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5th grade · Math · Unit 15 of 15

Taxes, Pay & Budgets

Taxes, net pay, payments and budgets

What your child practices

Personal financial literacy: your child names income, payroll, sales and property taxes, tells gross from net income, weighs ways to pay (cash, check, debit, credit, electronic), keeps simple records, and balances a simple budget.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 5.10(A); 5.10(B); 5.10(C); 5.10(D); 5.10(E); 5.10(F) · kinds of taxes, gross and net income, ways to pay, financial records, and balancing a budget

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Income tax and payroll tax come out of pay; sales tax is added when you buy; property tax is paid on homes and land.
  2. Gross income is all you earn. Net income is what is left after taxes and deductions.
  3. A budget is balanced when expenses are not more than income.

Example: Gross pay is $900. $135 is taken out for taxes. What is the net pay? Net = gross − deductions. 900 − 135 = 765. Answer: $765

Taxes, Pay & Budgets in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 15 of 15 in 5th grade Math, after Fractions Times & Divided.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A budget is balanced when…

    • you spend everything you earn and borrow more
    • you have no income
    • income is equal to or more than expenses
    • expenses are more than income

  2. Question 2

    Gross income is…

    • all the money earned before taxes are taken out
    • the money left after taxes
    • only money from gifts
    • the cost of a home

  3. Question 3

    What is a disadvantage of paying by check?

    • it is the same as cash
    • it can take days to clear
    • it can never be tracked
    • it earns interest

  4. Question 4

    A tax people pay each year on homes and land they own is…

    • income tax
    • sales tax
    • property tax
    • payroll tax

  5. Question 5

    Property taxes often help pay for…

    • a family's groceries
    • local schools and roads
    • video games
    • a worker's vacation

  6. Question 6

    Income: $400. Expenses: $180, $90, $70 and $60. Is the budget balanced?

    • yes, expenses equal income
    • no, income is $100 more
    • no, expenses are $40 more

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