Overview
In this Specialization, you’ll build job-relevant U.S. and international taxation skills for accounting, finance, and cross-border business work. You’ll begin by examining the U.S. federal income taxation of business entities, including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and Subchapter S corporations. You’ll analyze how tax rules affect entity formation, operations, distributions, reorganizations, and liquidation, while evaluating the tax implications of different business structures and elections.
You’ll then explore state and local taxation across the U.S., including nexus, limits on state taxing power, and the allocation and apportionment of income for multistate activity. Finally, you’ll analyze cross-border transactions and core international tax concepts that drive planning and compliance, including sourcing rules, transfer pricing, CFC/Subpart F, foreign tax credits, and policy-driven regimes that shape outbound and inbound activity.
Through applied, scenario-based practice, you’ll work through realistic tax problems involving entity formation, partnership taxation, shareholder distributions, multistate operations, and international transactions. By the end of the Specialization, you’ll be able to evaluate business tax consequences across domestic and cross-border contexts and apply tax rules to practical planning and compliance scenarios.
Syllabus
- Course 1: Taxation of Business Entities I: Corporations
- Course 2: Taxation of Business Entities II: Pass-Through Entities
- Course 3: Multistate Taxation
- Course 4: U.S. Taxation of International Transactions
Courses
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This course provides an introduction to the U.S. federal income taxation of corporations and their shareholders. The course focuses on the relevant provisions of Subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as related Treasury Regulations and judicial opinions, governing corporate formation, operations, distributions, and liquidation. Practical in-class study problems facilitate self-discovery of technical tax knowledge along with the development of a variety of professional skills and attitudes.
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This course provides an introduction to the U.S. federal income taxation of pass-through business entities, including Subchapter S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. The course focuses on the relevant provisions of Subchapters S and K of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as related Treasury Regulations and judicial opinions, governing the formation, operation, and termination of pass-through entities. Practical in-class study problems facilitate self-discovery of technical tax knowledge along with the development of a variety of professional skills and attitudes.
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This course will examine state and local tax laws prevalent in the United States today. The course will consider the historical progression of state and local taxation, the power of states to tax (and the limitations on that power), and planning strategies for minimizing the impact of state and local taxation. Discussions will focus on income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes. If you enjoy this course, consider enrolling in our online graduate Accounting program. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, consistently ranked as one of the nation's top three accounting programs, now offers a master’s in accounting at a very affordable tuition rate and is completely online. The iMSA is a full Master of Accountancy program and students graduate with an MS that is highly recognized. Try an open course or two, then apply for admission into the credit-bearing version as you may be eligible to take credit-bearing courses during the application process. If you are missing any prerequisites for the full degree, you can complete Coursera courses to demonstrate readiness and strengthen your application for the iMSA. For more information on this exciting iMSA online program, refer to this link: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/imsaÂ
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This course analyzes the tax treatment, issues, planning techniques and underlying government policies involved in doing business internationally. The course incorporates concepts learned in all of the tax courses as they relate to the impact on cross-border outbound transactions (i.e., the taxation of US taxpayers doing business abroad). Topics include the source of income, transfer pricing, controlled foreign corporations (CFCs), Subpart F income, foreign tax credits, Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI), Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT), and Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII). While this course focuses heavily on outbound transactions, some inbound rules (i.e., non-US taxpayers doing business in the United States) will be discussed. This course is an introductory course, so no prior knowledge of international taxation is required or expected. However, prior knowledge of U.S. federal taxation is necessary.
Taught by
Matthew Hutchens and Michael P Donohoe, PhD, CPA