Taft University System Master of Laws in Taxation (LLM) in 2027

Taft's Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation is a 24-credit, fully online degree for Juris Doctor (J.D.) holders, priced at $600 a credit for $14,400 in tuition. You set your own pace and finish with a supervised research paper.

William Howard Taft University, part of the Taft University System in Denver, Colorado, runs this degree through its School of Government and Law. It's a post-J.D. program, written for licensed attorneys and law school graduates who want to go further into federal, state and international tax.

You study in the Independent Study format, so you decide when the work gets done. Four foundation courses build the base, at least 12 credits of electives let you follow the kind of tax work your clients bring, and a capstone paper closes it out.

You pay $600 per credit, and Taft lists total program tuition of $14,400 for the 24 credits. The fee schedule adds a $75 LL.M. application fee and a $95 technology and library fee each semester.

Every student gets research tools through the Library and Information Resources Network (LIRN) Virtual Library Collection, which draws on databases including ProQuest, Gale InfoTrac and EBSCOhost. Taft also offers interest-free payment plans, so you can spread tuition across your enrollment.

24 credits at $600 a credit comes to $14,400 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Practicing attorneys adding a tax specialty: Taft describes the LL.M. as a post-J.D. degree for licensed attorneys, and its Tax Fraud and Evasion elective is written for lawyers advising on possible fraud.
• Recent law school graduates building a tax practice: the first course teaches tax research method, so you learn how to find and weigh authority before you choose electives.
• J.D. holders who also prepare returns, including enrolled agents and Annual Filing Season Program participants: Taft is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Approved Continuing Education Provider and reports completed hours to the IRS.
• Lawyers whose clients own property or plan estates: electives take in estate and gift tax with probate and trusts, Subchapter J for estates and trusts, and real estate deals from house closings to syndications.

The foundation block has four courses. Tax Research Techniques comes first and teaches you, step by step, to obtain the facts, ask the right questions, locate and assess authority, and communicate tax-saving options to clients. Next, Tax Aspects of Organizing and Operating covers forming a corporation under Section 351, its capital structure, S corporation elections and corporate distributions.

Federal Income Taxation of Individuals takes on gross income, deductions, property sales, alternative minimum tax, operating losses and capital gains. The last foundation course is Directed Tax Research. It's the capstone: an independent research project on hypothetical facts, on a topic you pick and the university approves, written with a faculty supervisor.

From there you choose at least 12 elective credits. Corporate Reorganizations looks at stock redemptions, partial liquidations and Section 368 reorganizations. Taxation of Partnerships works through Subchapter K, from receiving a partnership interest to distributive shares and terminations. Estate Taxation and Planning pairs gift and estate tax with probate, trusts and joint tenancy.

Fundamentals of International Taxation explains how the United States taxes the foreign income of its citizens and the U.S. income of non-citizens. IRS Practice and Procedure covers how the agency reads and applies the law, with techniques for representing clients who have specific IRS problems. Tax Fraud and Evasion separates evasion from avoidance and walks through criminal investigations, compromise procedures and civil penalties.

One stated outcome is clear, persuasive legal writing for clients, courts and other professionals.

Courses the School Names

• Tax Research Techniques
• Taxation of Partnerships
• IRS Practice & Procedure
• Federal Income Tax Aspects of Corporate Reorganizations
• Estate Taxation & Planning
• Fundamentals of International Taxation
• Tax Fraud & Evasion
• Taxation of Real Estate

Standout Features

• Delivered entirely online in the Independent Study format, so students work at their own pace
• IRS-Approved Continuing Education Provider that reports completed hours to the IRS
• Students work with many of the same reference materials used by tax professionals

You need 24 credits, and the published program length is 1.23 calendar years. Taft's calendar has three semesters a year, split into six terms, and each course-term runs eight weeks. At one course a term, you'd finish in about 64 weeks over eight terms.

The LL.M. section of Taft's frequently asked questions page puts the range at as few as 9 months and as long as five years, and says the average student earns the degree in 2.5 years. You can apply at any time, and there's more than one start date each year, listed on the academic calendar.

It's all online. Taft delivers every course in the Independent or Directed Study format, and you move through the material at your own pace. The school pitches the degree at working legal professionals who want depth of study and scheduling flexibility at the same time.

Eight-week course-terms give each class a clear start and finish even though you control the pace inside them. Along the way you use many of the same reference materials practicing tax professionals rely on, and a volunteer alumni mentoring program pairs current students with graduates for guidance and career support.

You'll need a Juris Doctor degree to apply. Taft says the program builds skills used in law firms, corporate finance departments and government agencies, and one of its program outcomes is the research skill to apply current tax law to problems individual taxpayers and organizations face. Another is the ability to analyze tax procedure and how the IRS interprets the law.

The university holds accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognizes, and Taft Law School, its sister law division, has been continuously accredited since 2003. Taft is also a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), and as an IRS-approved continuing education provider, it reports your completed hours to the IRS.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Public comments about Taft cover the university rather than the LL.M. alone. A student in Taft's Master of Public Administration program, writing on a degree forum in 2025, described a positive experience, with competent professors and a responsive administration.

Taft's own page frames this LL.M. as built for working legal professionals who need both depth and flexibility, and a 2021 press release from Taft Law School noted that its graduates may work in federal practice areas such as tax law.

• If I study at my own pace while working, how many courses do LL.M. students usually fit into a year?
• Which electives match my clients best: estates and trusts, real estate, corporate reorganizations or international tax?
• How do I propose my Directed Tax Research topic, and who supervises the paper?
• As an enrolled agent with a J.D., what does Taft need from me to report my hours to the IRS?
• What's the next start date on the academic calendar, and how soon after applying can I begin?

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