New York University Master of Studies in Law in Taxation in 2027

New York University (NYU) School of Law teaches its Master of Studies in Law (MSL) in Taxation entirely online and on your schedule, with recorded classes taught by NYU Law faculty and practicing tax lawyers. You study tax the way law students and practicing tax lawyers do, and you can finish in as little as two years.

It's a part-time degree built for working accountants and financial professionals who already hold their credentials and licenses. Instead of a long list of required courses, you'll take one required one-credit class, Tax Practice and Procedure, and choose the rest from NYU Law's online tax courses. Classes are recordings of sessions taught on campus or filmed in a studio, so you watch when your week allows.

Then you join discussions with professors and classmates through online tools. The school describes the emphasis as the regulatory, judicial and policy foundations of tax law, and you sit in a cohort of experienced tax professionals alongside lawyers. A program director advises you each semester, so the courses you pick build in a sensible order.

NYU describes this degree as a path for accountants and financial professionals who already hold the relevant credentials and licenses, so it adds legal tax training to what you already have. The Graduate Tax Program reports a network of more than 10,000 alumni who lead major law and accounting firms, government, the judiciary, academia and large corporations.

NYU's career services say most graduates of the full-time tax Master of Laws (LLM) work in private practice at law firms, while others work at public accounting firms, in government and in judicial clerkships at the Tax Court. Part-time students are eligible for career services, though there are some limitations.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Accountants with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license who want legal depth: the degree teaches tax as law students learn it, and the faculty includes more than 40 adjunct instructors who are leading tax lawyers at major law and accounting firms.
• Professionals who already hold a related master's degree: advanced standing of up to six credits lets you complete the program in 24 credits instead of 30.
• Full-time employees in tax or finance: you can register for up to six credits a semester, and the school says two or three credits is a manageable load for working students.
• Specialists in a single area: concentrations in general, business, international taxation and estate planning let you point your electives at the work you do.

The only required course is Tax Practice and Procedure, worth one credit. Everything else comes from a catalog of more than fifty graduate tax courses at NYU Law, and the school suggests that every student take courses in corporate taxation, international taxation and partnership taxation.

Core business offerings include Corporate Tax I and Corporate Tax II, Partnership Taxation, Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions, Taxation of Private Equity Transactions, Taxation of Financial Instruments and Taxation of Executive Compensation. The international path runs through International Tax I, II and III, and electives such as Transfer Pricing and Value Added Taxation add to it.

For estate planning, the core is Estate and Gift Taxation, Estate Planning and Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates I. Other electives include Multistate Taxation, Tax-exempt Organizations, Taxation of Intellectual Property, Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions and Tax Policy. You may take up to four credits outside tax.

To finish, you'll write a final project on a timely tax law or policy topic, and you can build it around business taxation, international taxation, estate planning or tax controversy. Grading uses High Pass, Pass and Fail, and on request the school will give your employer a letter with a letter-grade equivalent for tuition reimbursement.

Courses the School Names

• Corporate Tax I and II
• Partnership Taxation
• International Tax I, II and III
• Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions
• Taxation of Private Equity Transactions
• Taxation of Financial Instruments
• Taxation of Executive Compensation
• Estate and Gift Taxation
• Multistate Taxation

Standout Features

• Concentration areas in general, business, international taxation and estate planning, plus a final project
• Final exams can be completed at home or in the office with online proctoring
• Network of over 10,000 NYU Law alumni who specialize in tax law (school statement)
• Only one required course (Tax Practice and Procedure, 1 credit); remaining credits are chosen from NYU Law's online tax courses
• Taught by NYU Law faculty and 40+ adjunct instructors who are leading tax lawyers at major law and accounting firms (school statement)

The degree takes 30 credits, or 24 if you hold a prior master's degree in a related field, and NYU says most MSL students already have one and follow the 24-credit plan. NYU says you can finish in as little as two years and have up to five years to complete it.

Most students finish the 30-credit version in three to four years, depending on how many credits they take each semester. Each class usually carries one to three credits, and most online classes carry two. That means a two-credit class a term and a six-credit term both fit within the rules.

You begin in January for the spring semester or in August for the fall semester.

For 2026-2027, tuition is $3,638 per credit. There's also an $865 fee for the first credit and $79 for each credit after that. A $121 School of Law technology fee applies each semester.

Summer 2026 tuition is $3,498 per credit. Because you pick how many credits to take each term, you control how much you spend at one time. The 24-credit path lowers the total if you have a related master's degree.

The program is fully online and part-time. Most courses run asynchronously, made up of class assignments and prerecorded class videos, and you can replay a video as many times as you like during the semester. You don't have to watch a whole session at once, since you can work through it in segments of 20 or 40 minutes.

You still interact with your professors and classmates through online communication tools. Each course ends with a final exam. Exams fall on scheduled dates, but you take them remotely, from a computer at home or in the office, using online proctoring and exam software.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Reputation is the theme that comes up most. A tax alum posting on Reddit in 2018 called the tax law program first rate and the faculty among the best in their field, and said tax employers will likely recognize and respect it. A student considering the program in 2018 who watched the online preview lecture found it really good.

A 2024 graduate of the full-time tax LLM who joined a large law firm wrote on Reddit that the program opened doors that wouldn't otherwise have opened and brought them into a network that respects the degree. These comments mostly come from the full-time LLM, which shares faculty and alumni with the MSL.

On the ranking side, Above the Law reprinted the 2025 U.S. News tax law specialty list in April 2025 with NYU first.

• Which of the four concentrations, general, business, international taxation or estate planning, fits the work I do now, and which electives would you suggest first?
• Does my prior master's degree qualify for the six credits of advanced standing, so I can follow the 24-credit plan?
• How many credits a semester do students in my kind of job usually take, and how does that change my finish date?
• Which classes are recorded from campus sessions and which are filmed in a studio, and how does the program director advise on sequencing?
• How can part-time MSL students use career services, and what tuition reimbursement letter will my employer accept?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 27 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 14 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 13 of 40, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 13 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 16 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 16 of 46, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 14 of 43, master's
• LLM in Taxation Rank 13 of 22, master's
• International Taxation Rank 5 of 12, master's
• Best Programs in New York Rank 3 of 11, master's

• Taxation

  LL.M., Master's

  Hybrid Score 56.5

• Taxation (Executive)

  LL.M., Master's

  Fully Online $3,638 per credit Score 51.1

• Weber State University

  Master of Taxation (MTax)

  Utah Score 58.7

• University of Miami

  LL.M. in Taxation

  Florida Score 58.8

• University at Albany

  Master of Science in Taxation

  New York Score 57.7

• Walsh College

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Michigan $991 per credit Score 59.0