University of Baltimore Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation in 2027

The University of Baltimore's Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation is a 26-credit evening degree for Juris Doctor (J.D.) holders, taught by law faculty, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials, practitioners and U.S. Tax Court judges. Classes meet live on weekday evenings with recordings, some are also offered in person, and tuition is $1,125 a credit.

Baltimore's School of Law has run its Graduate Tax Program since 1987, and the LL.M. is the track built for lawyers. Classes meet on weekday evenings so you can keep a full-time legal job, and the school describes a mix of full-time law faculty, Baltimore-Washington practitioners, IRS officials and U.S. Tax Court judges at the front of the room.

The degree combines six required tax courses with electives that range from estate planning to tax crimes, a working clinic and judicial externships. Entry is possible in fall, spring or summer, and admission is rolling.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Admission requires a J.D. or equivalent degree from an American Bar Association-approved law school for degrees earned in the United States, and there are no test requirements. Career paths the school lists include tax attorney, in-house tax counsel, IRS or Treasury attorney, Tax Court practitioner, corporate tax counsel, estate planning attorney and tax policy advisor.

It says the credential opens doors in law firms, corporate legal departments, accounting firms, government agencies and tax advisory roles. The IRS Office of Chief Counsel Honors Program, which hires entry-level attorneys, names graduating Tax LL.M. students among the people it recruits.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Working attorneys: classes meet in real time on weekday evenings, and the school posts recordings so you can review a session you missed.
• Lawyers who want client and court experience: the six-credit Tax Clinic has you represent low-income taxpayers before the IRS and the U.S. Tax Court under a faculty member's supervision, and attorney, judicial and public interest externships place you in practice.
• Estate planning attorneys: students who meet the curriculum requirements also receive a Certificate in Estate Planning, and electives include Estate Planning, Estate and Gift Taxation and Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts.
• Future government and policy lawyers: Tax Policy requires a paper on a policy issue, the Federal Tax Legislation Workshop has you draft as a congressional committee staffer would, and the school lists IRS or Treasury attorney among common career paths.

Six three-credit courses form the required core. Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation I covers gross income, deductions, credits, depreciation and the alternative minimum tax, and Fundamentals II continues with accounting methods, capital gains, like-kind exchanges, installment sales and the passive loss rules.

Corporate Taxation looks at forming a corporation, capital structure, distributions, liquidations and S-corporations, while Partnership Taxation follows a partnership from formation through liquidation. Tax Practice and Procedure walks through audits, ruling requests, penalties, refund claims and appearances before the U.S. Tax Court.

Tax Policy studies how the federal income tax system evolved and weighs current legislative proposals.

The other eight credits come from electives, and the menu is broad. Foreign Taxation covers inbound and outbound transactions, treaties and transfer pricing. Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Tax Crimes follows a criminal tax case from first warning signs through sentencing.

Maryland Taxes and State and Local Taxation take on state-level questions, Business Valuation uses Excel and corporate databases, and Tax Research and Writing has you prepare legal memoranda. You can also propose an independent study on a topic the curriculum doesn't cover, if a faculty member agrees to supervise it.

Standout Features

• Applications accepted for fall, spring and summer entry
• Attorneys and accountants learn alongside each other in the Graduate Tax Program, offered since 1987 and the only one of its kind in Maryland
• Classes are offered weekday evenings for working attorneys
• Learn from tax judges, IRS officials, and top practitioners, online or in person

If you begin in or after Fall 2022, you need 26 credit hours of prescribed coursework and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00. At two classes per semester, the school says you can finish in two to three academic years, and everything must be done within five years of enrolling.

Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation I is the gateway course: it's a prerequisite for most other tax courses, it's usually offered only in the fall, and you're expected to take it at your earliest opportunity. You can still start in the spring or summer with the program director's approval.

U.S. application deadlines are August 1 for fall, December 1 for spring and May 1 for summer. A combined J.D./LL.M. student can receive advanced credit for up to 12 credits of tax courses taken in the J.D. program, and enrolled students may transfer up to 6 credits from another LL.M. program the school recognizes.

Tuition is a flat $1,125 per credit, billed at $3,375 for a three-credit course, with no difference between in-state and out-of-state students. Over the 26 credits, that's $29,250 in tuition, with fees extra.

LL.M., Master of Science (M.S.) and Certificate in Estate Planning students pay the same tuition and fees. You can also test the curriculum first: attorneys and other professionals may take selected Graduate Tax Program courses as a non-degree student.

26 credits at $1,125 a credit comes to $29,250 in tuition, before fees.

It's a hybrid program built around the evening. Courses run in real time on weekday evenings over video, recordings go up afterward, and the school notes that some classes may also be offered in person as well as online. So you can take part live from home or the office, sit in a classroom when a course meets on campus, or review a recording later in the week.

The Tax Clinic adds a weekly seminar and supervision meetings on top of real casework. Throughout, your instructors include full-time law faculty, Baltimore-Washington practitioners, IRS officials and Tax Court judges.

The most personal comments come from the School of Law's Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, a law-school-wide clinic (the LL.M. lists a Tax Clinic among its electives). A student attorney writing on the clinic's blog in 2025 said one of the most meaningful lessons was that you never truly know how you'll need to advocate for a client.

Another clinic post from 2025 described a Maryland State Bar Association networking night where practitioners from private firms, government agencies and nonprofits were generous with advice.

The Law School Admission Council's profile says the Graduate Tax Program has graduated more than 500 LL.M. and M.S. students since 1987, and a 2026 podcast episode about the program describes full-time faculty teaching alongside tax court judges, IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorneys and former Justice Department Tax Division leaders.

• Which of my courses will meet in person this year, and which will meet only in the live evening video sessions?
• How soon could I take the six-credit Tax Clinic, and do I need to finish its Evidence and Professional Responsibility prerequisites first?
• If I add the Certificate in Estate Planning, which electives overlap with it?
• Can I transfer credits from a prior LL.M. or count my J.D. tax courses toward the degree?
• Which adjunct instructors teach the electives I am considering this year?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 13 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 9 of 37, master's
• Public University Programs Rank 9 of 35, master's
• Internship or Practicum Rank 6 of 24, master's
• LLM in Taxation Rank 5 of 22, master's

• Master of Science in Taxation

  M.S., Master's

  Hybrid $1,125 per credit Score 56.3

• Master of Science in Accounting and Business Advisory Services, Taxation Specialization (Online)

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $1,258 per credit Score 22.7

• Georgetown University

  Taxation

  District of Columbia Score 64.2

• Villanova University

  Master of Taxation

  Pennsylvania $1,675 per credit Score 63.6

• Taft University System

  Master of Science in Taxation (MST)

  Colorado $600 per credit Score 62.7

• University of San Diego

  LL.M. in Taxation (Online)

  California $1,200 per credit Score 62.2