FY Course

10.1 The U.S. Tax System

Student Activity Packet
UNIT: TAXES

Name:

In this lesson, you will learn to:

● Explain where income taxes are collected from and how they provide revenue for public expenses
● Describe how the progressive tax code, current tax brackets, and different taxes between states lead to individuals paying varying amounts
of taxes

RESOURCES QUESTIONS
Estimated time: 5 mins
Discussion Prompts 1. In 2019, the U.S. government spent $4.45 Trillion. Below are five of the areas the U.S. spent tax
1 TYPE your response to the money on. Estimate the order in which the government spent tax dollars on, from highest amount to
question. lowest amount.
1 most money spent --- 5 least money spent.
Then, share what you wrote a. Healthcare 2
with your tablemates. b. Education4
c. Military3
d. Benefits for Retired People1
e. Science Research5

Estimated time: 30 mins

MOVE: Your Tax Dollar in After you’ve built a better understanding of what our federal government does with our tax money, you will
5 Action explore how the federal government breaks down an individual’s tax dollar in this activity.
WE WILL COMPLETE THIS ACTIVITY TOGETHER IN CLASS - A GET UP AND MOVE
ACTIVITY!

Estimated time: 10 mins

How Are My State Taxes Spent? We will explore why we pay taxes and how our money is used.
2
Local Tax Definition The federal, state, and local governments enact tax laws that provide for a variety of government services, but
what are the differences?

GROUP TABLE DISCUSSION ➔ With your TABLEMATES, READ through the section titled “Understanding Local Tax”.
➔ Then, answer the questions.

LOCAL TAXES 1. Name 3 ways the state government uses tax dollars.
STATE TAXES
2. Name 3 ways the local government uses tax dollars.

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 Estimated time: 7 mins
If Paychecks Could Talk Now that you’ve learned about how tax money is used at the federal, state, and local level, let’s take a deeper
3 dive specifically into our federal tax dollars. Watch this video to learn where federal tax revenue comes from
EDPUZZLE and what exactly the federal government is spending that money on. Then follow your teacher's directions to
answer the questions either on your student activity packet or within the EdPuzzle itself.

GO TO GOOGLE CLASSROOM TO COMPLETE THIS EDPUZZLE

Estimated time: 10 mins

Payroll Tax vs. Income Tax 1. Fill out the table below using information from the article.
4 In the previous resource, you
Payroll (FICA) Taxes Income Tax
learned that you pay Payroll, or
FICA taxes, and Income taxes. Who pays this
tax?
Let’s take a deeper look at the
differences between these two
important taxes! Flat tax or
progressive?
Skim through this LINK below to
answer the questions. If it’s flat, what
percentage?
PAYROLL TAX vs INCOME TAX
What is it used
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS WITH for?
YOUR TABLEMATES
2. Describe how much you would pay in taxes as a self-employed worker. Explain why this is the case.

Estimated time: 5 mins

9 Types of Taxes in the US Let’s take a look at some different ways we pay our taxes.
6
CLASS DISCUSSION Review this infographic and answer the questions.

CLASS DISCUSSION

Estimated time: 8 mins

Three Types of Tax Systems You now know more about where tax money comes from and how it’s being spent. But how does it all work?
7 There are 3 main types of tax systems.
WORKSHEET
Watch this video to learn about the differences between regressive, proportional, and progressive taxes.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITH YOUR TABLEMATES!

Estimated time: 7 mins

How Tax Brackets Actually Because the U.S. uses a specific type of tax system that you learned about in the previous resource, people are
8 Work taxed on a rate schedule that breaks down their income into tax brackets. Watch this video and follow your
teacher's directions to answer the questions either in your student activity packet or within the EdPuzzle itself.
EDPUZZLE
GO TO GOOGLE CLASSROOM TO COMPLETE THIS EDPUZZLE

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 Estimated Time: 8 mins
While everyone must pay taxes, the types of taxes you pay and how much you pay in state and local taxes
Best & Worst States to be a
9 Taxpayer
depend highly on the state you live in.

View the data on how taxes differ between states in this table..

GROUP DISCUSSION
Taxes by state and local chart

Estimated Time: 5 mins

Make sure ALL sections above are completed before completing this EXIT TICKET. Once you
11 Exit Ticket complete this EXIT TICKET turn in for a grade. HIGHLIGHT YOUR ANSWERS.

TURN IN WHEN FINISHED All of these are top 3 areas that the federal government spends tax money on EXCEPT:
WITH THE ENTIRE PACKET!!! A. Social Security
B. Education
C. Medicaid
D. Military

The United States has a "progressive" tax system. This means that...
A. All individuals pay the same tax rate
B. You pay the tax rate of the highest bracket you fall into
C. The higher your income is, the lower your tax rate becomes
D. The higher your income is, the higher your tax rate becomes

If someone asks you what your “tax bracket” is, they are asking about your marginal tax rate which is…
A. The tax rate you pay on your last dollar of income
B. The total amount of money you paid in taxes last year
C. The refund amount on your last tax return
D. The average tax rate you pay on your entire income

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