

• Highest Score69.2 out of 100

  Strongest CredentialsAACSB stated by the school; prepares for CPA

  Portland State University

  Master of Taxation

  Oregon · M.Tax.

  Portland State University's M.Tax. Review
• Lowest Price$556.75 per credit

  Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

  Master of Science in Accountancy with a Specialization in Taxation

  Illinois · M.S.A.

  Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's M.S.A. Review
• Highest Graduate Earnings$170,796 median earnings

  Villanova University

  Master of Taxation

  Pennsylvania · M.T.

  Villanova University's M.T. Review

Programs with terms of eight weeks or shorter, programs the school says can be finished in 12 months or less, or programs the school describes as accelerated.

• Term length of 8 weeks or shorter, or a stated finish time of 12 months or less
• Explicit numbers only, taken from the school's own pages
• Sorted by stated duration, then by our score

Scores are the weighted sum of eight factors (Tax Specialization 15%, Tax Subject Coverage 15%, Hands-On Tax Practice 10%, Cost 20%, Graduate Earnings 10%, Credential Alignment 10%, Track Record 10%, Program Reputation 10%), version 2.0. The methodology page shows the rubric for each factor.

Count Credits and Months Before You Pick a Fast Master's in Taxation

Speed comes from fitting the same credits into fewer months, so look at the load behind each timeline. Northeastern's Master of Science in Accounting with a Tax track is full time for seven months. LSU New Orleans' Master of Science in Tax Accounting says you can fast track your degree in 9 months.

Loyola Marymount's Master of Science in Taxation works the same way: finishing in nine months requires a minimum of 15 semester hours in each of the fall and spring semesters. The University of Mississippi's Master of Taxation takes 10 to 12 months. You carry 9 to 12 hours in fall and spring, and you take a few more classes outside those semesters, usually in the summer.

Add up the hours you'd carry each term and compare that with the hours you can really give. Ask whether the load is fixed, and whether you can stretch a term if work gets heavy.

Tell Short Terms From a Short Finish

An accelerated label can mean two different things, and they don't always travel together. Short terms mean courses that last seven or eight weeks. A short finish means the whole degree is done in about a year or less.

Hartford's Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation has both: each course is only seven weeks long, so you can finish a 10-course degree in less than one year. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville also uses seven-week courses and says as few as 10 months. Goldey-Beacom uses eight-week sessions too, but you take one course per session over two years part time.

Schools use the word in either sense, so ask which one a program means before you compare timelines. A short term can suit a slow, steady schedule just as well as a quick finish. Choose the finish line you want, then check the term length and the credit load that get you there.

Build CPA Exam Prep Into a Short Schedule

If you want CPA exam prep inside a short schedule, look at what the program builds in. The University of Mississippi's CPA review course is an elective in which you take three of the four sections of the CPA exam. Loyola Marymount offers subsidized access to Becker CPA Exam Prep and a CPA-focused elective.

Credit counts matter too. Northeastern, which is designed for students with a U.S. undergraduate degree in accounting, says you'll earn the master's and the 150 credits required to sit for the CPA exam in just seven months. SUNY Old Westbury's Master of Science in Taxation is registered by the New York State Education Department as satisfying the 150-credit hour requirement, and a full-time student may finish in one year.

Your state's rules still decide what counts, so confirm the credit count with admissions before you apply. Our guide to Enrolled Agent vs. CPA compares the exam routes.

See What a Short Degree Costs in Total

A shorter degree changes how the bill arrives, so look at the total, not only the rate. Northeastern lists estimated total tuition of $57,930 for the 2026-2027 year, and that figure excludes fees and other expenses. The University of San Diego lists estimated total program tuition of $53,700.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville charges $556.75 per credit hour with all fees included. At Mississippi, the same amount of tuition is charged for 9 and 12 hours in fall and spring, so a heavier load doesn't raise the price that term. Mississippi's summer classes sit on top of that fall and spring load, so count them in your total too.

Ask each school for an estimated total with fees, how much is due each term and whether summer terms are billed separately. Get each estimate in writing so you can compare them later. Our cheapest master's in taxation list is a good place to start comparing price.