Taxes Unit

Students will demonstrate the effect of individual and group incentives when making financial decisions

[This activity has no answer key]

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Examine a number of cartoons about tax deductions and choose one to analyze in more depth
• Explain the cartoon's key message about tax deductions and how it depicts that message

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Read a paycheck
• Calculate percentages
• Distinguish between gross and net pay

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Learn how their federal tax dollars are spent using a fun, out-of-their seats whole-class race challenge

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Complete a 1040 form for individuals with a variety of backgrounds and personal situations (dependent vs. independent, part-time vs. full-time, etc.)
• Available in English & Spanish

Students will help four individuals calculate their federal taxes including reading W-2s and 1099s, analyzing deductions and credits and calculating marginal and effective tax rates.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Determine the taxes due for a variety of different people
• Explain how certain factors (salary, state of residence, cost of living) can affect the amount of taxes owed and how much you have leftover to spend
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Identify the purpose of a variety of tax forms, including the W-2, W-4, 1099, 1040, and I-9
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity students will be able to:

• Understand the W-2 Form and what information is captured on it
• Understand how the information from the W-2 can be used to file income taxes

In this activity students will be able to:

• Understand the W-4 Form and what information is captured on it
• Understand how the information from the W-4 form impacts income tax withheld from a paycheck

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Experience what it is like to file a tax return for a fictional person using the Intuit TurboTax Education Simulation

NGPF is pleased to share this online tax filing simulation created by Intuit TurboTax Education. For tech questions regarding the simulation, please contact Education@intuit.com. Please note that curriculum materials provided by Intuit TurboTax Education are provided on the same webpage as the simulation.

[This activity has no answer key]

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze different scenarios and determine if the person in each scenario is legally required to file a tax return
• Explain the benefits of filing a tax return even if they are not legally required to
• Understand who can be claimed as a dependent 

In this activity, students will be able to:

• List important dates in the yearly tax cycle
• Describe the event that takes place on each date in the tax cycle
• Available in English & Spanish

In this Case Study, students learn about a teen worker and her first job. She has been told that if she files a tax return that she will be eligible for a tax refund. But, her parents disagree and won’t let her file. Will she be able to convince them and claim her refund?

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Calculate taxable income and taxes owed for a variety of scenarios using the standard deduction.
• Understand how tax brackets differ from a single tax rate for all income.
• Calculate the effective tax rate and compare it to the marginal tax rate.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Compare the tax-to-GDP ratios of different countries using an infographic.
• Calculate using ratios.
• Consider the potential benefits of high and low tax rates.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze a stacked bar graph with the state and local tax rates for each state.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze data on federal spending between 1962 and 2020.
• Compare federal spending on different government programs.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze a bar graph of the percentage of tax filers in each age group.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze data about consumers’ expectations and plans for their tax returns.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze current tax brackets.
• Consider how income level and marital status impact taxes paid.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze a histogram of the number of tax filing each week throughout the year.