University of Washington Tax Law LL.M. in 2027

The Tax Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the University of Washington School of Law trains tax lawyers in Seattle, with a clinic that puts you in front of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a start date in any quarter.

The Tax Law LL.M. is a law school degree, and it's been running since 1995. You apply with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from a school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), or, if you were educated abroad, with a first degree in law such as an LLB or BLaw.

The program covers federal, state and local, international, and estate, gift and trust tax, and its own description says it does more than teach tax law: it trains tax lawyers. Courses are taught by nationally recognized scholars and practitioners from the Pacific Northwest tax community.

The faculty director, Scott Schumacher, co-wrote the book Tax Crimes and received the Roger Stouder Award from the Washington State Bar Association's Tax Section. You study in a city where Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon and Expedia are the neighbors, and you can enter in autumn, winter or spring.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

This degree is built for lawyers, so it sits on top of your J.D. or your foreign law degree, and it's meant to prepare you for tax practice. In 2024 the Federal Tax Clinic closed cases that decreased tax liabilities, penalties and interest by $4,159,508 for taxpayers.

A 2024 graduate profiled by UW Law is associate counsel for Indirect Tax at Tesla. The U.S. News 2026-27 list of law schools with graduate tax programs places the University of Washington 17th, as reported by TaxProf Blog.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Recent law graduates who want a tax specialty: the degree adds 36 quarter credits of tax coursework on top of a J.D., and you can finish in one academic year.
• Working lawyers who need evenings: most classes meet in the late afternoon or early evening, and you can enroll part time over two to three years.
• Lawyers educated outside the United States: the school accepts a first degree in law such as an LLB or BLaw, so you can study U.S. tax law in Seattle.
• People who want to argue real cases: the Federal Tax Clinic lets you serve as first chair attorney for a low-income client in a dispute with the IRS.
• Future corporate tax counsel: a 2024 graduate interned part time at Tesla during school and moved to full time as he finished, and he now advises on indirect tax there.

You'll choose between two pathways. In the Academic Pathway you'll take advanced tax subjects such as Tax Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions or the Transfer Pricing Seminar. In the Practical Skills Pathway you'll complete an approved experiential course or an externship for credit.

Taxation of Partners and Partnerships is required, and it's where you cover forming, running and dissolving a partnership, income allocation, the at-risk and passive activity rules, and drafting partnership agreements. Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders is also on the required list and walks through corporate formation, distributions, redemptions and liquidations.

If you haven't taken an individual income tax course within the last five years, Introduction to Income Taxation is a two-credit course that meets on seven days in September, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. It covers the definition of income, the computation of tax liability, exclusions and basis. From there you'll build your own mix.

Federal Tax Controversies and Procedures follows a taxpayer from filing a return through an audit and any dispute with the IRS, including civil penalties. U.S. Aspects of International Taxation examines inbound and outbound investment, tax treaties, permanent establishments and controlled foreign corporations. State and Local Taxation surveys income, property, sales and use, and gross receipts taxes, including those in Washington State.

Estate and Gift Taxation covers wealth transfer, and Tax Writing has you draft opinion letters, tax disclosures and provisions in asset purchase agreements.

Courses the School Names

• Tax Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions
• Transfer Pricing Seminar

Standout Features

• Apply for admission to any quarter, full time or part time
• Federal Tax Clinic closed cases in 2024 that cut taxpayers' liabilities, penalties and interest by $4,159,508
• Federal Tax Clinic, Rural Alaska Tax Assistance Program and externships
• Funding available to all Taxation applicants
• Pacific Northwest setting near Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon and Expedia
• Program running since 1995
• Rural Alaska tax trip: 20 UW Law students served 15 communities in 2024
• Taught by nationally recognized scholars and leading practitioners from the Pacific Northwest tax community

The Tax Law LL.M. is 36 quarter credits. Full-time students finish in one academic year, which means autumn, winter and spring quarters. Part-time students have up to six years, and most take two to three years depending on how many credits they carry each quarter.

For financial aid purposes the school counts 10 credits as full time and 5 credits as part time. You may apply for admission to any quarter and enroll either full time or part time. The domestic applicant deadline is June 15 for the year you plan to start, the winter deadline is Nov.

1, and the spring deadline is Feb. 1.

The University of Washington reports a graduate charge of $1,510 per credit to federal data, and the degree is 36 quarter credits. The school says all applicants to the Taxation program may apply for funding, which you request through a funding application on the LL.M. admissions page.

You'll attend class on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington School of Law. Most classes meet in the late afternoon or early evening, which leaves your days free for work or an externship. In the Federal Tax Clinic, a limited number of LL.M. students take on cases for individual taxpayers, working administratively before the IRS and in Tax Court, under an experienced tax and trial attorney.

The clinic has 25 volunteer attorneys on its panel. Many clinic students apply separately for Tax Practice and Skills and spend a week in February preparing returns for villagers in rural Alaska, after extensive certification and training. In 2024, 15 communities were served by 20 UW Law students in that effort.

Students and alumni talk mostly about the hands-on work. A student in the Federal Tax Clinic, quoted by the law school, called the work hands-on and said the experience was giving useful legal experience.

After the Rural Alaska trip in 2023, a law student said they were the one who learned a lot from the villagers, came to understand the tax law system better, and wanted to go back the next year. A three-time volunteer and later teacher of the Alaska program, quoted by the university in 2017, called it the best experience of law school.

A 2024 graduate profiled by UW Law in 2025 said he left with a diploma and a full-time offer he's proud of. A current LL.M. student, in a 2025 school profile, said a class task on a client's possible tax issues felt like day-to-day practice, and that he was looking forward to partnership tax because so many law firms are partnerships.

• Which required course should I take in my first quarter, and do I need the introductory income tax course?
• How many Federal Tax Clinic seats open each year, and when do I apply for one?
• Should I choose the Academic Pathway or the Practical Skills Pathway if I want to work in corporate tax?
• If I start part time in winter, how should I plan my credits to finish in two to three years?
• What funding does the Taxation program offer, and when is the application due?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 9 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 6 of 37, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 6 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 6 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 6 of 46, master's
• Public University Programs Rank 7 of 35, master's
• Internship or Practicum Rank 3 of 24, master's
• LLM in Taxation Rank 4 of 22, master's

• Master of Science in Taxation

  MST, Master's

  On Campus Score 57.0

• Gonzaga University

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Washington Score 68.7

• California State University-Northridge

  Master of Science in Taxation

  California $895 per credit Score 68.8

• CUNY Bernard M Baruch College

  Master of Science in Taxation

  New York $855 per credit Score 67.8

• Portland State University

  Master of Taxation

  Oregon Score 69.2