Will You Get Hit by the AMT?

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By JLP | January 5, 2006

Every year more and more taxpayers are getting slapped with the Alternative Minimum Tax. Until Congress does something about it, the problem will only get worse. The IRS now has a tool to help you find out whether or not you will be affected by the AMT. I just went through the program (we don’t owe AMT!) and found it easy to use. One thing I will point out though is that it works with the 2005 Form 1040, which is different from last year’s Form 1040.

Good luck!

Topics: Taxes |

Comments to “Will You Get Hit by the AMT?”

Nick Says:
January 5th, 2006 at 2:03 pm

Y’know, the name “Alternative Minimum Tax” sounds so happy. Oh sure, I’ll gladly pay an alternative to income tax! Oh, and it’s minimum??? Even better! Makes a person even forget the last word is tax.

sam Says:
January 5th, 2006 at 5:28 pm

The AMT scares me since my wife and I are in the potential demographic to be hit by it. I think we escaped this year based my wife’s preliminary work in Turbo Tax. (She gets a kick out of Turbo Tax. Go figure.) Is there any information out there on ways to minimize the chance of getting hit with the AMT? Our strategy has been to max out our 401k contributions to keep our taxable income down, and even doing catch-up contributions. Any other ideas would be welcome.

Chrees Says:
January 5th, 2006 at 5:35 pm

I’ve been brutalized by the AMT the past two years, but after running preliminary numbers through Turbotax it looks like we escape it this year.

Sam, there are only two ways I know to avoid it: earn less money (maxing out the 401K is a good move, along with increasing anything that is not included in taxable income–flex spending plan contributions, for example), and don’t deduct anything. The nature of the tax is to phase our your deductions, so the less you have, the less the AMT if you’re hit. Neither one of those options appeals to me–I’d rather have Congress get its act together and get rid of the damn thing, but I’m not holding my breath.

Consumerism Commentary Says:
January 6th, 2006 at 1:08 am

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fivecentnickel.com Says:
January 6th, 2006 at 8:51 am

Weekly Roundup - 01/06/06

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mortgage guide Says:
August 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm

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Will You Get Hit by the AMT?