This course is the first course in a five-course US Federal Tax Specialization. It covers and focuses on the U.S. federal tax system as it relates to individuals, employees, and sole proprietors. Key concepts covered include gross income and items that are statutorily included or excluded in it, personal and business expenses that qualify as tax deductions, and the differing tax treatments for employees versus self-employed taxpayers. Unlike many other introductory courses in tax and as part of this course’s comprehensive wrap-up, learners will be provided with practical and tangible experience reporting both income and expenses on the main individual tax return used in the US, Form 1040.
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From the lesson
MODULE 2: COMPUTING THE TAX
In this module, we will take a deeper dive into each part of the U.S. Federal income tax structure, with a focus on what is included in Gross Income. We will learn how for-AGI deductions reduce gross income to generate Adjusted Gross Income, or AGI, and why AGI is an important number which determines the floors and ceilings of many from-AGI deductions. We will also discuss exemptions, and the rules for claiming Personal and Dependency Exemptions. We will wrap up the module with a discussion of the actual calculation of the tax as well as the filing status and the filing requirements.