Materials for Library Programs
The following links and descriptions highlight several ready-made, freely available IRS resources that can help libraries developed taxation-related programs.
- Designed for small businesses and self-employed workers.
- Includes an introduction followed by nine modules:
- First three modules contain information for all tax payers.
- Lessons 4-6 provide information on filing small business taxes, working from home, and retirement plans.
- Lessons 6-9 are employer lessons for when one has employees.
- Audio helps explain the text. While one cannot rewind the audio within the slide, one can navigate between individual slides and restart a particular segment.
- Useful for small business tax sessions or directing small business owners to tax resource. While the modules themselves don’t offer much flexibility for editing, a librarian could incorporate elements into a presentation or direct users to these lessons directly.
Understanding Taxes: The Quick and Simple Way to Understand Your Taxes (developed by the IRS)
- Two parts - “The Hows of Taxes” and “The Whys of Taxes.”
- Divided into a teacher site for planning and a student site for patrons to navigate individually
- The former includes 14 self-paced modules, offering a step-by-step guide to tax preparation.
- Payroll Taxes and Federal Income Tax Withholding
- Wage and Tip Income
- Interest Income
- Dependents
- Filing Status
- Exemptions
- Standard Deduction
- Claiming Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit
- Tax Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses
- Education Credits
- Earned Income Credit
- Refund, Amount Due, and Record Keeping
- Electronic Tax Return Preparation and Transmission
- Self-Employment Income and Self-Employment Tax
- General information is also organized into lessons:
- Your Role as a Taxpayer
- Taxes in U.S. History
- Fairness in Taxes
- What is Taxed and Why
- Impact of Taxes
- Understanding the IRS
- Each lesson plan is downloadable. You can also customize your list of lessons online and choose a selection to incorporate into the class.