Tax Filing Course

Lesson 1 • Types of Taxes and Taxpayers

Distinguishes income, payroll, sales, and property taxes and maps each to the taxpayer types that owe them. Clarifies which taxes require annual filing versus periodic remittance.

Lesson 2 • How Taxation Works

Explains the purpose of taxes, the flow of funds from taxpayer to government, and the role of tax authorities. Establishes the conceptual framework for all subsequent filing topics.

Lesson 3 • Filing Status and Residency

Covers how residency and household status determine filing requirements and applicable tax rates. Students learn to assign the correct filing status before preparing any return.

Lesson 4 • Tax Year and Filing Deadlines

Defines the tax year, standard deadlines, and the consequences of missing them. Connects deadline awareness to penalty avoidance covered in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Investment and Passive Income

Distinguishes dividends, interest, capital gains, and rental income and explains how each is taxed differently. Students learn to source documents for each income type.

Lesson 2 • Self-Employment and Freelance Income

Explains how independent contractors and sole proprietors report gross receipts and calculate net profit. Connects to self-employment tax obligations introduced in the next section.

Lesson 3 • Retirement and Government Payments

Addresses the taxability of pensions, annuities, Social Security benefits, and unemployment compensation. Clarifies partial-inclusion rules that affect many retirees.

Lesson 4 • Wages, Salaries, and Tips

Covers employment income reported on employer-issued statements and how tips are tracked and reported. Forms the largest income category on most individual returns.

Lesson 1 • Choosing the Optimal Deduction Method

Teaches a structured comparison process to determine whether itemizing or taking the standard deduction yields lower tax liability. Applies concepts from the two preceding sections.

Lesson 2 • Itemized Deductions Overview

Surveys the major itemized deduction categories—mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state taxes—and their limitations. Builds the comparison framework used in the next section.

Lesson 3 • Standard Deduction Rules

Explains standard deduction amounts by filing status and the additional amounts available for age and blindness. Students learn when the standard deduction is the optimal choice.

Lesson 4 • Above-the-Line Adjustments

Covers deductions taken before calculating adjusted gross income, including student loan interest and retirement contributions. These adjustments benefit taxpayers regardless of itemization choice.

Lesson 1 • Family and Dependent Credits

Covers credits tied to children and dependents, including child tax credits and dependent care credits. Eligibility rules are mapped to the filing status concepts from Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Earned Income and Low-Income Credits

Details the earned income credit, its phase-in and phase-out ranges, and common eligibility errors. Accurate calculation prevents both underclaiming and fraudulent overclaiming.

Lesson 3 • Refundable versus Nonrefundable Credits

Distinguishes credits that can generate a refund from those limited to zeroing out liability. This distinction drives the sequencing strategy for claiming multiple credits.

Lesson 4 • Energy and Business Credits

Surveys credits for energy-efficient home improvements, clean vehicles, and small business incentives. Connects to business deduction concepts from Chapter 3.

Lesson 1 • Completing the Main Return Form

Walks through each section of the primary individual return form line by line, applying income, deduction, and credit data. Reinforces the calculation sequence built across Chapters 1–4.

Lesson 2 • Review and Error-Checking Procedures

Provides a systematic checklist for catching math errors, missing signatures, and transposed numbers before submission. Reduces rejection rates and amendment filings.

Lesson 3 • Submission Methods and Confirmation

Compares electronic filing and paper filing, explains the confirmation process, and covers how to track refund status. Connects to deadline management from Chapter 1.

Lesson 4 • Gathering and Organizing Source Documents

Identifies every document needed before starting a return—wage statements, investment summaries, and receipts—and explains how to organize them efficiently. Prevents omissions that cause amended returns.

Lesson 1 • Business Entity Types and Tax Treatment

Maps sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, S corps, and C corps to their respective filing obligations and tax treatment. Establishes the entity-selection framework for the chapter.

Lesson 2 • Partnership Returns and Schedules

Covers the partnership information return, allocation of income and losses to partners, and the partner-level reporting schedule. Builds on pass-through income concepts from Chapter 2.

Lesson 3 • S Corporation Returns

Explains the S corporation income return, shareholder basis tracking, and the distribution versus salary distinction. Basis tracking prevents errors in loss deduction claims.

Lesson 4 • C Corporation Returns and Estimated Tax

Details the corporate income return, allowable deductions unique to corporations, and quarterly estimated tax requirements. Introduces the double-taxation concept relevant to dividend planning.

Lesson 1 • Responding to and Surviving an Audit

Provides a structured approach to gathering documentation, communicating with auditors, and negotiating adjustments. Builds on the record-keeping practices established in earlier chapters.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Tax Authority Notices

Decodes common notice types—math error adjustments, balance-due notices, and information requests—and explains the appropriate response for each. Timely responses prevent escalation to collection.

Lesson 3 • Audit Types and Triggers

Explains correspondence, office, and field audit formats and the common return characteristics that increase audit risk. Awareness of triggers informs defensible return preparation.

Lesson 4 • When and How to Amend a Return

Identifies situations requiring an amended return, explains the amendment form and process, and covers the statute of limitations for corrections. Prevents unnecessary amendments and missed deadlines.

Lesson 1 • Entity Structure and Tax Efficiency

Analyzes how choosing or restructuring a business entity affects total tax burden across self-employment, income, and payroll taxes. Builds on the entity comparison from Chapter 6.

Lesson 2 • Retirement Account Tax Strategies

Compares pre-tax and after-tax retirement accounts, Roth conversion planning, and required distribution management. Integrates retirement income concepts from Chapter 2 with long-term planning.

Lesson 3 • Income Timing and Deferral Strategies

Explains how shifting income recognition between tax years reduces current-year liability using legal timing methods. Applies the income classification knowledge from Chapter 2.

Lesson 4 • Multi-Year Planning and Projection

Introduces estimated tax projections, bracket management across years, and life-event tax planning for major transitions. Synthesizes all prior chapters into a forward-looking advisory framework.