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Do You Still Need to Worry About the AMT?

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There was talk of repealing the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) as part of last year’s tax reform legislation. A repeal wasn’t included in the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but the TCJA will reduce the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT.

Now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the changes, assess your AMT risk and see if there are any steps you can take during the last several months of the year to avoid the AMT, or at least minimize any negative impact.

AMT vs. regular tax

The top AMT rate is 28%, compared to the top regular ordinary-income tax rate of 37%. But the AMT rate typically applies to a higher taxable income base and will result in a larger tax bill if you’re subject to it.

The TCJA reduced the number of taxpayers who’ll likely be subject to the AMT in part by increasing the AMT exemption and the income phaseout ranges for the exemption:

  • For 2018, the exemption is $70,300 for singles and heads of households (up from $54,300 for 2017), and $109,400 for married couples filing jointly (up from $84,500 for 2017).
  • The 2018 […]
By |2020-09-03T20:04:31+00:00July 31st, 2018|amt, deduction, expensing, New Tax Laws|0 Comments
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AMT Retained with Higher Exemption Amounts

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax system separate from the regular tax that is intended to prevent a taxpayer with substantial income from avoiding tax liability by using various exclusions, deductions, and credits.

Under it, AMT rates are applied to AMT income determined after the taxpayer “gives back” an assortment of tax benefits. If the tax determined under these calculations exceeds the regular tax, the larger amount is owed. In computing the AMT, only alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) above an AMT exemption amount is taken into account. The AMT exemption amount is set by statute and adjusted annually for inflation, and the exemption amounts are phased out at higher income levels.

Under pre-Act law, for 2018, the exemption amounts were scheduled to be:

(i) $86,200 for marrieds filing jointly/surviving spouses;

(ii) $55,400 for other unmarried individuals;

(iii) 50% of the marrieds-filing-jointly amount for marrieds filing separately, i.e., $43,100;

And, those exemption amounts were reduced by an amount equal to 25% of the amount by which the individual’s AMTI exceeded:

(i) $164,100 for marrieds filing jointly and surviving spouses (phase-out complete at $508,900);

(ii) $123,100 for unmarried individuals (phase-out complete at $344,700); and

(iii) 50% of the marrieds-filing-jointly amount for marrieds filing separately, i.e., $82,050 (phase-out complete at […]

By |2020-09-03T20:04:45+00:00January 12th, 2018|amt, New Tax Laws, tax deductions|0 Comments
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Year-end tax planning with checklists and tips

Year-end tax planning could be especially productive this year because timely action could nail down a host of tax breaks that won’t be around next year unless Congress acts to extend them, which, at the present time, looks doubtful. These include, for individuals: the option to deduct state and local sales and use taxes instead of state and local income taxes; the above-the-line deduction for qualified higher education expenses; and tax-free distributions by those age 70-1/2 or older from IRAs for charitable purposes. For businesses, tax breaks that are available through the end of this year but won’t be around next year unless Congress acts include: 50% bonus first-year depreciation for most new machinery, equipment and software; an extraordinarily high $500,000 expensing limitation; the research tax credit; and the 15-year write-off for qualified leasehold improvements, qualified restaurant buildings and improvements and qualified retail improvements.

High-income-earners have other factors to keep in mind when mapping out year-end plans. For the first time, they have to take into account the 3.8% tax surtax on unearned income and the additional 0.9% Medicare (hospital insurance, or HI) tax that applies to individuals receiving wages with respect to employment in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for […]

By |2020-09-03T20:05:47+00:00November 26th, 2013|3.8, 401k, agi, amt, best place to work, CPA, hsa, ira, medicare, mike musson, roth ira, Santa Rosa, tax, tax planning, year-end|0 Comments
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Tax Time: What You Need to Know



Every year the tax codes change and last year was no different. The real questions, as we close in on April 15th, are: What are the significant changes that will have an effect on how I prepare my returns for 2012; and, what planning should I be doing now for the current calendar year.
The biggest news, which we’re hoping our clients have heard about at this point, is the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act at the beginning of this year. In addition to changing how the Alternative Minimum Tax is calculated on 2012 taxes, it retained the status quo for a number of temporary tax breaks, extending some retroactively and others into the 2013 tax year. Marginal tax brackets also rose a bit, so even if you made a couple thousand dollars more last year, you’ll probably owe the same percentage as you did last year.
Deductions for 2012
The standard deduction for those who don’t itemize rose by $150 for single filers and $300 for joint filers — to $5,950 if you’re filing solo and $11,900 if you’re filing with your spouse. And the amount you get to deduct for both you and your dependents […]
By |2020-09-03T20:05:52+00:00March 27th, 2013|adoption credit, alternative minimum tax, american, amt, CPA, deduction, Linkenheimer, Santa Rosa, tax, tax codes, tax time, taxpayer relief act|1 Comment
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