Glossary Terms:

A spending-and-savings plan, based on estimated income and expenses for an individual or an organization, covering a specific time period.

Payments for goods and services.

The taxing and spending plan of the national government.

A tax paid by individuals and businesses to the federal government to fund such services as national defense, human services, and the monitoring and regulation of trade.

A total amount of money earned (from salaries, wages, etc.) before taxes and other deductions are withheld. Also known as gross pay.

A total amount of money earned (from salaries, wages, etc.) before taxes and other deductions are withheld. Also known as gross income.

Accommodation in houses, apartments, etc.

Payments earned by households for selling or renting their productive resources. May include salaries, wages, interest and dividends.

Payments made by individuals and corporations to the federal government (and to some state and local governments) based on income received (both earned and unearned).

Money paid regularly, at a particular rate, for the use of borrowed money.

A piece of work usually done on order at an agreed-upon rate. Also a paid position of regular employment.

Anything that is generally accepted as final payment for goods and services; serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a standard of value. Characteristics of money are portability, stability in value, uniformity, durability and acceptance.

The amount of money a person receives within a pay period after taxes and other deductions are taken out of his or her paycheck.

Earnings from an investment, usually expressed as an annual percentage.

Government activity in establishing a framework or rules of the game in economic life. In the United States, this activity involves preserving and fostering competition, regulating natural monopolies, providing information and services to enable the market to work better, regulating externalities, providing certain public goods, offering some economic security and income redistribution to individuals, assuring a sound monetary system and promoting overall economic stability and growth.

Money set aside for a future use that is held in easily-accessed accounts, such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs).

An interest-bearing account (passbook or statement) at a financial institution.

Activities performed by people, firms or government agencies to satisfy economic wants.

Taxation is the process in which a charge is imposed upon a taxpayer by a state or a legal equivalent of a state.

Compulsory payments to governments by households and businesses.

A federal income tax document that employers complete and send to their employees and to the Internal Revenue Service at the end of a year; shows employee compensation and taxes withheld.

Money taken out of an employee's paycheck and sent to the government and credited to the employee's tax bill.