Unlock Tax Filing Confidence with Practical Examples; Step-by-Step Instructions in this Comprehensive Income Tax Course

This course is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of US income tax law, essential for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of the tax system. Whether you are a taxpayer, a student, a professional, or simply someone interested in understanding how income taxes work, this course will equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to confidently handle tax-related matters.
Why Learn US Income Tax Law?
Understanding income tax law is crucial for individuals to ensure compliance, maximize deductions, and avoid penalties. Professionals can provide accurate tax advice and services, while businesses can manage corporate taxes efficiently and understand their tax obligations. Students can build a foundation for careers in accounting, finance, or law.
How Best to Learn Income Tax Law
The best way to learn income tax law is through structured learning that follows a step-by-step approach to cover all key aspects. Practical examples using real-life scenarios can illustrate concepts effectively. Additionally, interactive tools such as tax software and free resources can help you practice and apply your knowledge.
Tax Software Options
There are various tax software options available for filing and managing taxes, including TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct, and FreeTaxUSA. Each offers different features and benefits to suit individual needs.
Free Tax Tools
Free tools provided by the IRS and other organizations can be invaluable. These include IRS Free File, tax calculators, and educational resources available on the IRS website.
Explanation of Marginal Tax and Average Tax
Marginal tax rate is the rate applied to your next dollar of income, while average tax rate is the total tax paid divided by total income. Understanding these concepts is key to grasping how taxes are calculated and applied.
Constructing the Income Tax Formula
You will learn to build the income tax formula step-by-step, including gross income, adjustments to income, adjusted gross income (AGI), deductions and exemptions, taxable income, and tax credits and payments.
Listing and Describing Tax Law Authority
Familiarize yourself with primary sources of tax law, such as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Treasury Regulations, IRS Revenue Rulings and Procedures, and court cases. Understanding these authorities is fundamental for accurate tax practice.
Circular 230 Regulations Governing Practice before the IRS
The course will cover Circular 230, which sets ethical standards and regulations for tax professionals. This includes duties and restrictions, sanctions for non-compliance, and best practices for tax professionals.
Who Must File Taxes
The course will determine who is required to file a tax return based on income thresholds, filing status, and dependency status. This knowledge is crucial for understanding tax obligations.
Create an Excel Worksheet Outlining the Tax Formula
You will learn to create an Excel worksheet that outlines and calculates the income tax formula. This includes input fields for income, deductions, and credits, automatic calculations for AGI, taxable income, and tax liability, as well as templates and examples for practice.
This course offers a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, ensuring you are well-prepared to tackle income tax law with confidence.

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.