Chapter 23
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

The purpose of AMT is to effectively take back some of the tax breaks allowed for regular tax purposes. The AMT is an additional tax that you may owe if for regular tax purposes you claimed:

  • Itemized deductions, such as taxes, interest on home equity loans used for nonresidential purposes, medical expenses, and miscellaneous job and investment expenses.
  • Certain tax-exempt interest, accelerated depreciation, and incentive stock option benefits.
  • A substantial number of exemptions for dependents.

There are no specific tests to determine whether or not you are liable for AMT. You must first figure your regular income tax and then see whether tax benefit items must be added back to taxable income to figure alternative minimum taxable income, on which the AMT is figured. If after claiming the AMT exemption and applying the AMT rates of 26% and 28% the tentative alternative minimum tax exceeds your regular income tax, the excess is your AMT liability, which is added to the regular tax on your return. In other words, your tax liability for the year will be the greater of your regular tax or your AMT.

AMT liability is figured on Form 6251 and is attached to Form 1040. If you file Form 1040A, AMT liability, if any, is figured on a worksheet and the AMT is included on the line for “Tax” on Form 1040A.

Table 23-1 Key to AMT Rules for 2017

Item—

AMT Rule—

AMT exemptions and tax rates

The exemption shields an equivalent amount of alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) from the AMT. For 2017, the AMT exemption amounts are $84,500 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying widows/widowers, $54,300 for single taxpayers and heads of households, and $42,250 for married persons filing separately. The exemption amounts are subject to a phaseout (23.1).

AMTI in excess of the exemption (after phaseout if any) is subject to an AMT tax rate of 26% or 28% on Form 6251. For 2017, the 26% rate applies to a balance of $187,800 or less, $93,900 or less if married filing separately. A 28% rate applies to amounts exceeding the $187,800 or $93,900 ceiling for the 26% rate. However, net capital gain and qualified dividends are taxable for AMT at the same capital gain rates (0%, 15%, and 20%) used to figure regular income tax liability (5.3). The resulting tax, reduced by any AMT foreign tax credit, is your tentative AMT liability, but you will have to pay it only to the extent that it exceeds your regular income tax liability

AMT taxable income (AMTI)

On Form 6251, you start with your regular Form 1040 taxable income, not including personal exemptions, and then increase (or sometimes decrease) that amount by AMT adjustments and preferences to figure alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI).

AMT adjustments and preference items

Itemized deductions for taxes, certain interest, and most miscellaneous deductions are not allowed.

Personal exemptions and the standard deduction are not allowed.

Tax-exempt interest from certain private activity bonds is taxable for the AMT.

MACRS depreciation is figured under the alternative MACRS system for real estate using 40-year straight-line recovery, and, for personal property, the 150% declining balance method.

For incentive stock options; see 23.2.

If you sell qualified small business stock that qualifies for an exclusion (5.7), 7% of the exclusion is a preference item.

Mining exploration and development costs are allowable costs amortized over 10 years.

For long-term contracts, income is generally figured under the percentage-of-completion method.

Pollution control facilities amortization is figured under alternate MACRS.

Alternative tax net operating loss is allowed with adjustments.

Circulation expenditures must be amortized ratably over three years.

Research and experimental expenditures must be amortized ratably over 10 years.

Passive activity losses are recomputed; certain tax-shelter farm losses may not be allowed.

Adjusted gross income

In making AMT computations involving adjusted gross income limitations, use adjusted gross income as computed for regular tax purposes.

Partnership AMT

If you are a partner, include for AMT your distributive share of the partnership’s adjustments and tax preference items. These are reported on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). The partnership itself does not pay alternative minimum tax.

Trust or estate AMT

If you are a beneficiary of an estate or trust, consider for AMT your share of distributable net alternative minimum taxable income shown on Schedule K-1 (Form 1041). The estate or trust must pay tax on any remaining alternative minimum taxable income.

S corporation stockholder

If you are a shareholder, consider for AMT your share of the adjustments and tax preference items reported on Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S).

Children subject to “kiddie tax”

Children under age 24 who are subject to the “kiddie tax” (24.3) for 2017 may have to compute AMT liability on Form 6251. The 2017 AMT exemption for a child subject to the “kiddie tax” generally equals the child’s earned income plus $7,500.

23.1 Computing Alternative Minimum Tax on Form 6251

After you determine your regular income tax liability, you use Form 6251 to compute AMT liability, if any. The checklist below gives an indication as to when you may have to use Form 6251.

If you check any of the items on the list, you should complete Form 6251 to determine if you are liable for AMT. The starting point for calculating alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) on Form 6251 is adjusted gross income (AGI) for taxpayers who claimed the standard deduction, or adjusted gross income minus itemized deductions claimed on Schedule A. Thus, the standard deduction and personal exemptions are not allowed for AMT purposes. The other items on the list below are AMT adjustments and preferences and, generally, some or all of the amount allowed for regular tax purposes must be added back to regular taxable income to calculate AMTI. The items that most commonly get added back to income when calculating AMTI are state and local taxes and miscellaneous itemized deductions. See 23.2 for details on the AMT adjustments and preference items.

Items subject to AMT:

Check: √

1.

Personal exemptions

2.

Standard deduction

3.

Itemized deductions for taxes, miscellaneous expenses, and medical expenses

4.

Interest on home equity debt used for nonresidential purposes

5.

Accelerated depreciation in excess of straight line

6.

Income from the exercise of incentive stock options

7.

Tax-exempt interest from private activity bonds

8.

Intangible drilling costs

9.

Depletion

10.

Circulation expenses

11.

Mining exploration and development costs

12.

Research and experimental costs

13.

Pollution control facility amortization

14.

Tax-shelter farm income or loss

15.

Passive income or loss

16.

Certain installment sale income

17.

Income from long-term contracts computed under percentage-of-income method

18.

Net operating loss deduction

19.

Foreign tax credit

20.

Investment expenses

21.

Gain on small business stock qualifying for exclusion

AMT exemption amounts for 2017. For 2017, the AMT exemption is $84,500 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying widows/widowers, $54,300 for single persons and heads of households, and $42,250 for married persons filing separately. These amounts may be reduced under the phaseout rule discussed next. For 2018, the exemption amounts may be increased for inflation; see the e-Supplement at jklasser.com.

Phaseout of exemption for 2017. The AMT exemptions are subject to a phaseout rule. For 2017, 25% of the exemption amount is phased out for each $1 of AMTI (Line 28 of Form 6251) exceeding $160,900 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying widows/widowers, $120,700 for single taxpayers and heads of household, and $80,450 for married persons filing separately. For 2018, the phaseout thresholds will likely be increased for inflation; see the e-Supplement at jklasser.com.

Under the phaseout formula, the exemption for 2017 is completely phased out when AMTI equals or exceeds: $498,900 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying widows/widowers, $337,900 for single taxpayers and heads of household, and $249,450 for married persons filing separately. The Form 6251 instructions have a worksheet for figuring the phaseout.

If a married person filing separately has AMTI exceeding the $249,450 phaseout endpoint, 25% of the excess over $249,450, but no more than $42,250 (the full exemption amount), must be added to the AMTI before applying the AMT rates.

AMT calculation. After reducing AMTI by the allowable exemption, the 26% and possibly 28% AMT rate is applied. For 2017, the 26% AMT rate generally applies to the first $187,800 of AMTI, or $93,900 if married filing separately. The 28% rate applies to any balance of the AMTI over $187,800 or $93,900. However, if you had net capital gain or qualified dividends that qualify for reduced capital gains rates (5.3), you apply the same capital gains rate for AMT purposes as for regular income tax purposes; the capital gains calculation is made on page 2 of Form 6251. The boundary between the 26% and 28% brackets will likely be increased for 2018 by an inflation adjustment; see the e-Supplement at jklasser.com.

The resulting tax, less any AMT foreign tax credit, is the tentative AMT, which applies only to the extent it exceeds your regular income tax. For this purpose, regular income tax is the tax on Line 44 of Form 1040, plus any repayment of advances of the premium tax credit (25.12),with no reduction for tax credits other than the foreign tax credit, minus any special averaging tax on a lump-sum distribution (available only if you were born before January 2, 1936 (7.3)). If income averaging was used on Schedule J to figure the regular tax for farm or fishing income (22.6), that tax must be refigured without using averaging for purposes of determining AMT.

The excess, if any, of tentative AMT over the regular tax (modified as required by the Form 6251 instructions) is the AMT liability that you must report as an additional tax on Line 45 of Form 1040. You do not have to pay the AMT if your regular tax (adjusted as required) equals or exceeds the tentative AMT.

Follow the line-by-line instructions to Form 6251 to figure your AMT liability, if any.

23.2 Adjustments and Preferences for AMT

If you itemize deductions on Schedule A, the starting point for figuring alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) on Form 6251 is your adjusted gross income reduced by the itemized deductions. If you claim the standard deduction, the AMT starting point is your adjusted gross income; the standard deduction is not allowed when figuring AMTI. Personal exemptions claimed for regular tax purposes are also not allowed for AMT purposes.

You have to add back to your income certain tax breaks allowed for regular tax purposes, as described below. In some cases, a negative adjustment reduces AMTI. Some of the items discussed below are technically “preference items” under the Internal Revenue Code (such as interest from private activity bonds), rather than “adjustments”, but the IRS lists them together on Part I of Form 6251 as items that increase or decrease AMTI.

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