Becoming a tax attorney requires a law degree and license, with further education in taxation, such as a Master of Laws degree. Tax attorneys can work in private firms or for government tax authorities, and should gain hands-on experience and seek out respected tax faculties while in school. The field is constantly changing and offers plentiful and challenging work opportunities.
Tax law is one of the most complicated legal specialties. Each country has its own tax structure – usually implemented at local and national levels – involving complex statutes, regulations and exemptions. A tax attorney needs to be good with numbers, highly skilled at applying complex rules to often even more complex situations, and good at understanding the legal consequences of a whole range of actions. To become a tax attorney, you need to hone these skills by planning an educational course that includes law school and likely graduate work in taxation as well.
The most basic requirement for becoming a tax attorney is obtaining a law degree and a license to practice law. Each country handles legal education and licensing a little differently, but for the most part, law students enter law school after finishing a four-year university degree. Law schools follow a very general curriculum of core courses supplemented by certain electives. Students typically do not specialize in any area of law, but are generally free to pursue electives in areas of interest.
Most law schools have robust tax offerings, including courses on income tax, property tax, and international tax. If your ultimate goal is to become a tax attorney, it’s a good idea to take as many tax classes as possible while you’re in school. Attending a law school with a respected tax faculty can also help you become a tax attorney, improving your marketability and career chances later on.
Due to the complexities involved in the practice of tax law, many law firms expect or require their attorneys to receive tax education and training from post-law schools. Most often, this is in the form of a Master of Laws degree, or LL.M. The LL.M. is a one- to two-year program for lawyers that deals exclusively with the nuances of tax. It is within the LL.M. that a novice tax attorney can actually specialize in certain aspects of tax law.
One can become a tax attorney in a variety of settings. Many tax attorneys work in private firms, offering tax advice and planning to clients. A lawyer in this type of work can be an estate tax lawyer, a financial management lawyer, and usually has training in wills and trusts, as well as accounting. Many companies also hire tax attorneys to manage internal tax policy issues and help streamline payroll tax, corporate tax exemptions, and other business tax obligations.
Another way to become a tax attorney is to work for a government tax authority. Any country’s tax codes are couched as laws, which makes lawyers better able to influence their scope, implementation, and wording. The Internal Revenue Service, the United States tax agency, for example, employs thousands of tax attorneys in a variety of capacities. An IRS tax attorney can help draft new tax regulations or write memos explaining how existing regulations interact with each other. It can also help the agency sue companies or individuals that have violated tax laws.
Before starting your career, research schools and programs, talk to professionals in the field, and look for work in tax law while in school, if possible. Hands-on experience can complement book learning and help you decide what type of tax law you want to practice. Professional experience and references always look good to future employers too.
The field of tax law is broad and almost always changing. There are many ways to practice tax law and there is no one way to define a tax lawyer. One thing is for sure, however: anyone looking to become a tax attorney can look forward to a world where work is plentiful and consistently challenging.
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