I won't follow a traditional lesson structure because this is an introductory model designed to cover the meat of learning how to prepare tax returns. For example, in publication 501 I will give you the five filing statuses and how to determine them for each client, but I won't go deep into each filing status. The reality is that working with real-world clients is where you really learn how to prepare and get good and learn the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. This is the introduction to tax preparation and taxation to see if this is a good fit for you as a possible career and possible business model.

The basic filing requirements are based on filing status, age, and gross income. Any amounts under those requirements may be optional for most taxpayers. It's a chart in publication 501 that we refer to.