Why are taxes so complicated? Q.Why are taxes so complicated? A.Our tax system could be simple if its only purpose were to raise revenue. But it has other goals, including fairness, efficiency, and enforceability. And Congress has used the tax system to influence social policy as well as to deliver benefits for specific groups and industries. Read more about Why are taxes so complicated?
Who pays the AMT? Q.Who pays the AMT? A.Before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) primarily affected well-off households, but not those with the very highest incomes. It was also more likely to hit taxpayers with large families, those who were married, and those who lived in high-tax states. TCJA shields almost all upper-middle and high-income taxpayers from the reach of the AMT. The AMT is now most likely to hit those at the top of the income scale who are engaged in certain sheltering activities. Read more about Who pays the AMT?
How much revenue does the AMT raise? Q.How much revenue does the AMT raise? A.About $5.2 billion in 2018, or 0.4 percent of all individual income tax revenue. That is down significantly from $36.2 billion—2.4 percent of income tax revenue—in 2017, primarily because of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Since most TCJA individual income tax provisions expire at the end of 2025, AMT revenue will soar to $68.9 billion by 2028, or 2.6 percent of all individual income tax revenue. Read more about How much revenue does the AMT raise?
