© South-Western Educational Publishing Chapter 7 Federal Income Tax  Our Tax System  Filing Tax Returns

GOALS © South-Western Educational Publishing Lesson 7.1 Our Tax System  Discuss the purpose of taxes and different types of taxes in the United States.  Describe components of the U.S. tax system.

© South-Western Educational Publishing Types of Taxes  Progressive taxes- takes a larger share of income as the amount of income grows (Federal Taxes)  Regressive taxes- Takes a smaller share of income as the amount of income grows (sales taxes)  Proportional taxes- the rate stays the same regardless of income (property)

© South-Western Educational Publishing Components of the Tax System  The IRS  Assistance to taxpayers in preparing tax returns  Printing of brochures to assist tax payers  Distribution of tax information  The power to tax  Paying your fair share  Tax brackets  Tax evasion

© South-Western Educational Publishing IRS Audit  Correspondence audit- The taxpayer sits down with the auditor to answer questions and produce records  Field audit- An IRS agent visits the taxpayer to verify information or ask specific questions

GOALS © South-Western Educational Publishing Lesson 7.2 Filing Tax Returns  Define tax vocabulary.  Prepare tax Forms 1040EZ and 1040A.

© South-Western Educational Publishing Filing Status  Single person  Married person filing a joint return  Married person filing a separate return  “Head of household”  Qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child

© South-Western Educational Publishing Exemptions  What are exemptions?  An amount you may subtract from your income for each person who depends on your income to live.  Why are they important?  Excludes you from paying a certain amount of taxes

© South-Western Educational Publishing Gross Income  Wages, salaries, and tips  Interest income  Dividend income  Unemployment compensation  Social security benefits  Child support  Alimony

© South-Western Educational Publishing Adjusted Gross Income Gross income –Adjustments Adjusted gross income

© South-Western Educational Publishing Taxable Income Gross income –Adjustments Adjusted gross income –Deductions –Exemptions Taxable income

© South-Western Educational Publishing Deductions  Itemize  Standard deduction- a stated amount that you may subtract from adjusted gross income  You should itemize when those deductions are more than the standard deduction

© South-Western Educational Publishing Tax Credits  For college tuition  For childcare to enable parents to work  For lower-income wage earners

© South-Western Educational Publishing Preparing to File  Who must file?  A single person under 65 earning more than $7,  When to file?  No later than April 15  Which form to use?  Next slide

© South-Western Educational Publishing Which form do you use?  1040: taxpayers who earn more than $50,000 in taxable income or you need to itemize deductions  1040A: if you qualify for any credits or deductions listed on this form  1040EZ: have no deductions, less than $1500 in interest income, no dependents

© South-Western Educational Publishing Preparing to File  Where to begin?  Save all receipts and proofs of payment  Gather all W-2 and 1099 forms  Filing electronically

© South-Western Educational Publishing Preparing Your Income Tax Return  Tax preparation software  Form 1040EZ  Form 1040A

© South-Western Educational Publishing Form 1040EZ  Step 1: Name, address, and social security number  Step 2: Report income  Step 3: Compute tax  Step 4: Refund or amount owed  Step 5: Sign the return

© South-Western Educational Publishing Form 1040A  Step 1: Name and address  Step 2: Filing status  Step 3: Exemptions  Step 4: Total income  Step 5: Adjusted gross income

© South-Western Educational Publishing Form 1040A (continued)  Step 6: Taxable income  Step 7: Tax, credits, and payments  Step 8: Refund or amount owed  Step 9: Signature