The Mizzou Tax Law Program is designed to provide each student with the basic education in both general legal skills and specialized tax law knowledge. Our curriculum offers students the opportunity to apply their entire skill set in a capstone experience designed to teach integrated legal problem-solving. Completion of the Tax Law Concentration enhances graduates’ preparedness, by conferring them with the entry-level competence needed to begin practicing tax law.
The Tax Law Concentration provides students with an in-depth course of study in the area of tax law. The concentration emphasize skills by teaching students specialized tax research techniques, culminating in the students’ preparation of a request for a private letter ruling to the Internal Revenue Service, and focus on client interviewing and counseling techniques in a substantive tax area.
Students will:
- Master the ability to read and interpret complex statutes and regulations;
- Gain an understanding of how to interview clients and make oral and written presentations to them in a clear and concise manner;
- Learn how to research the tax consequences of complex transactional and/or estate planning deals;
- Become familiar with procedural rules governing tax law; and
- Understand the historical underpinnings of federal tax law and learn how to use that background to formulate tax arguments.
Course Requirements
Total credits required: 14-17
Required courses
Credits Required: 9-10
- Basic Federal Income Taxation (3)
- Business Organizations (3-4) of Estates and Trusts (3)
- Tax Planning (3) or Estate Planning (3) (capstone)
Advanced Tax Elective
Credits Required: 5-7
Students must choose two courses from the following list, and at least one of those courses must be either Corporate Taxation or Partnership Taxation.
- Bankruptcy (3)
- Contract Drafting (3)
- Corporate Taxation (3)
- Commercial Real Estate Leasing (3)
- Deal Skills (3)
- Elder Law (3)
- Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic (4)
- Fiduciary Administration (2)
- Estate Planning (if not taken as a capstone) (3)
- Intermediate Taxation Law (3)
- International Business Transactions (3)
- International Taxation (3)
- Partnership Taxation (3)
- Publicly Held Corporations (3)
- Real Estate Finance (3)
- Secured Transactions (3)
- Securities Regulation (3)
- Tax Planning (if not taken as a capstone) (3)
- Tax Policy (3)
- Tax Research (2)
- The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations (2-3)
- Will and Trust Drafting (2)
Capstone Course (one of the following two courses is required)
Credits Required: 3
Tax Planning (3) OR Estate Planning (3)
Honors Certification
If a student obtains a cumulative grade point average of at least 90 in all courses taken for the tax concentration, he or she will receive a designation of “Tax Concentration with Honors.”
Note: If a student takes more than the required courses within a certificate category, they may designate which course to count toward the honors designation.
Tax Law Faculty
David Gamage
The Law School Foundation Distinguished Professor of Tax Law & Policy
Lauren Shores Pelikan
Associate Teaching Professor of Law
David English
William Franklin Fratcher Missouri Endowed Professor of Law
Explore our comprehensive Tax Law Program
Join a vibrant community dedicated to excellence in tax law. Our program offers a wealth of opportunities to enhance your legal education and prepare for a successful career in tax law.
Tax Courses
Mizzou Law’s core tax courses include:
- Basic Federal Income Tax
- Corporate Tax
- Partnership Tax
- Intermediate Tax (covering both taxation of property transactions and state and local tax)
- Tax Policy
- International Tax
- Tax Planning (an experiential mergers and acquisition/transactional tax class)
Mizzou Law students may also take graduate level tax classes offered by the MU Trulaske College of Business.
Student-Edited Publication
Business, Entrepreneurship, and Tax Law Review
Contribute to our student-run law journal, which covers cutting-edge topics in business, entrepreneurship, and tax law.
Student Organizations
Tax and Transactional Law Society
Engage with peers in a student-run organization focused on tax and transactional law, providing networking and learning opportunities
Practical Experience
Tax Research Assistant
Work closely with our esteemed faculty as a research assistant, delving into complex tax issues and contributing to scholarly work.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program
Gain hands-on experience by participating in the VITA Program run by MU Extension, where you can assist community members with their tax returns.
Competitions and Challenges
Faculty can advise and coach students as they participate in national tax competitions such as:
- Law Student Tax Challenge sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.
- Writing competitions focused on tax law sponsored by The Tannenwald Foundation and the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation.
Teaching Opportunities
Enhance your understanding of tax law by serving as a student assistant for tax classes at the Trulaske College of Business.
Career Opportunities
Mizzou Law graduates practice tax law in a variety of settings including, but not limited to:
- Private law practice
- Public accounting firms
- In-house counsel
- State and local governments
- Internal Revenue Service