stupid AMT...

[angryfirelord]

My father did the tax return and we got whacked with the alternative minimum tax this year. Right now, we need to pay $8000 to the IRS along with any other fees that may occur before April 15. It's ridiculous since this tax was only meant for the millionaires, but since it was never indexed to inflation and was modified so that certain deductibles didn't apply anymore, it's creeping down toward the middle class. When Obama & his tam does the tax policy, he seriously needs to consider raising the level much higher (over $250,000) or just getting rid of the damn thing once and for all. The middle class need not share the highest tax burden.

Thanks a lot Bush for raising my taxes!

[cosmik debris]

1. I wish I made enough to pay the AMT

No sympathy here.

[Warpy]

2. The AMT does need a permanent floor under it

but it's my understanding that the temporary floor was extended for the previous tax year. Check that out very carefully.

The AMT is worth keeping because it ensures that creative accounting won't get billionaires and huge corporations off the hook completely. It really is a minimum tax for those individuals and companies that would otherwise pay no tax, at all.

It should never hit anyone making under $250,000/year and probably shouldn't hit anyone making less than twice that.

[angryfirelord]

8. I agree there

We're well below the $250,000 mark, so we certainly don't fall into the "billionaire" bracket. I don't see how it's fair that married couples who make above $75,000 should have to pay this tax. Given inflation and the general expensive of health care, college, and just plain living expenses for everything, $75,000 doesn't carry you that far these days.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. we make well over $75k and don't pay AMT...

you might want to check your math or accountant's skills...

sP

[dems_rightnow]

11. The AMT isn't hurting anyone making $75,000

Closer to $150,000

[Howzit]

12. Married couples each making a little over $75k can bang into AMT

[dems_rightnow]

14. Did you really just refute

my contention that the AMT really becomes a problem at $150,00 income by saying that it can be a problem at $150,000?

[Howzit]

15. Not refuting - confirming :)

Combined income is the key here...

[kdmorris]

13. I make a bit more than $75,000

NO AMT here.

Either you story has holes, or their accountant screwed them.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

3. AMT sucks but has nothing to do with Bush

this one lies squarely on the shoulders of the congress...

sP

[ColbertWatcher]

5. The GOP congress. n/t

[ProdigalJunkMail]

6. Congress period

the congress that passed it and all the congresses since that have not indexed it for inflation or done away with it... not as simple as the GOP congress...

sP

[dems_rightnow]

7. Every congress since 1970

There's plenty of blame to go around, and this one isn't a partisan problem.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

9. Hear Hear.

http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/the-alternative-minimum-tax-9540/

REMEMBER BACK when you were young and poor and nothing made you madder than tales of rich people who paid nothing in income taxes? Well, you weren't alone, and that anger led to the creation of something called the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to keep the rich from living tax-free.

Fast-forward a few years. You're a bit older, somewhat better off and paying far more in taxes than you ever thought possible. So what's the last thing you expect to see when you fill out your tax return? That you owe the alternative minimum tax. You can take some solace in the fact that thousands of taxpayers just like you have been snagged by this nasty bit of tax law in recent years. While only 19,000 people owed the AMT in 1970, millions are paying it now.

What happened? Inflation, mostly. While the "regular" tax brackets, exemptions and standard deductions are adjusted annually for inflation, the AMT brackets and exemptions are not, so many people whose income has grown with the economy enter the dreaded AMT zone each year. Especially vulnerable are people with income over $75,000 and some large deductions, but not the exotic ones that were originally targeted by the AMT's creators. Most vulnerable are taxpayers with several children, interest deductions from second mortgages, capital gains, high state and local taxes, and incentive stock options.

How the Tax Works
The best way to understand the AMT is to view it as a separate tax system. It has its own set of rates and its own rules for deductions, which usually are less generous than the regular rules. Because of these confusing rules, the only ways you can tell if you owe the tax are by filling out the forms (essentially doing your taxes a second time) or by being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. If it turns out you should have paid the AMT but didn't, you will owe the back taxes plus any interest or penalty that the IRS decides to dole out.

~snip. Nasty is the AMT

[glowing]

4. Guess I'm not wealthy enough to be effected by this. Wish I was.