MA.912.FL.2.6

Benchmark Instructional Guide

Connecting Benchmarks/Horizontal Alignment

• MA.912.AR.9.10 
• MA.912.FL.1.1 
• MA.912.FL.3.7
• MA.912.FL.3.8

Terms from the K-12 Glossary

• Linear function 
• Piecewise function 
• Slope

Vertical Alignment

Previous Benchmarks

• MA.7.AR.3.1

Next Benchmarks

Purpose and Instructional Strategies

• Instruction includes the connection to piecewise functions as a way to represent tax brackets. 
• Federal Income Tax is the tax that is collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 
  • Tax Rate is the rate at which a business or a person is taxed as a percentage. 
  • Marginal Tax Rates are taxes based on income brackets and is the tax rate paid on the next dollar of income. The marginal tax rate increases as the income increases and are separated into seven tax brackets in the United States. 
  • Instruction should include an overview of tax documents including the basic forms for filing: W-2, 1099, 1040EZ, 1040, and Schedules A and B. Additionally, students should have opportunity for learning how to access and use the standard deduction chart and the itemized Schedule A for Form 1040. 
  • Standard deduction is the deduction that is set by the government based on the filing status. 
  • Itemized deductions are amounts that a person pays for state and local income, real estate or sales taxes, personal property taxes, mortgage interest, and some medical expenses. Itemized deductions also include contributions to charity.

Common Misconceptions or Errors

• Students may not have experience with income tax forms thus instruction should include the format understanding. 
• Students may have misconceptions on how to calculate income and where to determine the income for tax purposes. 
• Students may make errors in calculations when working with tax spreadsheets and forms.
• Students may make errors when working with the piecewise functions and the notation for writing them. This may include the correct decimal from the percentage being used. Additionally, students may need instruction related to determining the slope between two points and finding the value of $b$ in $y$ = $m$$x$ + $b$ when working with piecewise functions.

Instructional Tasks

• Use the following information for Timothy and Lynn Crosby to compute their tax form 1040, including a Schedule A and Schedule B, and determine if they will have a refund or will owe taxes.
• The Crosby’s have 2 children and live in Florida with no state tax. Timothy works at a furniture design company with wages of $55,875 and his federal income tax withholdings were $8,755. Lynn works as a part-time paralegal. Her wages are $39,675 and her federal income tax withholdings are $7,458. Their bank interest received is $658 and they received $324 in stock dividends. Itemized deductions include: 
  • Medical/Dental $2,300 
  • Interest $4,250 
  • Contributions to charity $200 
  • Educational expense deductions $300 

• Create a piecewise function for the tax, $y$, for a taxpayer who is filing single using the schedule chart.
  
  

• Alexander completed his tax return and has calculated that his tax is $12,567. His employer withheld $10,458. Determine if Alexander will receive a refund or owe money back to IRS, and how much for each scenario?

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