AMT -- about how much do you have to make to be subject to it?

[Anonymous]

Our HHI has varied a lot over the past few years (with me working, then becoming a SAHM) in the low to medium-high $100s but we have never paid the AMT before. My DH has become a partner in his firm and his income will likely be increasing over time. Our AGI will probably be $175k or so this year. At what point do I need to start worrying about the AMT? The form is really complex, and I can sit down and go through it line by line (or use the AMT Assistant on the IRS website), but I was thinking if anyone here had gone from not paying it to paying it, maybe they could give me a ballpark number. Since he is now a partner he is self employed for tax purposes and I do all of our financial planning and withholding.

[Anonymous]

It's not how much money you earn, it's how your AMT preference items stack up against that income.

It's possible to be a family of five with a kid in college and hit the AMT with an income of about $50,000. Or at least it was a few years ago.

It does seem to hit families who earn between about $200,000 and $500,000 who:

-- Have multiple children (the AMT treats children as an illegal tax shelter and disallows exemptions for them)
-- A lot of state and local income tax deductions (i.e., if your property tax is high as well as your state income tax).

Other common AMT triggers include:

-- Mortgage interest on a second loan (but not a primary mortgage)
-- Medical
-- Exercise of incentive stock options.

There are a bunch of others but those are the big ones I know off the top of my head.

[Anonymous]

We started hitting it when we crossed into
200k, and especially when we had our 2nd kid.

As much as people hate it - and I do - its never been huge for us - $1,000 to $2,000 - not nothing but not so bad that you end up loosing sleep over it.

[Anonymous]

Yeah its bill shit needs to be removed Or adjusted to the rich level of 400k

[Anonymous]

We make about $240k with 1 kid and a not crazy house (so moderate property tax) and live in VA ( so not super high state tax) and have never triggered it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. We have 3 (soon to be 4) kids, but our mortgage interest and property taxes are not that high because we live far out in a small house. I'll definitely have to run some numbers and see if we might hit it this year. But good to know that even if we do, it probably won't be a huge number.

[Anonymous]

NP here. What is AMT?

[Anonymous]

NP here. What is AMT?

http://bit.ly/15oP9PG

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not how much money you earn, it's how your AMT preference items stack up against that income.

It's possible to be a family of five with a kid in college and hit the AMT with an income of about $50,000. Or at least it was a few years ago.

It does seem to hit families who earn between about $200,000 and $500,000 who:

-- Have multiple children (the AMT treats children as an illegal tax shelter and disallows exemptions for them)
-- A lot of state and local income tax deductions (i.e., if your property tax is high as well as your state income tax).

Other common AMT triggers include:

-- Mortgage interest on a second loan (but not a primary mortgage)
-- Medical
-- Exercise of incentive stock options.

There are a bunch of others but those are the big ones I know off the top of my head.

There is an 80k exemption for married couples filing jointly, plus you deduct interest on you home. Children are not an "illegal tax shelter". No one is going to pay it. On 90k.
It is a very reasonable tax, and much of the reason more people are being caught by it is because of the ridiculous bush tax cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not how much money you earn, it's how your AMT preference items stack up against that income.

It's possible to be a family of five with a kid in college and hit the AMT with an income of about $50,000. Or at least it was a few years ago.

It does seem to hit families who earn between about $200,000 and $500,000 who:

-- Have multiple children (the AMT treats children as an illegal tax shelter and disallows exemptions for them)
-- A lot of state and local income tax deductions (i.e., if your property tax is high as well as your state income tax).

Other common AMT triggers include:

-- Mortgage interest on a second loan (but not a primary mortgage)
-- Medical
-- Exercise of incentive stock options.

There are a bunch of others but those are the big ones I know off the top of my head.

There is an 80k exemption for married couples filing jointly, plus you deduct interest on you home. Children are not an "illegal tax shelter". No one is going to pay it. On 90k.
It is a very reasonable tax, and much of the reason more people are being caught by it is because of the ridiculous bush tax cuts.

PP is right--the AMT does treat children as an illegal tax shelter. Our income and deductions stayed almost constant from 2011 to 2012, EXCEPT that we had twins (for a total of 3 kids) in 2012. Boom, we got hit with the AMT.

[Anonymous]

If you are making $200k then I highly recommend you shell out $30 for turbotax (basic is fine, or deluxe, whatever) and it'll figure out if you are subject, and how much it is. (OTOH a CPA is usually a waste of money unless you have your own business or maybe rental property)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not how much money you earn, it's how your AMT preference items stack up against that income.

It's possible to be a family of five with a kid in college and hit the AMT with an income of about $50,000. Or at least it was a few years ago.

It does seem to hit families who earn between about $200,000 and $500,000 who:

-- Have multiple children (the AMT treats children as an illegal tax shelter and disallows exemptions for them)
-- A lot of state and local income tax deductions (i.e., if your property tax is high as well as your state income tax).

Other common AMT triggers include:

-- Mortgage interest on a second loan (but not a primary mortgage)
-- Medical
-- Exercise of incentive stock options.

There are a bunch of others but those are the big ones I know off the top of my head.

There is an 80k exemption for married couples filing jointly, plus you deduct interest on you home. Children are not an "illegal tax shelter". No one is going to pay it. On 90k.
It is a very reasonable tax, and much of the reason more people are being caught by it is because of the ridiculous bush tax cuts.

Meh. I don't know. We made $210K, have a smallish mortgage ($300K), no other deductions, and we hit it the second our 2nd kid was born.

[Anonymous]

We hit it last year at around 300k combined; no kids; big house. Most of my single friends who own a property are hitting it at around 200k

[Anonymous]

We hit it at 210k, didn't pay it before

[Anonymous]

OP, if your husband's firm does business in other states to the point where you are going to have filing obligations in multiple states and figure out all the rules that apply to partnership income, then the AMT is the least of your worries. Maybe it's time to start consulting with a CPA?