NGPF Activity Bank

Taxes #1

CALCULATE: Completing a 1040EZ

The 1040 is the form that Americans use to complete their federal income tax returns. It’s also long and complicated,
and lots of it doesn’t apply to most people. To simplify, the government created a simpler version: the 1040EZ!

The 1040EZ is much simpler, but to use it filers need to meet a number of requirements, including:

● Your filing status is single or ● You claim no dependents ● You are under 65
married filing jointly
● Your taxable income is less ● You did not earn dividends or ● You are not claiming
than $100,000 interest from investments adjustments to income, or
credits
To see the full list of requirements, visit the IRS website. For teens, college students and adults in their 20s, the 1040EZ is

the way to go.

Part I: Scenarios
To illustrate how different circumstances affect your tax return, we’ll explore the case of four different individuals:

Name Personal Info Employment Info W-2 Form

1. Edgar Flores ● Age 16 ● Works around 10 hours/week cleaning

Edgar’s W-2
● Lives with his parents pools for $15/hour

2. Melinda ● Age 18 ● Worked around 10 hours/week during

● Melinda’s
Flowers Lives with her parents, will be senior year at a local ice cream shop,
W-2
heading to college in the fall and 40 hours/week during the summer

3. Angela Li ● Age 22 ● Worked 20 hours/week during the school

● Is at college, which she is year at a local plant nursery
Angela’s
paying for herself using a full
W-2
merit scholarship *Note: her job provides MORE than half of
her support

4. Marcus ● Age 24 ● Is on salary as a sales representative at a

● Marcus’s
Roberts Recent college graduate, living shoe store, working full-time
W-2
by himself

www.ngpf.org Last updated: 7/6/18

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Part II: Completing the 1040EZ
To complete a tax return, use the 1040EZ. This PDF comes directly from the IRS website. Just print and fill out manually.

Follow the directions on every line of the 1040EZ.

● For certain lines, you may need additional information. Consult the table below:

Lines 2/3 Assume no taxable interest or unemployment income

Line 5 Determine if the individual is/is not a dependent by reading the “Who qualifies as a dependent?” and
“Qualifying Child” sections of this article. Then, follow the directions below:

● If you are NOT a dependent, you can deduct $10,400 from your gross income ($6,350+$4,050)
● In 2017, the standard deduction is $6,350 if single
● In 2017, the exemption amount is $4,050 per person.

Line 8 Assume no Earned Income Credit or nontaxable combat pay

Line 10 Use this link instead: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040tt.pdf

Here is the 2017 Tax Table for Single Filers (all examples in this activity are single filers)

Line 11 Assume none of these jobs provide health care coverage

Line 13 - Ignore entering bank information if the individual received a refund

b,c,d

Third Part Leave these sections blank

Designee
& Paid
Preparer
Use Only

Sign Here Complete signature, date (remember, taxes for 2017 must be completed between 1/1/18 and 4/15/18),
and occupation. Leave everything else blank.

www.ngpf.org Last updated: 7/6/18

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Part III: Results
1. In the chart below, enter the results of each person’s 1040EZ. Specifically, are they going to receive a refund or
owe taxes? In what amount?

Edgar Melinda Angela Marcus

Refund?
Owed More?
How Much?

2. If anyone had an extremely high refund amount (or amount owed), how could they change their W-4 to spread
their tax burden more evenly throughout the year?

Part IV: Audit a classmate

When you submit your taxes, you’re not always done with your taxes. The IRS conducts audits, or reviews/examinations
of an organization's or individual's accounts and financial information to ensure information is being reported correctly.
Only about 1% of people get audited, but it’s a very serious thing so you want to make sure you complete your taxes
honestly and accurately. If you’d like, you can learn more about audits here.

3. Audit a teammate’s 1040EZ and note any potential errors you see so you can discuss them with the person who
filed that report.

List the errors you see Explain why you believe it might be an error. Use specific information
from the return in your explanation.

www.ngpf.org Last updated: 7/6/18

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