Money and the Economy on the 2025 Civics Test
Money shows up all over the 2025 civics test. One question asks about the economic system. Others ask who controls the budget, who prints money, why we pay taxes, why the colonists were angry, what the U.S. bought in 1803, and what went wrong in 1929. They sit in different sections of the 128-question list, so most people study them separately. Put them side by side and they tell one story, and they get easier to remember.
On the 2025 test, the officer asks you 20 questions from the list of 128, and you need 12 correct answers to pass (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part E, Chapter 2). Any one accepted answer is enough for each question below unless the question asks for more.
The 12 “money” questions at a glance
| Question | A short answer to say |
|---|---|
| Q12. What is the economic system of the United States? | Capitalism (or free market economy) |
| Q20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. | Makes the federal budget (also: writes laws, declares war) |
| Q58. Name one power that is only for the federal government. | Print paper money or mint coins |
| Q71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes? | Required by law |
| Q73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one. | Economic opportunity (also: freedom, religious freedom) |
| Q77. Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain. | High taxes or taxation without representation |
| Q87. Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one. | Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase) |
| Q89. Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one. | First Secretary of the Treasury |
| Q90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803? | Louisiana (the Louisiana Territory) |
| Q103. What was the Great Depression? | Longest economic recession in modern history |
| Q104. When did the Great Depression start? | The Great Crash (1929) or stock market crash of 1929 |
| Q105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II? | (Franklin) Roosevelt |
Answers are from the official USCIS 2025 civics test list. Q12 and Q20 are also on the shorter list of 20 starred questions for applicants who qualify for the 65/20 exemption.
1. The system: capitalism (Q12)
The answer to Q12 is capitalism or a free market economy. In plain English: people and private businesses own most farms, shops and factories. Buyers and sellers mostly decide what is made and what it costs, not the government.
A farmers market is an easy picture to remember. Each grower decides what to plant and what price to ask. Shoppers decide what to buy. If tomatoes don’t sell at $6, the price comes down next week. That is a free market.
Watch out: don’t answer “democracy” or “republic” for Q12. Those are answers to Q1, the question about the form of government. Q1 is about how we are governed; Q12 is about how we buy, sell and earn.
2. Who controls the money: Congress, and only the federal government (Q20, Q58)
The Constitution gives the money powers to Congress. Article I, Section 8 lets Congress collect taxes, borrow money and “coin Money.” Article I, Section 9 says no money can be taken from the Treasury unless a law allows it. That is why “makes the federal budget” is an accepted answer for Q20.
For Q58, “print paper money” and “mint coins” are both accepted. States can’t make their own money. One currency for the whole country is a federal power. (In practice, the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing prints the bills and the U.S. Mint makes the coins.)
Mix-up to avoid: Q59 asks the opposite, a power only for the states. Schools, police, fire departments, driver’s licenses and zoning are state answers. Money is never a state answer.
3. Paying for the government: taxes (Q71 and Q77)
Two questions are about taxes, about 140 years apart:
- Q77 (1770s): the colonists were angry about high taxes and taxation without representation. They paid taxes to Britain but had no vote in the British Parliament. The Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts and Tea Act are also accepted answers.
- Q71 (today): we pay federal taxes because it is required by law. Other accepted answers are “all people pay to fund the federal government,” “required by the (U.S.) Constitution (16th Amendment)” and “civic duty.” The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, allows the federal income tax.
A memory hook: the colonists fought because they paid taxes without a vote. U.S. citizens pay taxes and vote for the people in Congress who set them.
Taxes also come up on Form N-400 itself, separate from the civics questions. We cover both in Taxes and Your Citizenship: Civics Q71 and the Two N-400 Tax Questions.
4. The early republic: a land deal and a Treasury (Q87, Q89, Q90)
- Q90: in 1803 the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The National Archives puts the price at about $15 million for roughly 828,000 square miles (National Archives).
- Q87: that purchase is why one accepted answer about Thomas Jefferson, the president who made it, is “doubled the size of the United States.”
- Q89: Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury. He also helped set up the First Bank of the United States. Both are accepted answers.
Hamilton is the money man; Jefferson is the land man. If you remember that, Q87 and Q89 stop blurring together. More on both in Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton on the 2025 Civics Test.
5. When the economy broke: the Great Depression (Q103–Q105)
Learn these three together, in order:
- What was it? The longest economic recession in modern history (Q103).
- When did it start? With the Great Crash of 1929, the stock market crash of 1929 (Q104).
- Who was president? Franklin Roosevelt (Q105), who also led the country in World War II.
Watch out: the answer to Q104 is 1929, not 1933 (the year Roosevelt took office). Say “the stock market crash of 1929” and you are safe. For the full story, see The Great Depression on the 2025 Civics Test.
6. Why people came: economic opportunity (Q73)
Q73 has five accepted answers, and economic opportunity is one of them. It also connects to Q12: people came to work, trade and build a better life. Other accepted answers are freedom, political liberty, religious freedom and escaping persecution.
Easy mix-ups in this group
| If you hear… | Say… | Not… |
|---|---|---|
| economic system (Q12) | capitalism / free market economy | republic, democracy (Q1) |
| power only for the federal government (Q58) | print paper money, mint coins | schools, police (Q59) |
| power of Congress (Q20) | makes the federal budget | signs bills, vetoes (that’s the President, Q41) |
| Great Depression started (Q104) | 1929, the stock market crash | 1933 |
| Hamilton (Q89) | first Secretary of the Treasury | doubled the size of the U.S. (Jefferson, Q87) |
A 10-minute drill
- Read the table at the top once, out loud.
- Cover the right column. Say an answer for all 12 questions.
- Mark any you missed. Say each missed answer twice in a full sentence, for example: “The economic system of the United States is capitalism.”
- Tomorrow, try only the ones you missed, then mix them into a full 2025 practice test.
You can also hear these questions read aloud in Listen. Choose a topic, then switch to Quiz me to answer before the answer plays.
Read next
- Principles of American Government on the 2025 Civics Test
- Federal vs. State Powers on the 2025 Civics Test
- Easily Confused Answers on the 2025 Civics Test
Sources: USCIS: 2025 Civics Test, 128 Questions and Answers (PDF); USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part E, Chapter 2; USCIS: Check for Test Updates; National Archives: The Constitution, full transcript; National Archives: Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803); National Archives: 16th Amendment (1913). Photo: Zoe Deal, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
This post is general study information, not legal advice. CitizenExams is an independent study site and is not affiliated with USCIS.