Vocabulary (Ch. 6.1 - 6.2)
Definition: Taxes you pay to the government and are based on the amount of money that you earn
Income Tax
Definition: A form of payment to employees for their work, usually handled by someone who works in payroll
Paycheck
You earn $19.00 per hour at your job. Your manager says they need you to work 80 hours over the next 2 weeks. You receive your paycheck at the end of the 2-weeks and notice some money has been withheld to help pay for Medicare.
What is the total amount deducted off your 2-week paycheck for Medicare? (Assume 1.45% is taken out for Medicare)
Medicare = $22.04
$19.00 per hour (x) 40 hours (x) 2 weeks = $1,520
$1,520 (x) 0.0145 = $22.04
Your dad works and earns $74,000 per year. Your dad gets paid every month and works a total of 160 hours in a pay period. Assuming he works 2,000 hours annually, what amount will be deducted off his monthly paycheck for Social Security? (Assume 6.20% is taken out for Social Security.)
Social Security = $367.04
Step 1: How much does he make per hour? ($74,000 ÷ $2,000 = $37 per hour)
Step 2: How much does he make per month? ($37 per hour ⋅ 160 hours = $5,920)
Step 3: How much does he owe in Social Security for the month? ($5,920 ⋅ 0.062 = $367.04)
If you play golf, you know that a "Birdie" means it took you 1 less shot to put the ball in the hole than what that hole on the course called for. And if you shoot an "Eagle," it took you 2 less shots to put the ball in hole.
What is it called if it took you 3 less shots to put the ball in the hole?
A) Parrot
B) Albatross
C) Ostrich
D) Lucky
B) Albatross
*Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRBB0k-jBJ1/?igsh=MWR0bnVxcGRqOXI4aQ%3D%3D
Definition: A government agency that collects federal taxes
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: A form used to report income and tax data; this is used to compute federal, state, and local income taxes
Form W-2
For 2026, your parents are filing a joint tax return (Married Filing Jointly). Together they had an adjustable gross income of $125,000. They have the following deductions they COULD apply (*One or the other, NOT Both):
Standard Deduction: $31,500
Itemized Deductions: $33,700
Question #1: What will your parents taxable income be after they take the deduction? Question #2: After the deduction, will your parents drop to a lower tax bracket (%)?
(Tax Brackets - 2025) https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Question #1: Taxable Income = $91,300
*You CANNOT take both the Standard AND Itemized Deduction. You must choose the greater amount between the two to take off from your Gross Income.
$125,000 (-) the greater of the two deductions ($33,700) = $91,300
Question #2: Yes!
They'll go from the 22% Tax Bracket to the 12% Tax Bracket after applying the deduction.
Let's pretend you're 22 years old and you're filing taxes. You earn $12,000 annually and you want to use a list of expenses to lower your Federal Income Tax. This is called "Itemized Deductions." The list of your expenses is as follows:
Education Expenses: $2,200
Medical Expenses: $1,300
Home Mortgage Interest: $3,800
If you're allowed to deduct up to a maximum of $2,000 for education, any amount in excess of 7.5% of your Income for medical expenses, and up to $375,000 for interest on your home mortgage, how much can you claim on your "Itemized Deductions?"
Itemized Deductions = $6,200
The MOST You Can Deduct from Each Item:
Education Expenses = $2,000 max.
Medical Expenses = ($12,000 ⋅ 0.075) = $900. That means you can only use $400 max out of the $1,300 you spent.
Home Mortgage Interest = $3,800 max (*All of it)
$2,000 + $400 + $3,800 = $6,200 Deduction from your $12,000 Income
If you were to watch all of the Harry Potter movies in a row, it would take about 18.5 hours to finish. During that time, Harry Potter himself was in the movie for about 9 hours and earned about $99 million (which is $11 million / hour of screen-time)
His rival in the movie, Draco Malfoy, earned about $17 million across all 8 films. Compared to Harry Potter, how much screen-time did Malfoy get?
A) About 4.50 Hours
B) About 2.50 Hours
C) About 0.50 of an Hour
D) About 0.10 of an Hour
C) About 0.5 of an Hour
*That's $34 million / Hour of Screen-time!
Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVB1GGQkcwB/?igsh=MW93MGN6Z2RqM25nNA==
Definition: Filing status for unmarried taxpayers who support other people besides themselves and their own children
Head of Household
Definition: A form sent to taxpayers that is used to report other income made from interest on bank accounts, interest from stocks, etc.
Form 1099
If you're filing Single and earn $69,420 for the year, how much will you owe in federal income tax? (Assume there's no deductions taken into account)
(https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Taxes Owed = $10,186.40
- Using the link from the question, find the correct tax bracket for $69,420 of income (3rd Tax Bracket, or 22%)
- Next, follow the instructions under "The Tax Is" ( You owe $5,578.50 + 22% any amount of money over $48,475 )
Step 1: How much Extra did you make? ($69,420 - $48,475 = $20,945)
Step 2: What's 22% of that Extra money? ($20,945 x 0.22 = $4,607.90)
Step 3: Add it to the $5,578.50. ($4,607 + $5,578.50 = $10,186.40)
**Or in the calculator, you can type the following: 5,578.50 + (0.22 ⋅ (69,420 - 48,475)) = $10,186.40
The Standard Deduction rates for 2026 are as follows:
Single = $15,750
Married, Filing Separately = $15,750
Married, Filing Jointly = $31,500
Head of Household = $23,625
If you're filing as Head of Household and earn $105,000 for the year, once you apply the standard deduction, what’s the highest tax bracket (%) you'll be placed in for 2026? Use the source below to see all of the available tax brackets:
(https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Tax Bracket = 22%
$105,000 - Standard Deduction (which is $23,625 for Head of Household) = $81,375. This amount is between $64,850 and $103,350, which places you in the 22% tax bracket.
As you read the letters from TOP to BOTTOM, the Middle Entries in this sequence have been left blanked out. What 5-letter word would be in place of the question marks:
F E R N S
E D Q M R
- - - - -
- - - - -
? ? ? ? ?
*Link to video - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVqdyXDiD9q/?igsh=aGhiandqMWdvdXdu
Answer: BANJO
( Read the alphabet backwards from TOP to BOTTOM. For instance, when reading the alphabet backwards with the 1st column, F E - - ? turns into F E D C B )
Definition: A tax that incrementally increases as income increases
Progressive Tax
Definition: This is used to legally reduce your income for the year, to help you save and keep more of the money you paid towards federal income tax
Standard Deduction
You love college football and are naturally drawn to the one of the most dominant programs in the country: The University of Georgia. You decide to move to Athens, Georgia and earn a living while attending all of their football games.
Assuming you're Single and earn $38,750 for the year, Question #1: How much will you have to pay the state of Georgia in income tax? (*Georgia uses a flat tax of 5.49%, keep that in mind). Question #2: How much of your income do you actually get to keep, before paying taxes to the federal government?
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates-2024/
Q1: Georgia State Income Tax = $2,127.38
Q2: Money kept before other taxes = $36,622.62
Question #1: Multiply your income by the flat tax rate ($38,750 ⋅ 0.0549 = $2,127.38)
Question #2: Take the difference of your income and taxes you owe to the state to see what you have leftover ($38,750 - 2,127.38 = $36,622.62)
You're filing your taxes as (Single) and the total amount of money you earned for the year was $41,625. Your job estimated and withheld $5,500 for Federal Income Tax on the year, which was a bit too much. Use the Tax Schedule to determine how much your job overestimated on your withholdings.
(https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Extra Taxes Paid = $743.50
Step 1: Using the link, calculate the amount of income tax owed [ $1,192.50 + (0.12 ⋅ ($41,625 - $11,925)) = $4,756.50 ]
Step 2: Take the difference between what your job took out and what you actually owed ($5,500 - $4,756.50 = $743.50)
Urban Dictionary is full of some interesting words and phrases. But there's one that stands out among the rest... and that is Clutch Oven. What does Clutch Oven mean?
A) When a superhero is in the middle of cooking dinner, runs out of the house to "cook some fools," and comes back to finish cooking.
B) Releasing a "nice big toot" in a car full of people and locking the windows in place to give them something to admire for the drive.
C) Texting your boss that you willing to cover someone's work shift, while you happen to be "dropping off some timbers" on the porcelain throne.
D) Running late for thanksgiving dinner, so you bake the food in the oven at over 500° to have it prepared in time before your friends and family arrive.
B) Releasing a "nice big toot" in a car full of people and locking the windows in place to give them something to admire for the drive.
Definition: One of several categories, each section of a tax schedule has an increasing percentage that you owe to the government as you earn a higher income
Tax Bracket
Definition: When a taxpayer uses a tax rule to legally lower the amount of tax they owe to the federal government
Tax Avoidance
The Standard Deduction rates for 2026 are as follows:
Single = $15,750
Married, Filing Separately = $15,750
Married, Filing Jointly = $31,500
Head of Household = $23,625
If you're filing as Married Filing Jointly and you both earned a combined $125,850 for the year, once you apply the standard deduction to legally lower your income on your tax bill, how much will you save on your taxes as a result of using the standard deduction (compared to NOT using the standard deduction & using your entire income to file taxes)? Use the source below to see all of the available tax brackets:
(Tax Bracket Explanation) https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets
(Link to Tax Math for Tax Brackets - https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Money Saved on Taxes from using the Standard Deduction = $6,670
Step 1: Use the Standard Deduction to calculate how much income you'll actually be taxed on ($125,850 - $31,500 = $94,350)
Step 2: Use the value from Step 1 and calculate how much you owe in Federal Income Tax using the "Link to Tax Math" [ 12% Bracket: $2,385 + (0.12 ⋅ ($94,350 - $23,850)) = $10,845 ]
Step 3: Follow the instruction from the link to see what you would owe on your full income WITHOUT the standard deduction [ 22% Bracket: $5,578.50 + (0.22 ⋅ ($125,850 - $96,950)) = $17,515 ]
Step 4: Take the difference of the two amounts to see what you saved in taxes to the IRS [ $17,515 - $10,845 = $6,670 ]
The Standard Deduction rates for 2025 are as follows:
Single = $15,750
Married, Filing Separately = $15,750
Married, Filing Jointly = $31,500
Head of Household = $23,625
If you're filing as Married Filing Separately and you alone earn $85,800 for the year, once you apply the standard deduction, how much will you actually owe in federal income tax? Use the source below to see all of the available tax brackets:
(Tax Bracket Explanation) https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets
(Link to Tax Math for Tax Brackets - https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/2025-Federal-Tax-Brackets.aspx)
Federal Income Tax = $10,325
Step 1: Use the Standard Deduction to calculate how much income you'll actually be taxed on ($85,800 - $15,750 = $70,050)
Step 2: Use the value from Step 1 and calculate how much you owe in Federal Income Tax using the "Link to Tax Math" [ 22% Bracket: $5,578.50 + (0.22 ⋅ ($70,050 - $48,475) = $10,325 ]
There have been a total of 90 NFL Drafts since it first began in 1936. Once a year, 32 teams get the chance to select a variety of college and international players to add to their squad. Ironically, there are two different teams that are tied for having the worst record at the end of a season and getting the 1st overall pick in the draft.
Which 2 teams hold the most #1 overall draft picks in NFL history?
A) Kansas City Chiefs
B) Jacksonville Jaguars
C) Indianapolis Colts
D) Los Angeles Rams
E) Denver Broncos
C) Indianapolis Colts (7 total)
D) Los Angeles Rams (7 total)
Kansas City (1 total, 2013)
Jacksonville (2 total, 2021 & 2022)
Denver (0 total)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_overall_NFL_draft_picks#:~:text=The%20Indianapolis%20Colts%20and%20Los,Pro%20Football%20Hall%20of%20Fame.