According to Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), 30 states guarantee a standalone personal finance course for all high schoolers. That’s up from 17 in 2022. But while more schools are teaching basic financial literacy concepts like budgeting and saving, taxes don’t always make their way into curricula. 

That leaves many people filing their first return with almost no formal preparation. In fact, more than 3 in 5 (61%) of US taxpayers don’t understand even basic tax concepts, such as how federal income tax rates or tax brackets work. Further, an Intuit survey found that 28% of students flagged taxes as a top financial term they don’t understand (behind stocks/bonds and 401(k)/retirement).  

The frustration surrounding tax literacy is real, but there are real structural reasons why many schools don’t teach taxes. Learn what these reasons are, the consequences of low tax literacy, and what you can do to bridge the gap starting today. 

Key Points

• Thirty states guarantee high schoolers a standalone personal finance course, according to NGPF. 
• Schools might not teach taxes because curricula are already overcrowded, there’s no widespread standardization, or they lack the necessary resources. 
• More than 60% of US taxpayers can’t explain basic concepts like federal income tax brackets or how rates work, according to the Tax Foundation.  
• Only 13% of educators feel very confident teaching taxes, according to NGPF. When teachers don’t have the training or materials, taxes might get skipped or rushed. 
• You don’t have to wait for the system to catch up. Free, structured programs like Intuit Academy can get you up to speed on the basics in your own time. 

Why Taxes Are Rarely Taught in Schools

Only 7.5% of people said they learned how to do taxes in high school, while 62% said they learned on their own.  

So, why do schools not teach taxes when it’s such a valuable life skill? It’s not because they’re trying to keep students from learning. The reasons tend to be structural.  

Curriculum Priorities and Standardized Testing

School curricula are already loaded with core subjects and electives, like: 

• Math 
• Science 
• Language arts, English 
• Physical education 
• Social studies 
• Arts 
• World languages 

The goal is often to get as many students as possible through standardized tests and ready for college. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for practical life skills like taxes. 

State Standards and Policy Gaps

Education standards for K-12 public schools are set by states, not the federal government. That 30 states require a standalone personal finance course is genuine progress, and it’s nearly double the number from a few years ago. 

Even so, personal finance and tax instruction aren’t the same thing. A course on budgeting, credit, and saving may touch on taxes, but it’s not the same as walking students through how to actually file. And in states without a personal finance requirement, tax instruction depends on the district, the school, or the individual teacher. 

Teacher Preparation and Resource Gaps

Even when teachers want to cover taxes, they’re not always prepared to do so. According to NGPF, only 13% of educators are very confident about teaching taxes.  

A big part of this may come down to a lack of training and resources. Tax laws are already complex, and they change every year. So, keeping tax-related curriculum current is tricky at best. Without proper resources and ongoing professional development, it’s easier to stick to the basics or avoid teaching taxes altogether. 

Core Tax Concepts Many Students Never Learn

Now that you know why schools don’t always teach taxes, here’s what the knowledge gaps look like (and the long-term toll it can take on students). 

How Income Is Taxed

The 61% literacy gap mentioned earlier shows up in everyday concepts many people never learn, including: 

• Federal income tax brackets and how they work 
• What income tax rates are, and how earning more affects take-home pay 
• Whether tax credits or deductions are more valuable at filing time 
• The difference between gross (pre-tax) and net (after-tax) income 
• What withholding is, and how it affects a paycheck 
• Why their paychecks are smaller than expected (usually because of tax withholding or deductions) 
• Why they owe money at tax time 

Not knowing these basics leads to confusion and avoidable stress, and it can also cause costly mistakes on a return, especially when wrong numbers get entered.  

How to File a Tax Return

Most US citizens and permanent residents have to file taxes if they work. This is true for part- and full-time work, as well as gig work. But for those who’ve never done it before, the process can seem a lot more complicated than it actually is. 

Many young adults don’t learn fundamentals like: 

• Filing requirements 
• Tax deadlines (typically April 15) 
• Filing status (single, married filing separately, and so on) 
• Standard vs. itemized deductions 
• W-2 forms 
• 1099s for self-employment and other non-W2 income 

Not having this knowledge opens the door to filing incorrectly or leaving a refund on the table. Filing late or skipping it altogether can mean penalties from the IRS, though tax filing software like TurboTax can catch these kinds of issues before they happen. 

Payroll Taxes and the Self-Employment Gap

If you earn above a certain income threshold, you probably need to file. For traditional employees, that threshold depends on factors like filing status and income. Self-employed workers usually have to file when their net earnings exceed $400. 

But many traditional workers might not realize that certain taxes (such as Social Security and Medicare taxes) are withheld automatically from their paychecks. In other words, they might not even know they’re paying them. 

Self-employed workers, including freelancers and business owners, have to handle these taxes themselves. That can be a bit of a shock the first time around, especially for someone who didn’t know the system worked that way to begin with. 

What Young Adults Can Do Right Now

You may not be able to control how the system works (or why), but you can still take charge of your own financial literacy. If your school doesn’t teach taxes, you can learn the fundamentals on your own through structured programs and a little practice. 

Take a Free Structured Course

A structured course is 1 of the fastest ways to get a real handle on taxes. The good courses cut out the guesswork and tell you exactly what you need to know to make learning as easy as possible. 

Intuit Academy offers free, self-paced tax courses that cover everything you need to prepare and file individual tax returns.  

Use IRS Free Resources

The IRS has more free tools than most people realize. The Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) answers common tax law questions in plain language, and IRS Free File lets eligible taxpayers file at no cost. 

And if you need further assistance, check out the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. It connects eligible taxpayers, including those with disabilities or limited English fluency, with trained tax preparers for free. 

Learn by Doing

Your first (or even second) return probably won’t be perfect, but that’s part of learning. That’s normal, and it’s how to get comfortable with the process. Each filing teaches you something new. 

That’s not to say you need to do it alone. Using guided software like TurboTax can significantly reduce mistakes while giving you hands-on experience that sticks. Filing ahead of the April 15 deadline also gives you time to fix any mistakes. 

How Schools Can Start Closing the Gap

As more states require personal finance courses in high school, more students get a shot at financial literacy. In fact, research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows people with strong financial literacy tend to be more proactive about saving and planning for the long term. 

Tax instruction is still the weak link. But teachers and advocates can move the needle here without a curriculum overhaul. 

Cross-Curricular Integration

Dedicated learning is ideal when time allows, but tax topics don’t require a separate class. Schools can incorporate tax-related concepts into everyday courses like math and civics. 

A civics or economics class could cover what taxes fund and why people have to pay them. Or a math class could build word problems around common tax scenarios, like: 

• Changes to withholding 
• Social Security and Medicare tax percentages 
• Filing status and income brackets 
• Number of dependents 

Short Modules That Fit Existing Schedules

Small changes to existing lesson plans can introduce tax literacy without overhauling anything. Even a single 45-minute block can be enough to walk students through things like: 

• Reading a W-2 form or 1099 (helpful for anyone thinking about self-employment) 
• Calculating net vs. gross pay 
• Identifying the differences in tax withholding or filing status 

A couple of sessions like this across a school year can make a meaningful difference for students. You don’t have to build any of it from scratch. Organizations like the IRS and NGPF have free, ready-to-use materials you can incorporate into your lesson plans.  

Intuit for Education does, too, with a free, flexible high school curriculum that lets teachers pull in full units or single lessons, including content built around real tools like TurboTax and QuickBooks. 

Learn Tax Basics for Free with Intuit Academy

The reason why schools don’t usually teach taxes is largely structural. Educators don’t always have the time or materials needed to add tax-related lessons to their curriculum. The curriculum itself is often jam-packed with core subjects based on standardized testing or other state-specific requirements. 

But you can fill the knowledge gap. Intuit Academy offers a free, self-paced tax preparation program that starts with the basics, such as preparing individual returns. It builds up to the kind of situations you’ll run into as a filer. Finish a course, and you’ll earn an Intuit badge, a credential you can put on a resume. 

Start with Tax Level 1 and go from there. 

FAQs

Are there any states or countries that have successfully integrated tax education into their school curricula?

As of 2026, 30 states require high schoolers to complete a standalone personal finance course to graduate. This is for general concepts like budgeting, investing, and saving, with taxes typically getting limited coverage. 

The bright spot is that when teachers do tackle taxes, many give the topic real time. A NGPF survey of 450 personal finance educators found 68% spend a full week or more on taxes, and 3 out of 4 teach the unit around tax season for maximum relevance.  

What are the most common tax mistakes young adults make because of a lack of formal education on the subject?

One of the biggest mistakes people make when filing taxes is making math errors. According to the IRS, taxpayers made nearly 1.2 million errors in the 2024 tax year alone. The agency reports that other common errors include filing too early, misspellings, missing or inaccurate information, incorrect filing statuses, missed credits or deductions, and unsigned forms. 

Are there free online resources or tools available for self-teaching tax basics?

Yes. You can learn everything you need to know about filing an individual income tax return through Intuit Academy’s free, self-paced tax prep program. The IRS also has free resources to help you learn the basics.