Tax Law

NYU School of Law is one of the most exciting places in the world in which to study tax law. Since 1945, the NYU Graduate Tax Program has been widely viewed as the preeminent program of its kind. Our tax faculty consists of 10 full-time tax law professors and more than 40 leading practitioners who serve as tax adjunct faculty members. Each year, NYU offers nearly 100 different sections of tax law courses. Throughout the year, the Graduate Tax Program and the International Tax Program host numerous tax panels and social events at the Law School, almost all of which are open to JD students.

Tax considerations affect nearly every legal matter, from corporate transactions to divorce negotiations to criminal prosecutions. The tax law is also the primary vehicle through which the government attempts to influence our behavior to achieve public policy objectives, whether by encouraging us to donate money to charitable organizations, purchase health insurance or even ride public transportation to work. Finally, the Income Taxation course features a deep exploration of statutory law, which will force you to question why legislators drafted particular provisions of the tax law the way they did and whether they achieved their intended policy objectives. This experience may whet your appetite for additional courses rooted in statutory law, as opposed to common law. For all of these reasons, every JD student should seriously consider taking Income Taxation during his or her time at NYU.

This academic advising guide describes (1) suggested tax law courses that you should consider taking during the JD program, (2) the Tax LLM program, (3) Career Services for tax students, (4) tax scholarship and fellowship opportunities, and (5) Graduate Tax Program events.

Suggested Tax Courses 

As a JD student, you may be overwhelmed at first by the Law School’s vast array of tax course offerings. This part provides a step-by-step approach to deciding when to take Income Taxation and, if you decide to take additional tax law courses, to designing a schedule of tax courses.

First, take Income Taxation. Income Taxation (4 credits) is offered as a 1L elective during the spring semester and is offered in multiple sections to 2Ls and 3Ls each semester. The tax faculty strongly recommends that you take Income Taxation during your 1L or 2L year, if possible. There are two important reasons for this timing. First, if you plan to work in a law firm during your 2L summer, you will not be able to request a tax assignment or a rotation in the tax group unless you have at least taken Income Taxation before arriving at the firm. Without spending at least some time in the tax group at your 2L summer associate law firm, you may encounter difficulty in obtaining a position in the tax group when you join the firm as an associate. Second, if you decide to pursue tax as a practice area, you should take certain advanced tax courses before graduating from NYU. If you wait to take Income Taxation until your 3L year (especially during your last semester), you will miss out on opportunities to take these advanced tax courses.

If you take Income Taxation and discover, perhaps to your surprise, that you are excited by many aspects of this course, should you consider becoming a tax lawyer? Before trying to answer this question, you should take at least one more advanced tax course, Corporate Tax (3 credits). This course examines the federal income tax treatment of corporations and their shareholders arising from various transactions including transfers to controlled corporations, distributions, redemptions, liquidations, acquisitive and divisive reorganizations. Because the corporate income tax plays such a significant role in all aspects of tax practice, it is not possible to be a tax lawyer without learning this material. The corporate tax rules are complex, formalistic, arbitrary and, for a student who is truly excited about tax, fun! If you find the “like-kind exchange” material in Income Taxation challenging and stimulating, there is a good chance that you will enjoy Corporate Tax. If you enjoy Corporate Tax, there is a very good chance that you will enjoy a career as a tax lawyer. Students in this class consist of 2Ls, full-time LLM in Taxation students and, occasionally, part-time LLM in Taxation students. Because the material in this course is so challenging, students in the LLM program do not possess an advantage over JD students and vice versa.

If you already feel strongly that you want to pursue tax as a career path, you should consider taking Income Taxation and Corporate Tax before your 2L summer. If you are able to take these two courses before your 2L summer, you will greatly expand your ability to work on tax matters during a summer associate program at a law firm.

If you are still excited about tax, start to think about tax practice areas. If you have taken Income Taxation and Corporate Tax and are still enthused about the subject, you should consider taking additional advanced tax courses. From the nearly 100 sections of advanced tax courses that we offer each year, you could choose a few that appear interesting to you. A more directed approach to preparing to practice as a tax lawyer after graduation is to think about the type of tax practice that appeals to you and, during your remaining semesters at NYU, to take a few advanced courses that relate to that area. To assist you with this analysis, we have described below several different types of tax practice areas and specific courses that may be accessible to JD students who are interested in each area.

Business Tax 

If you plan to work on transactional matters as a tax lawyer at a large corporate law firm or a major accounting firm, you should take two additional advanced tax courses before graduating. First, after taking Corporate Tax, you should take Partnership Tax (3 credits). Many of your future clients may be organized as partnerships rather than corporations (e.g., private equity funds and hedge funds) or may desire to form partnerships when creating new businesses. Second, you should take International Tax I & II (or International Tax I and International Tax II). To be clear, these courses do not focus on the tax laws of other countries. Rather, they address the many US rules, regulations and treaties that govern the taxation of the income of nonresident aliens and non-US corporations from activities in the US and the taxation of the income of US taxpayers with investments and business activities in other countries. As cross-border transactions have increased dramatically in recent years, if you plan to advise business clients, you should take at least one course on international taxation.

Government/Policy

If you are interested in serving in government, working at a think tank or pursuing a career in legal academia, you should consider enrolling in one of the several tax policy seminars that we offer each year. The Tax Policy & Public Finance Colloquium (4 credits) offers the opportunity to pursue tax policy and theory, along with related issues of public economics, at an advanced level. Each week, this colloquium focuses on a work-in-progress by a leading tax scholar. Tax Policy (2 credits) examines the legal, economic and political considerations relevant to the formulation of tax policy. A student who is interested in pursuing a business tax practice may also benefit from taking one of these tax policy offerings.

Individuals/Non-Profits

If you find the tax law exciting, but have little desire to engage in transactional tax planning involving large corporations and partnerships on a daily basis, you may enjoy advising individual, rather than business, clients. Estate and Gift Taxation (3 credits) provides a survey of the federal taxes on donative wealth transfers, including the estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes. Tax-Exempt Organizations (2 credits) focuses on the tax treatment of public and private charities exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as business leagues, social welfare organizations, social clubs, and other types of tax-exempt organizations. Finally, Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving (2 credits) provides an in-depth analysis of income, estate, and gift tax issues affecting donations to charity.

Tax Controversy

Tax controversy is a practice area that many JD students overlook. Yet this practice area may appeal to you if you are excited about tax, but again, do not have a desire to participate in transactional tax planning involving large corporations and partnerships. This practice area involves the representation of taxpayers, both individuals and businesses, in disputes with the taxing authority (such as the IRS) at the administrative and judicial levels. If you are interested in tax and feel that litigation appeals to you more than corporate work, this practice area may be a good fit for you. To test this possibility, consider taking Survey of Tax Procedure (1 credit). If you enjoy this course, and your schedule will allow it, consider taking Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties and Procedures (2 credits) and/or Civil Tax Controversies and Litigation (1 credit). 

The tax curriculum at NYU is large and diverse. To help you visualize how you could pursue the tax courses that we have suggested during the JD program, please see the list below:

Suggested Tax Courses for JD students 

• Income Taxation (4 credits)  
• Corporate Tax (3 credits) 

Advanced courses in:

• Business Tax  
  • Partnership Taxation (3 credits) 
  • International Tax I & II (4 credits)
• Government / Policy 
  • Tax Policy Seminar (2 credits) 
  • Tax Policy & Public Finance Colloquium (4 credits) 
• Individuals / Non-Profits 
  • Estate and Gift Taxation (3 credits) 
  • Tax-exempt Organizations (2 credits) 
  • Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving (2 credits) 
• Tax Controversy 
  • Survey of Tax Procedure (1 credit) 
  • Civil Tax Controversies and Litigation (1 credit)
  • Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties and Procedures (2 credits)

The tax courses described in this part represent only a fraction of the total number of advanced tax courses that we offer at NYU each year. As long as you satisfy the requisite courses, you may enroll in any of these tax courses. In addition, even though you may be confident that you plan to pursue a career as a tax lawyer, several courses outside of the tax area may also be helpful to you. Specifically, every future tax lawyer should seriously consider taking Corporations and Accounting for Lawyers. 

Graduate Tax Program

LLM in Taxation 

Many students find that it is difficult to fit in all of the important tax classes during their JD programs, and prefer to approach certain topics in a structured classroom environment rather than in a piecemeal fashion while first starting in practice. After graduating from the JD program, you may choose to continue your tax studies at NYU by enrolling in advanced tax courses. The LLM  in Taxation is a 24-credit degree program, which students complete full-time during a one-year period or part-time over a period of study of up to five years. Special rules apply, however, for NYU JD students. If you are interested in pursuing an LLM in Taxation, it is important that you consider these rules, described below, as you design your JD tax course schedule.

JD/LLM in Taxation

If you participate in the JD/LLM program, you must complete 12 credits of advanced tax courses while pursuing your JD degree. An advanced tax course includes all tax courses except Income Taxation. If you complete at least 12 credits of advanced tax courses before receiving your JD, you may then pursue your LLM in Taxation by enrolling full-time at NYU during the fall semester following your graduation from the JD program. You will be able to “double-count” the 12 credits of advanced tax courses that you completed as a JD student toward your LLM in Taxation. During the additional fall semester following your JD graduation, you must complete 12 additional credits, at least 8 of which must consist of credits for advanced tax courses. All JD/LLM students must complete at least one course in tax procedure and one course in tax policy. Upon successful completion of this additional semester, you will earn an LLM in Taxation in addition to your JD degree.

Part-time LLM in Taxation

After graduating from your JD program, you may not wish to spend an additional semester full-time at NYU. If  you have taken advanced tax courses, you may still pursue your LLM in Taxation on a part-time basis. You may take as long as five years to complete the LLM in Taxation requirements. The five-year period begins to run from the semester in which you took your first advanced tax course as a JD student. If you enroll in this program, you will be able to double-count up to 12 advanced tax credits taken during your JD program toward your LLM in Taxation. You do not have to complete 12 credits of advanced tax courses as a JD student to enroll in the part-time LLM in Taxation program following graduation from your JD program. For example, if you take eight advanced tax credits as a JD, you will be able to double-count these credits toward your LLM in Taxation on a part-time basis (subject to the five-year rule). All JD students who pursue the part-time LLM in Taxation are required to complete at least one course in tax procedure and one course in tax policy. 

Finally, as a part-time LLM student, as long as you complete 12 advanced tax credits by taking tax courses on campus (including the credits that you take during your JD program), you may complete the remainder of your LLM in Taxation by taking online tax courses. The NYU Graduate Tax Program offers many advanced tax courses in an online format each year. As a student in one of these classes, you participate by viewing videos of a course that is being offered on campus during that semester or that was recorded during a previous semester (in a studio or classroom setting). The availability of online tax courses offers significant flexibility to our students who are practicing or who work in other cities. For example, you could complete 12 advanced tax credits during your JD program at NYU, move to Chicago following graduation, and complete the remaining 12 advanced tax credits by enrolling entirely in online courses during the five-year period described above.

Every fall, the Graduate Tax Program hosts a special meeting for all JD students who are interested in learning about the JD/LLM in Taxation program, the part-time LLM in Taxation program, and related scholarship opportunities. If you are interested in applying to the LLM in Taxation program, please e-mail law.grad.moreinfo@nyu.edu to request more information. 

Career Advice 

Despite the abundance of tax law course offerings at NYU, you may still be unsure of the type of tax practice that you would enjoy most. This dilemma may be especially overwhelming after you complete Income Taxation, but before you have gained experience as a summer associate or intern. To help you explore different tax practice areas, you should participate in the tax career events sponsored by the Office of Career Services. 

Tax Scholarships and Fellowships

Each year, two of our JD/LLM students spend six months in Washington, DC, working at either Treasury or the Joint Committee during the summer and fall after the JD degree is awarded. NYU Law provides these Tax Policy Fellows with a stipend for the time they spend in Washington.

When the fellows return to NYU School of Law for the spring semester after the internship to complete the LLM as part of the Joint Degree Program, their tuition is waived and they receive a living stipend. Tax Policy Fellows are required to enroll in the Tax Policy Colloquium. Visit Tax Policy Fellowship for more information. 

Learn more about scholarships available to graduate tax students by visiting Taxation Program Scholarships. 

Tax Events and Activities 

A unique aspect of studying tax law at NYU is that you can learn about the subject both inside and outside of the classroom. This is true whether you take 12 credits of advanced tax courses during your JD program or simply take Income Taxation. Each semester, the Graduate Tax Program hosts substantive programs and events that are designed to reinforce concepts that you are learning in class, address topics that do not receive significant exposure in class; and provide a forum for debate and discussion regarding important tax policy issues. These events are open to the entire NYU School of Law community. Visit the Graduate Tax Program Lectures and Special Events webpage for information on past and future events. Email the Graduate Tax Program for a schedule of current events. 

Additional Information

If you have any questions regarding the tax curriculum or career paths in tax that you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact Professor Brant Hellwig, Faculty Director of the Graduate Tax Program, at brant.hellwig@nyu.edu or John Stephens, Director of the Graduate Tax Program, at john.stephens@nyu.edu. 

For general information, email law.taxprograms@nyu.edu.