Graduate Tax Program

The Graduate Tax Program, established in 1959, is one of the first graduate tax programs in the country and continues to be one of the best. An LLM in Taxation from BU Law reflects a mastery of the practice, ethics and subtleties of tax law.

Our curriculum—consisting of five required courses and more than 35 challenging electives—offers students a balance between tax law theory and practical application, meeting the needs of lawyers who wish to excel in tax. The breadth and depth of the Graduate Tax Program curriculum allows students to either select a wide spectrum of elective courses and thereby gain exposure to all areas of tax, or concentrate on courses that will prepare them for specialization in a particular subspecialty area such as business organizations and transactions, estate planning, international tax, or financial services. The overwhelming majority of the courses are offered every year, and new courses are added each year in response to student interest and developments in tax practice.

The Graduate Tax Program’s student body includes both recent graduates of U.S. law schools and practitioners at many of the nation’s top law firms and tax consulting firms. The program also welcomes applications from foreign-trained lawyers with focused interest in advanced tax studies. Students may enroll on a full- or part-time basis; classes are scheduled during the late afternoon and evening hours to facilitate participation by working lawyers.

Our students learn from tax scholars and distinguished tax practitioners. All of our full-time faculty scholars have extensive experience in public and private tax practice. Our adjunct faculty is drawn from law firms and tax consulting firms throughout New England, and federal and state government revenue departments. The program’s instructors are recognized worldwide not only for their professional achievements but also for their outstanding teaching abilities.

Throughout the year, the Graduate Tax Program plans a variety of extracurricular academic and social events for our students. For example, we plan brown-bag lunches for both LLM and JD students with program faculty members and distinguished tax practitioners who discuss relevant tax law topics.

We also organize a number of social events throughout the year, including special receptions and sporting events, such as bowling nights and outings to Red Sox and Bruins games. The Graduate Tax Program sponsors special conferences and symposia that are of particular interest to tax practitioners, academics and students. In April 2010 we hosted the spring New England tax conference of the International Fiscal Association, and in September 2011 we will host a conference on corporate and individual tax planning that will be co-sponsored by the Boston Bar Association and the Greater Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce. We are developing relationships with law schools and other institutions outside the U.S. that may present additional opportunities for our students.

We encourage our students to build upon their graduate studies by facilitating their membership in organizations outside of BU Law, such as the Boston Bar Association (BBA), the Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC), and the International Fiscal Association (IFA).

We want our students to make the most out of their time here in Boston—at BU and in the community.

Students will enjoy comprehensive support. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring a valuable experience both inside and outside the classroom. From academic advising to career services, we’ll do our best to help our students succeed.

Program Information

Degree Requirements

The LLM in Taxation degree requires successful completion of 12 courses (24 credits) including five required courses and seven electives. A full-time student completes the degree requirements in one academic year; part-time students must complete the degree requirements within four years. Upon request, a student with the appropriate tax background may be excused from taking a required course or a prerequisite or co-requisite course in order to take additional elective courses.

No thesis is required. However, students who are interested in completing a significant writing project under the supervision of a faculty member can do so either by taking a seminar or by arranging an independent research project. Additionally, a student may supplement the program with courses at other Boston University graduate or professional programs such as the Graduate School of Management. Upon application approval, credit for these courses may be applied toward the LLM in Taxation degree.

An individual who has completed graduate work in taxation at another American Bar Association-approved law school may, upon application, be granted advanced standing in the program. However, a minimum of half the credit hours necessary for the Boston University degree must be completed at BU Law.

Curriculum

Required Courses

• Federal Income Taxation I
• Federal Income Taxation II
• Introduction to Corporate Tax
• Partnership Tax I
• Tax Practice and Procedure

Elective Courses

• Comparative Income Taxation
• Consolidated Corporations
• Corporate Reorganizations
• Estate and Gift Taxation
• Estate Planning
• Estate Planning: Advanced
• EU VAT
• Executive Compensation
• Executive Compensation: Advanced
• Inbound International Taxation
• International Estate Planning
• International Taxation I—Trade, Investment, and Finance
• International Taxation II—Outbound U.S. Taxation, 
the Foreign Tax Credit and Subpart F
• International Taxation III—Advanced International Tax Issues
• Life Cycle of a Business Venture
• Making Tax Law
• Partnership Tax II
• Pensions and Profit-Sharing Plans
• Property Transactions—Advanced
• Real Estate Taxation
• RICs, REITs, and REMICs
• Standards and Responsibilities in Tax Practice
• State and Local Taxation
• Structuring Intellectual Property Ownership
• Subchapter S Corporations
• Tax Accounting
• Tax and Governance Issues Confronting the Tax Exempt Health Care Industry (seminar)
• Tax Aspects of Buying and Selling a Business
• Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving
• Tax Controversies (seminar)
• Tax Exempt Financing
• Tax Issues in Business Decisions
• Tax Planning
• Tax Policy (seminar)
• Taxation of Bankruptcies and Workouts
• Taxation of Financial Products: Policy and Theory
• Taxation of Financial Products: Principles and Applications
• Taxation of Insurance Companies
• Taxation of Intellectual Property
• Taxation of Trusts and Fiduciaries
• U.S. Transfer Pricing
• VAT and Other Consumption Taxes

Concentrations

Students who want to focus their studies in a particular “subspecialty” may consider concentrating their elective classes in any of the following areas:

General Business Taxation

A student who has a background in basic federal income taxation and corporate taxation and who wishes to concentrate on business tax issues should consider the following elective courses:

• Consolidated Corporations
• Corporate Reorganizations
• Executive Compensation
• International Tax I—Trade, Investment, and Finance
• Life Cycle of a Business Venture
• Partnership Tax II
• Pension and Profit Sharing Plans
• RICs, REITs, and REMICs
• State and Local Taxation
• Structuring Intellectual Property Ownership
• Tax Accounting
• Tax Aspects of Buying and Selling a Business
• Tax Issues in Business Decisions
• Taxation of Bankruptcies and Workouts
• Taxation of Intellectual Property

Estate Planning

Students interested in estate or financial planning should consider the following elective courses:

• Estate and Gift Taxation
• Estate Planning
• Estate Planning—Advanced
• Executive Compensation
• Life Cycle of a Business Venture
• International Estate Planning
• Pension and Profit Sharing Plans
• Standards and Responsibilities in Tax Practice
• Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving
• Taxation of Trusts and Fiduciaries

International Taxation

Students interested in international tax should consider the following elective courses:

• Comparative Income Taxation
• EU VAT
• Inbound International Taxation
• International Tax I—Trade, Investment, and Finance
• International Taxation II—the Foreign Tax Credit & Subpart F
• International Taxation III—Advanced International 
Tax Issues
• Structuring Intellectual Property Ownership
• Tax Accounting
• Tax Exempt Financing
• Taxation of Insurance Companies
• Taxation of Intellectual Property
• U.S. Transfer Pricing
• VAT and Other Consumption Taxes

Note: Classes are subject to change and may not be offered every semester. Please consult the BU Law course website for updated class offerings.

Financial Services

Students interested in financial services should consider the following elective courses:

• Inbound International Taxation
• International Taxation I–Trade, Investment and Finance
• International Taxation II–the Foreign Tax Credit and Subpart F
• Partnership Tax II
• Real Estate Taxation
• RICs, REITs and REMICs
• Taxation of Financial Products: Policy and Theory
• Taxation of Financial Products: Principles and Application