Boost Financial Literacy in Your Classroom with our Tax Simulation, in partnership with Intuit for Education

Hello, educators – classroom teachers, academic directors, counselors, learning coaches, and anyone looking to make learning about taxes an exciting and educational experience for your students! We have just the tool for you – an impactful, new, 45-minute standalone course titled Tax Simulation: Understanding Taxes™, developed in partnership between Everfi ® and Intuit for Education. This blog will walk you through the benefits of this real-world learning tool for both students and teachers and highlight the impact it can make in your classroom.

Why Teach Taxes in High School?

Benjamin Franklin once mentioned that death and taxes were the only two certainties in life. While the first one is quite daunting, the second one doesn’t have to be, especially for your students. Teaching taxes in a meaningful way can help students understand the importance of financial literacy and prepare them for real-life responsibilities. The Tax Simulation is designed to make tax instruction engaging and fulfilling for students.

Meet the Tax Experts

In April 2024, Everfi hosted a ‘Preparing Your Students for Tax Season’ webinar, featuring two passionate experts: David Cook and Darren Carollo. David, who spent 15 years teaching personal finance in a public high school, now works for Intuit for Education to develop educational activities, simulations, tools, and resources. Darren, a high school teacher in Dallas Independent School District, teaches finance and accounting to students at the Academy of Finance. Both guests shared their experiences and insights on how to make tax education impactful and enjoyable for students.

The Tax Simulation

The Tax Simulation: Understanding Taxes course is a FREE interactive digital tool that helps students learn about taxes in a risk-free environment. It covers essential topics such as tax credits, deductions, and the steps needed to file taxes using TurboTax, a real-world tax preparation tool. The learning experience is designed to be engaging and easy to understand, making it an excellent resource for high school teachers.

Benefits for High School Students

• Increased Financial Confidence: The course provides students with a safe environment to practice filing taxes, which boosts their confidence when it comes to future tax filings. Students learn about tax credits and deductions, and how to reduce their tax liability and increase their refund.
• Real-Life Application: Students learn how to file taxes through situational learning as students engage with fictional characters who have different life experiences that impact their taxes. Students interact with W2s and other tax documents to practice filing taxes, making the learning experience more relevant and practical.
• Improved Financial Literacy: The course helps students understand the importance of financial literacy and prepares them for real-life responsibilities. It equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of taxes.

Benefits for High School Teachers

• Engaging Lessons: The course makes tax instruction more engaging and enjoyable for students, which can lead to better retention and understanding of the material.
• Easy to Use: The course is designed to be user-friendly and easy to implement in the classroom. Teachers can access the lessons through Everfi’s digital resource platform.
• Free Resource: The Tax Simulation: Understanding Taxes course is available at no cost to all schools, districts, and students, making it an accessible and valuable resource for teachers – and many districts are already SSO enabled through Clever or ClassLink.
• Supplemental Resources: The course includes a discussion guide that provides prompts that could spark meaningful discussions about taxes and how to file them, as well as activities to measure student knowledge before and after completing the simulation.

Impact in the Classroom

Since launching in Fall 2021, over 1.5 million students have learned about taxes through the Tax Simulation. The results have been impressive, with over 61% of students feeling prepared to file taxes or help others file taxes after completing the course. This is a significant increase from the 34% who felt prepared before the course. Teachers have also reported positive feedback from their students.

One teacher shared a story about a student who brought in a stack of paper pay stubs and proudly showed them off, excited to apply what they had learned in the simulan. Another teacher mentioned that students were eager to bring in their W2s and practice filing taxes, demonstrating the real-life application of the lessons. David Cook recalled talking to a student during a classroom visit who told him “I helped my family file taxes. There are things I’ve learned about financial literacy…it’s my responsibility in my family to do that,” highlighting the ability of the simulation to equip students to help others.

How to Get Started

To get started with the Tax Simulation: Understanding Taxes course, simply visit the Everfi digital learning platform and sign up for free access to the lessons. The platform provides step-by-step instructions and resources to help you implement the learning tool in your classroom.

Conclusion

The Tax Simulation is a powerful tool that can make teaching taxes an exciting and educational experience for your students. By incorporating this free learning tool into your curriculum, you can help students develop essential financial literacy skills and prepare them for real-life responsibilities. So why wait? The 5 digital lessons in the course (Filing Your Taxes, Tax Credits for Families, Tax Credits for Gig Workers and Taxes for Investments) take less than an hour to complete, align with Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education, and are available in both English and Spanish. Start using the Tax Simulation: Understanding Taxes course today and watch your students’ confidence and understanding of taxes soar! Happy teaching!