Unlock Tax Filing Confidence with Practical Examples; Step-by-Step Instructions in this Comprehensive Income Tax Course
This income tax course is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the various components that make up income tax. Covering everything from gross income to specific types of taxable income, adjustments to income, and deductions, this course is perfect for individuals who want to gain a thorough understanding of income tax principles, professionals seeking to expand their expertise, or students aiming to build a strong foundation in tax law.
Topics Covered
The course begins with an exploration of gross income, defining its significance in the tax calculation process and how to determine your total gross income from various sources. It then delves into taxable income, explaining what constitutes taxable income and which types of income are included. Participants will gain insights into W-2 income, learning how to accurately report wages, salaries, and tips reported on the W-2 form.
Understanding the tax implications of interest income from savings accounts, bonds, and other investments is crucial, as is learning how to report this income correctly. The course also covers dividend income from stocks and mutual funds, explaining the differences between qualified and non-qualified dividends and their respective tax treatments. For those with retirement accounts, the course provides an understanding of the tax treatment of distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), including the rules for traditional and Roth IRA distributions.
Pensions and annuities are another critical area of focus, with lessons on how to report these income sources accurately. The course also addresses the taxation of Social Security benefits, detailing the factors that determine their taxability. Participants will learn about the tax implications of receiving state and local tax refunds and when these refunds must be included in taxable income.
The course explores the tax treatment of alimony payments received, as well as the reporting requirements for alimony income. It provides insights into reporting income or loss from self-employment and business activities, highlighting various deductions available to business owners. Additionally, the course covers unemployment compensation, explaining how these benefits are taxed and how to report them on your tax return. Other types of taxable income, including gambling winnings, prizes, and awards, are also discussed.
Participants will gain a thorough understanding of capital gains taxation from the sale of investments, real estate, and other assets, learning the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains. The course then shifts to adjustments to income, covering various adjustments that can reduce taxable income and lead to potential tax savings. This includes deductions for educator expenses, certain business expenses, contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and moving expenses.
Self-employed individuals will benefit from understanding the deduction for self-employment health insurance premiums. The course also explains the alimony deduction for payments made, the tax benefits of contributions to a traditional IRA, and the student loan interest deduction. Finally, it covers additional adjustments to income that can help reduce taxable income.
By the end of this course, participants will have a comprehensive understanding of the various types of income, how to report them, and the adjustments and deductions available to reduce taxable income. This knowledge will empower them to accurately prepare and file their income tax returns, ensuring compliance with tax laws and maximizing potential refunds.
CPA, CGMA, M.S. Tax, CPI
Through working with students from many different schools, Mr. Steele has learned best practices for helping people understand accounting fast. Learning new skills and finding the best way to share knowledge with people who can benefit from it is a passion of his. Mr. Steele has experience working as a practicing Certified Public Accountant (CPA), an accounting and business instructor, and curriculum developer. He has enjoyed putting together quality tools to improve learning and has been teaching, making instructional resources, and building curriculum since 2009. He has been a practicing CPA since 2005. Mr. Steele is a practicing CPA, has a Certified Post-Secondary Instructor (CPI) credential, a Master of Science in taxation from Golden Gate University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Economics with an emphasis in accounting from The University of California Santa Barbara, and a Global Management Accounting Designation (CGMA) from The American Institute of CPA (AICPA). Mr. Steele has also authored five books that can be found on Amazon or in audiobook format on Audible. He has developed bestselling courses in accounting topics including financial accounting and QuickBooks accounting software. In addition to working as an accountant, teaching, and developing courses Mr. Steele has helped create an accounting website at accountinginstruction, a YouTube channel called Accounting Instruction, Help, and How Too, and has developed supplemental resources including a Facebook Page, Twitter Page, and Podcasts that can be found on I-tunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. Mr. Steele's teaching philosophy is to make content applicable, understandable, and accessible. Adult learners are looking for application when they learn new skills. In other words, learners want to be able to apply skills in the real world to help their lives. Mr. Steele’s formal accounting education, practical work experience, and substantial teaching experience allow him to create a curriculum that combines traditional accounting education with practical knowledge and application. He accomplishes the goals of making accounting useful and applicable by combining theory with real-world software like Excel and QuickBooks. Many courses teach QuickBooks data entry or Excel functions but are not providing the real value learners want. Real value is a result of learning technical skills like applications, in conjunction with specific goals, like accounting goals, including being able to interpret the performance of a business. Mr. Steele makes knowledge understandable by breaking down complex concepts into smaller units with specific objectives and using step by step learning processes to understand each unit. Many accounting textbooks cram way too much information into a course, making it impossible to understand any unit fully. By breaking the content down into digestible chunks, we can move forward much faster. Mr. Steele also makes use of color association in both presentations and Excel worksheets, a learning tool often overlooked in the accounting field, but one that can vastly improve the speed and comprehension of learning accounting concepts. The material is also made understandable through the application of concepts learned. Courses will typically demonstrate the accounting concepts and then provide an Excel worksheet or practice problems to work through the concepts covered. The practice problems will be accompanied by an instructional video to work through the problem in step by step format. Excel worksheets will be preformatted, usually including an answer tab that shows the completed problem, and a practice tab where learners can complete the problem along with a step by step presentation video. Mr. Steele makes learning accounting accessible by making use of technology and partnering with teaching platforms that have a vision of spreading knowledge like CPDformula.
