Taxes · Video Lesson
Getting Ready for Taxes: Documents You Need
Before you can file a tax return, you have to gather the right paperwork. This lesson is a practical checklist of the documents needed to complete a Form 1040 — personal information, income forms like the W-2 and 1099, and records that support deductions, credits, and payments — so students learn how to organize their tax documents and file with confidence.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Taxes
- Grade Level
- Grades 9–12 + adult
- Resource Type
- Video Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 30–45 minutes
- Format
- Class discussion + checklist activity
- Materials
- Video, worksheet, sample tax forms (optional)
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- List the main categories of documents needed to file a tax return
- Identify key income forms — the W-2 and the common 1099 types
- Explain what records support deductions and tax credits
- Describe why personal information and prior-year returns are needed
- Organize a tax-document checklist for a simple filing situation
Video Lesson
Watch: Getting Ready for Taxes: Documents You Need
Materials
What you’ll need
- Internet access for the video
- Printed copies of the worksheet (one per student)
- Optional: blank sample W-2 and 1099 forms for show-and-tell
- Whiteboard or projector for the checklist activity
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Form 1040
- The standard IRS form individuals use to file a federal income tax return.
- W-2
- A form employers send showing your wages and the income tax withheld from your pay.
- 1099
- A family of forms reporting income from sources other than an employer, such as interest (1099-INT) or contract work (1099-NEC/MISC).
- Deduction
- An expense you can subtract from your income to lower the amount of tax you owe.
- Tax credit
- A dollar-for-dollar reduction of the tax you owe.
- Withholding
- Income tax your employer takes out of your paycheck and sends to the government during the year.
- Dependent
- A person, such as a child, you can claim on your tax return.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: one 30–45 minute class period.
Lesson sequence
- Introduction (5 min). Ask: what is the very first step in doing your taxes? Establish that it is gathering your documents, before any forms get filled out.
- Watch the video (8 min). Play the lesson video. Ask students to list the categories of documents it mentions.
- Walk the categories (15 min). Go through each on the board: personal information (SSNs, bank/routing, prior-year return), income (W-2, 1099s), deductions (mortgage interest, charitable donations, retirement contributions), credits (education, Form 1098), payments (withholding, estimated payments), and IRS letters.
- Worksheet (8 min). Students complete the worksheet based on the video.
- Wrap-up (4 min). Discuss how organizing documents early makes filing faster and less stressful, and when to use the IRS website or a tax professional.
Extension activity
- Build a checklist. Students create a personalized tax-document checklist for a given scenario (e.g., a student with a part-time job, or a self-employed worker).
Assessment
Assess participation, the completed worksheet, and the document checklist.
This lesson is for educational purposes only and is not tax advice. For a specific situation, consult the IRS website or a qualified tax professional.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- Why is gathering your documents the first step in filing a tax return?
- What is the difference between a W-2 and a 1099, and who receives each?
- How do deductions and tax credits each lower what you owe — and why does documentation matter for both?
- Why might a married, self-employed homeowner with children have a more complex filing than a single renter?
- What records would you start saving now to make next year’s filing easier?
Printable Worksheet
Getting Ready for Taxes — Student Worksheet
Short-answer worksheet based on the video for students to complete and discuss.
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