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Alternative minimum tax (AMT)

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From TaxVox

How the New Tax Act Affects the Alternative Minimum Tax

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The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax: Historical Data and Projections, Updated October 2009

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The Alternative Minimum Tax

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From the Briefing Book

Who pays the AMT?

December 21, 2015 by tpcwebsite

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. The 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 tax sheltering activities.

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Why are taxes so complicated?

December 21, 2015 by tpcwebsite

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.

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How did the TCJA change the AMT?

May 7, 2020 by tpcwebsite

Q.

How did the TCJA change the AMT?

A.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) included provisions that significantly reduced the impact of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The TCJA enacted a higher AMT exemption, raised the income level at which the exemption begins to phase out, and repealed or scaled back some of the largest AMT preference items. As a result, TPC projects that the number of AMT taxpayers fell from more than 5 million in 2017 to just 200,000 in 2018.

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