12 calculation-driven lessons

Build a federal tax estimate from the inside out.

Follow the same route as the calculator: classify income, apply the deduction, fill each rate stack, check additional tax, and finally reconcile payments.

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The route every lesson shares

1Income↓
2Deduction↓
3Rate stacks↓
4NIIT↓
5Payments

Course path

Six stages, one connected model

The first module and the marginal-brackets lesson are free. Paid membership unlocks the complete path and planning labs.

01Read the tax mapBegin with the two results people most often confuse and the rule map selected by filing status.

1.1Tax liability is not the amount duefreeSeparate the tax calculation from payments so a refund or amount due stops looking like the tax itself.7 min
1.2Filing status sets the mapfreeSee filing status choose the deduction, ordinary brackets, capital-gain bands, and NIIT threshold.8 min

02Classify the incomeClassify included dollars into ordinary and preferential lanes before applying any rate.

2.1Build two income lanesClassify included income before calculating tax instead of treating every dollar as interchangeable.9 min
2.2Short-term and long-term are different routesWatch the holding-period result route an already-netted gain into the ordinary or preferential lane.8 min

03Find taxable incomeUse the standard deduction to find taxable income while preserving the two income characters.

3.1The standard deduction removes income, not taxTreat the standard deduction as a subtraction from included income, not a payment or credit.8 min
3.2Split the taxable remainderSee how the deduction can shelter ordinary income first and then preferential income in the qualified-dividend worksheet model.9 min

04Fill the rate stacksFill ordinary bands progressively, then position preferential income above the ordinary base.

4.1A higher bracket changes only the next slicefreeFill progressive bands one slice at a time and retire the myth that one higher bracket reprices all income.10 min
4.2Preferential income sits on topPlace preferential income above taxable ordinary income to locate its 0%, 15%, and 20% portions.10 min

05Finish the estimateAdd the scoped investment surtax and reconcile withholding only after liability is known.

5.1Check the investment surtax separatelyRun the smaller-of test that determines the investment-income amount exposed to the 3.8% surtax.9 min
5.2Withholding is a payment, not a deductionChange a payment without changing tax and learn to diagnose the balance from the final reconciliation.7 min

06Use the modelTurn the transparent model into bounded before-and-after planning questions.

6.1Explore a Roth conversion without hiding the pathAdd a proposed taxable Roth conversion to a baseline and trace every modeled consequence.12 min
6.2Compare a proposed realized gainBranch a baseline, add one proposed net long-term gain, and explain the tax delta stage by stage.11 min

Full course + personal planner

Learn every stage, then save the scenarios that matter to you.

One paid membership unlocks all lessons, interactive planning cases, synced progress, saved estimates, branching, history, and comparison.

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