Best Taxation Programs in Colorado in 2027

• Highest Score62.7 out of 100

  Lowest Price$600 per credit

  Taft University System

  Master of Science in Taxation (MST)

  Colorado · M.S.T.

  Taft University System's M.S.T. Review
• Highest Graduate Earnings$114,544 median earnings

  Strongest CredentialsLaw degree from a law school on the American Bar Association's approved list

  University of Denver

  LLM in Taxation

  Colorado · LL.M.

  University of Denver's LL.M. Review

Colorado certifies CPAs through the State Board of Accountancy, and today the route is a bachelor's degree plus 150 semester hours of coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level. Those hours include 33 in accounting, with 27 of them beyond introductory courses in areas such as taxation and tax research and analysis, plus 27 in business.

You also pass the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) ethics exam with a 90 percent or better and document 1,800 qualifying experience hours, earned over one to three years and verified by a CPA. Colorado also passed SB26-076, which adds three routes for applicants beginning January 1, 2027.

They include a bachelor's degree plus two years of experience and a post-baccalaureate degree plus one year. The board sets the experience requirements by rule, so ask it which hours apply to you. For a taxation master's, the point is simple: graduate tax coursework can fill your accounting hours, but introductory-level courses don't count toward the 27.

A program qualifies when its school is based in Colorado. Where a school publishes a separate in-state rate we show it beside the non-resident rate.

• School based in Colorado
• In-state rate shown when the school publishes one
• Scored on the same eight factors as every list and ranked inside its degree level

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.

Map Colorado's 150-Hour CPA Rule Onto a Master's Degree

Colorado counts graduate credits toward its 150 hours, so a tax master's can do real work for you. The accounting areas the state publishes include Taxation and Tax Research and Analysis. A course in either can count toward your 27 non-introductory accounting hours, as long as it isn't a basic course in tax software or payroll.

The board also wants courses coded as accounting or shown to be accounting work, so if you're a lawyer, ask how an LL.M. course is coded.

That's why the credit count matters. Taft's M.S. in Taxation is 30 credits. Taft's LL.M. and Denver's LL.M. are 24 each, and Denver's Master of Taxation comes in a 24-credit or 30-credit extended version. More credits add more hours toward the 150-hour total.

Colorado also asks for non-duplicative coursework, so a graduate course that repeats one from your bachelor's shouldn't be counted twice. Add up your hours before you enroll, ask each school for a course list, and bring the board's list of accounting subject areas with you to the conversation.

Match Taft's Tax Courses to the Enrolled Agent Path

Taft says enrolled agents will recognize the curriculum of its 30-credit tax degree. The school says it meets Treasury Department Circular 230 standards, and it reports your completed hours to the Internal Revenue Service. It runs fully online in eight-week terms at $600 a credit, with fifteen credits of electives you choose and a supervised research project.

That fit matters if you're aiming at the enrolled agent credential, which the IRS calls the highest credential it awards. A degree isn't what makes you an enrolled agent. You pass all three parts of the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) within three years, pass a suitability check and obtain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). Coursework helps you prepare, though.

Taft's Master of Laws in Taxation suits lawyers who set their own pace. Tuition comes to $14,400 for 24 credits at $600 a credit. Four foundation courses, at least 12 credits of electives and a supervised research paper fill the degree. Both Taft degrees are based in Denver.

Work a Real Tax Clinic Into Your Denver Degree

Denver's Master of Taxation is asynchronous and online, and the University of Denver lets you work in a remote clinic that represents more than 250 clients a year before the IRS. The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic can be done fully remotely, so you can build casework experience from anywhere.

The tax LL.M. is 24 credits and fills the curriculum with tax alone, taught from the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury regulations in asynchronous courses. Four short micro-credential badges can later count toward the degree, and Denver Law students can pair it with a law degree. Both Denver programs take one academic year full time or 18 to 24 months part time.

If you're deciding between the two, look at who you'll study with. Master of Taxation students sit in classes next to attorneys from the law degree program. Ask the clinic office how many hours the casework takes each week, and plan your semesters around that answer.

Plan a Sixteen-Month In-Person Degree at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder's M.S. in Taxation is the on-campus choice in the state. It's a 16-month, in-person degree from the Leeds School of Business, and three of your courses are taught inside the University of Colorado Law School, so you read tax law in the same classrooms as future lawyers.

The schedule leaves room for a summer internship, which gives you a chance to test an employer before you graduate. Colorado asks for 1,800 qualifying experience hours verified by a CPA, so ask the internship supervisor whether they hold a CPA license and how the hours would be documented.

Admissions tests are optional at Boulder, which helps if you haven't taken one recently. If your plans change, the program lets you switch into the accounting master's. Compare that flexibility with the pace of the online programs, and pick the one that matches how you learn best, with classmates in the room or on your own schedule.