An interesting thing to note is that Vice President Biden remains stuck in the Alternative Minimum Tax, as he has been for at least the past several years.  As we have been discussing in recent articles, the combination of the AMT exemption phaseout along with his itemized deductions is what ensnares him in the AMT trap.  The VP’s total income was just over $300 thousand, certainly not in the “rich” category by today’s standards for a couple with two incomes.  President Obama, with income in excess of $5 million, didn’t even come close to paying the AMT.

Let’s review what we have been talking about in the last few articles, using the Vice President’s return as a case study.  The reader is encouraged to look at the Bidens’return as we go through this analysis.

AMT exemption phaseout

The VP’s Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (“AMTI”) was $298,013, right in the middle of the AMT exemption phaseout range of $150,000 to $433,800 (see the May 8th article on the AMT exemption).  So instead of getting his full AMT exemption of $70,950, he was limited to an exemption of $33,947.  Was he starting to hear the AMT sucking sound at this point?  You bet he was.

Itemized deductions – state income tax

The Vice President’s state of residence is Delaware, one of the majority of states that has an income tax.  As can be seen in his tax return, he made a total of $17,718 in state tax payments in 2009 through a combination of withholdings from his and his wife’s wages as well as prior year estimated payments.  This amount properly was deducted for Regular Tax purposes, as can be seen on his Schedule A – Itemized Deductions.

As it turned out, however, Biden was significantly overpaid – more than was required to meet his obligation to the state of Delaware.  The overpayment of $4,749 is seen on his Delaware state tax return also shown on the White House web site along with the Federal return.

AMT impact from state income tax overpayment

The $4,749 overpayment by itself resulted in $1,567 in AMT.  Since this means zero in Federal tax benefit because the AMT allows no deduction for taxes, this was a wasted deduction.  Had the VP done some basic AMT planning, he would have been better off paying this in 2010 as part of his 2010 Delaware taxes.

Also, as was discussed in the May 17th article on state income taxes and the AMT, Delaware tax law only requires that 90% of an individual’s income tax needs to be paid in by December 31 in order to avoid a penalty.  Adding this 10% to the actual overpayment means that he paid another $470 in 2009 Alternative Minimum Tax that did not have to be paid.

Note also that the Vice President’s overpayment of Delaware taxes will be an AMT item – this time in his favor – on next year’s 2010 return.  Such refunds are income for Regular Tax purposes but are not for the AMT because of the absence of an AMT benefit having been received in the prior year.

Itemized deductions – property taxes

We cannot tell from the VP’s income tax return when he received his property tax bill or when it was paid, but this is another area of potential AMT savings.  As explained in the May 21st article on property tax planning, a taxpayer’s possible control over paying a property tax bill in December or in January is a factor with direct impact on the amount of Alternative Minimum Tax paid.  Refer to that article for a specific example of how this works.

AMT planning

Will the Vice President ever be able to get completely out of the Alternative Minimum Tax?  While we don’t have the information to know the answer to that question, there certainly are enough opportunities, as discussed above, for him easily to at least reduce the amount of AMT that he is paying.

Conclusion

Even though this Memorial Day weekend officially opens barbecue season, and we now have other summertime distractions like golf, tennis, or just taking some time off for a well-earned vacation, it soon may be too late to adjust state tax withholdings and to make other needed changes if you don’t start giving your 2010 AMT situation a little early thought.

Property tax assessment and billing cycles vary among the states, but the basic concept of your control over paying a tax bill in December or in January – as we previously discussed regarding state income taxes – also applies to property taxes.

Real estate taxes

As an example, here is a sample of an actual property tax bill on a $500,000 residence in a state that assesses the tax in the fall, and then gives the taxpayer a choice of payment dates in accordance with a set schedule.  With this example we can see how easy it is to have a direct impact on the AMT you pay.

The AMT-saving strategy for property taxes is extremely simple here, since you have a choice of paying your property taxes in 2010 or in January, 2011.  The simple act of when you write out the check will have a direct impact on the AMT you will pay.  As mentioned above, you get no benefit from a property tax deduction in a year you are in the AMT.  By paying your property taxes paid in a year you are not in the AMT, you will achieve real tax savings.

In this example, if you are in the AMT this year but do not expect to be in the AMT in 2011, by waiting until January to pay this bill you will save up to 35% in Federal income taxes (39.6% if the “Bush tax cuts” are allowed to expire).  This obviously is much greater than the 2% discount you will forego and the 5% penalty you will incur.

Each individual reader’s state assessment and billing cycle will vary from this example, but the concept is the same – to the extent you can, without incurring penalties with which you would not be comfortable, control even a portion of the timing of payment of your property taxes, you can save on your AMT bill.

Personal property taxes

Many states impose taxes on the value of personal property that is owned.  Common examples are automobiles, boats, RVs and the like.  Similar to real estate taxes, personal property taxes are deductible for the Regular Tax but not for the Alternative Minimum Tax, so here is one more planning opportunity.

Assume your personal property tax rate is 1.5%, for example, and you have a $40,000 car.  Your tax will be $600.  If you have the opportunity to pay this in one year versus another (the December – January example above), this could be an easy way to shave a few hundred dollars off your AMT bill.

Conclusion

Property taxes represent one of the easiest AMT planning opportunities.  It is not hard to take a quick look at last year’s property tax bills to see when they were received and when they are payable.  A little advance planning right now potentially can save thousands in taxes if the AMT is taken into consideration when paying these bills.

If you are stuck in the AMT, you are getting no benefit from your state income taxes paid – they simply are disallowed as a deduction in computing the Alternative Minimum Tax.  But if you could move some of your deductions to a year when you are not in the AMT, you could achieve real tax savings – up to the 35% depending on your tax bracket.

Essentials of state tax payments

There are two essential things to remember in planning your state income tax payments in order to reduce your AMT

One is that no state requires you to pay in 100% of your state tax liability – the required percentage generally is 80% or 90%.  If you don’t pay in this minimum required amount you may be subject to an underpayment penalty, which usually is calculated in a manner similar to interest.

Second is that if you make quarterly estimated tax payments, the fourth quarter payment generally is due on January 15 – for example, January 15, 2011 for the fourth quarter installment of your 2010 taxes.  This is the way the IRS works, and most states follow this pattern.

Control over that last portion of state taxes due

Remembering the above key facts, the AMT-saving strategy is to look at the control you have over the payment of this last portion of your state taxes  – the fourth quarter installment, if applicable, and/or the last 10 or 20 percent you will owe.  Since you have the choice of paying a portion of your state income taxes either in December of the current year, or in January or even April of the following year, the decision on when you write out the check to pay these taxes will have a direct impact on the AMT you will pay.

By having more of your state income taxes paid in a year when you are not in the AMT, you will achieve real tax savings.

An example

To illustrate how this works, assume that you expect to be in the AMT in 2010, that your total 2010 state taxes will be $15,000, and that you expect not be in the AMT in 2011.  If you could defer paying just 10% – $1,500 – of your 2010 state income tax until 2011, this could save you $500 or more depending on your tax bracket. If you could defer $3,000, your savings would be over $1,000, and so on.  Note that even if you do end in the AMT again next year, continuing to execute this strategy will mean that you will achieve this Regular Tax benefit in the first year that you are not in the AMT.  With the Democrats pushing for higher income tax rates, this becomes more and more a real possibility.

What you need to do to evaluate this AMT-saving strategy

Check on your state’s web site to determine the minimum percentage of your taxes that have to be paid in by December 31.  It likely is 80% or 90%.  Also check the rules for estimated payments and the forms that you will need to do this.  Then, using an AMT planning model like that available on amtindividual.com, try putting different numbers in the model for your state tax payments, and you quickly will see how much you might be able to save by reducing your AMT.

Good luck with your planning!

Itemized deductions

The bulk of the AMT problem actually comes from the deduction side – specifically, deductions that an individual is allowed to take in computing the Regular Tax but is not allowed to take for the AMT.  Of the different types of deductions, some are not allowed at all for the AMT, while others are allowed but to a lesser extent than they are allowed for the Regular Tax.

The deductions that are allowed for the Regular Tax but are not allowed at all for the Alternative Minimum Tax are the following:

-          the deduction for state and local taxes

-          miscellaneous itemized deductions

-          the standard deduction

-          the deduction for personal exemptions

The deductions that are allowed for the Regular Tax but are allowed only to a lesser extent for the AMT are these:

-          the itemized deduction for medical and dental expenses

-          the deduction for interest paid

-          many business expenses such as depreciation, depletion, and research expenses, among others

State and local taxes affect more than 90% of all AMT payers

Of the deductions listed above, the single one that impacts almost every individual caught in the AMT trap is the deduction for state and local taxes.  These are relatively large dollar items for most taxpayers, and, as mentioned above, they are not deductible at all for the AMT.

The term “state and local taxes” includes the following:

-  State income taxes.  Forty-three states impose a state income tax, and some of them – New York and California come to mind along with numerous others – have fairly high tax rates for folks who are at the income levels already being affected by the AMT.  (Residents of the following states are the lucky ones who do not share this burden: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.)

-  Local income taxes.  Many cities across the United States impose their own income taxes.  New York City, of course, has one, and other cities across the nation – Louisville, Kentucky is one other example – also have them.  New York City’s tax rate ranges from 2.9% to 3.6% of taxable income, while Louisville’s is 2.2% on gross earned income – no deductions allowed.  Taxes like these quickly compound the AMT problem.

-  Real estate taxes.  Owners of real estate pay property taxes on the value of the property (an “ad valorem” tax).  Many states – you know if you live in one – have high property taxes.  Again, a big AMT problem.

-  Personal property taxes.  It is not uncommon for states and local jurisdictions to impose a property tax on personal property.  “Personal” is a legal term meaning tangible but moveable property such as cars and boats.  Check the tag renewal notice on your car, for example, to see how much this is.

-  Sales taxes.  All states but six impose a sales tax.  On the Federal return the taxpayer has an option to deduct state and local sales taxes in lieu of income taxes.  In the seven states with no income tax this election generally proves beneficial in computing the Regular Tax – but of course it is no help when it comes to the AMT.

In the next article we’ll look at the effect these lost itemized deductions have on calculation of the AMT, and we also will review the significant tax planning opportunities that they present.

# 1 – Personal exemptions

For the Regular Tax, every taxpayer is entitled to a personal exemption deduction for himself, and his spouse and/or other dependents.  Since the AMT denies any deduction for personal exemptions, this is the single item affecting almost every individual paying the Alternative Minimum Tax.

# 2 – State and local tax deduction

This item, which consists of property taxes, state and local income taxes, and sales taxes, is only slightly behind personal exemptions in terms of the number of AMT payers affected.  The reasons for this are the relatively heavy burden of state and local taxes as well as the fact that the AMT disallows every dollar of this deduction.

# 3 -Capital gains

This is not specifically listed as an AMT item, but the impact of capital gains on an individual’s Alternative Minimum Tax can be significant.  At levels of taxable income where most AMT payers find themselves, an additional $100 of capital gains could add up to $7 of AMT being paid on top of the $15 imposed by the Regular Tax capital gains bracket.

# 4 – Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions

A taxpayer’s employee business or investment-related expenses may be deductible under the Regular Tax, but they are not for the AMT.  This affects nearly a third of all AMT payers.

# 5 – Depreciation

Business owners and investors with rental property are allowed depreciation deductions for the property used in these activities.  The AMT disallows a portion of the depreciation deduction that otherwise may be taken.

# 6 – Passive activity losses

Many investment activities are considered “passive” for tax purposes.  An example is a taxpayer who acquires an interest in an investment partnership.  As such, losses from these investments are limited in how they may be deducted for purposes of the Regular Tax.  The AMT imposes even further limitations on the use of these losses.

# 7 – Private activity bond interest

An individual investing in tax-exempt municipal bonds may receive an unpleasant surprise when he discovers that Alternative Minimum Tax has to be paid on the interest income from a certain type of municipal bond – the so-called private activity bond.  While there may be an increase in before-tax yield from this type of bond, the after-AMT results can be very disappointing.

# 8 – Standard deduction

A taxpayer is allowed no standard deduction in computing the AMT. A valuable planning idea here could mean that an AMT taxpayer might be better off not claiming the standard deduction at all.

# 9 – Medical and dental expenses

For purposes of the Regular Tax, individuals are allowed a deduction for medical and dental expenses, to the extent these expenses exceed 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income.  The AMT limits this deduction even further by instead imposing an excess-of-10% requirement.

#10 – Limitations on investment losses

In addition to the limitation on the use of passive activity losses as discussed above, there are other investment activities, not falling under the passive rules, the losses from which still will be limited for purposes of the Regular Tax.  Again, the AMT places even further limitations on the use of these losses.

Conclusion

In addition to this top ten list, there are nearly 20 other individual items waiting to trip up the AMT payer.  The individual items that catch any particular taxpayer are shown on that individual’s Form 6251 that is attached to his tax return.  It is important to note, however, that planning opportunities exist that can lessen the impact of each and every one of these.  Check these out at AMTIndividual.com.

Annual election

The basic choice – itemizing vs. taking the standard deduction – is an election a taxpayer makes each year when the tax return is filed.  The election is binding for both the Regular Tax and the AMT; a taxpayer cannot itemize for one and take the standard deduction for the other.

Itemized deductions

The major categories of itemized deductions are Medical and Dental, Taxes, Charitable Contributions, Home Mortgage Interest, Casualty Losses, and Miscellaneous.  All of these are deductible under the Regular Tax.  Under the Alternative Minimum Tax, however, the itemized deduction categories of Taxes and Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions are disallowed in their entirety, while Charitable Contributions are fully allowed.  The categories of Medical and Dental, Home Mortgage Interest, and Casualty Losses also are allowed, at least in part.

Standard deduction

The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount, adjusted annually for inflation.  This may be taken in lieu of itemizing deductions.  Currently this dollar amount is $11,400 for a married couple filing jointly.

Step 1 – compute the lowest Regular Tax

The Regular Tax, of course, is the starting point, and the choice here seems simple: if the standard deduction is greater than the taxpayer’s itemized deductions, then the standard deduction will result in a lower tax liability.  If the taxpayer is paying the Regular Tax, nothing more needs to be done.  If, however, the taxpayer is in the AMT, it is critical then to go to step 2 to avoid overpaying taxes.

Step 2 – recalculate the tax liability using itemized deductions

Going back to our married couple, even though their itemized deductions were less than the $11,400 standard deduction, they need to recalculate their taxes taking itemized deductions instead of the standard deduction.  Although this seemingly would increase their taxes, it may actually reduce their AMT, or even possibly even eliminate it as in the example discussed below.

Example

To illustrate how this analysis would work, assume a couple lives in Florida, a state with no income tax, and is renting their home so they have no real estate taxes or mortgage interest.  All the couple has for itemized deductions is $10,000 of charitable contributions.  They have $250,000 combined salaries and wages, and $50,000 of dividends and capital gains.

When this couple starts out with step 1, they note that their $10,000 of itemized deductions is less than the $11,400 standard deduction, so they elect to take the standard deduction.  At first blush, this seems to be the correct thing to do because their taxable income is $1,400 less by doing this than if they had itemized, but in actuality this would be a very costly mistake for them to make.

Under these facts the couple would pay $64,634 in taxes – $61,610 of Regular Tax and $3,024 of Alternative Minimum Tax.  Under the AMT, they receive no benefit from the standard deduction, and they are wasting the Alternative Minimum Tax benefit they could get from the $10,000 charitable contribution deduction.  If, instead, in this example the couple elected to itemize, their tax liability would be $62,072 – all Regular Tax, with no AMT.  Even though they gave us $1,400 in Regular Tax deductions, they saved $2,562 and completely eliminated the AMT!

Conclusion

It is critical that Alternative Minimum Taxpayers take this extra step.  At first it may seem counterintuitive to be taking the smaller of itemized deductions or the standard deduction, but thinking differently can actually end up saving significant taxes.

Discussed below are a few key items associated with investing activities, and the AMT planning opportunities that may exist.

Dividends and capital gains

Most dividends on common stocks are “qualifying,” and, thus, are eligible for a lower tax rate than “ordinary income,” which consists of things such as salaries and wages, interest income, rental income, and the like. Similarly, a capital gain that qualifies as a “long-term” capital gain also is eligible for this lower tax rate. As discussed in a recent article on amtblog.com, even though the tax rate on dividends and capital gains is the same for both the Regular Tax and the AMT, the effect on a taxpayer’s exemption amount can mean that these items of investment income are the reason a taxpayer is paying the AMT.

Planning strategy – use a model such as that available on AMTIndividual.com to determine the real tax rate being paid on dividends and capital gains. For maximum returns, investors should always consider after-tax yield when evaluating investment alternatives.

Tax-exempt bond interest

In general, municipal bond interest is exempt from Federal tax. However, certain muni bonds are designated “private activity” bonds, depending on how the proceeds of the bond issuance are used. Interest from private activity bonds continues to be exempt for the Regular Tax, but it is fully taxable for the AMT, with the result that the after-tax yield is significantly less than what the taxpayer originally thought he was earning. Note that, in order to boost yields, certain muni bond funds may allocate a portion of their portfolios to private activity bonds.

Planning strategy – Again, a taxpayer always should be considering after-tax yield in evaluating investments. An AMT payer generally should not be holding private activity bonds. If the investment is in mutual fund form, there are plenty of muni bond funds available that do not invest in private activity bonds.

Partnerships and other “pass-through” investments

In many cases partnerships themselves will have AMT items, but since a partnership “passes through” these items, it is the individual partner who ends up paying the AMT. For example, a real estate partnership may use a depreciation method that is allowable for the Regular Tax but is not allowable for the AMT. This difference in depreciation methods is an AMT item that will be reported to the partner on the Form K-1 he receives from the partnership, which, in turn, must be reported on the partner’s own AMT schedule, the Form 6251.

Note that this same pass-through treatment results in the case of S corporations, LLCs, and certain estates and trusts.

Planning strategy – Before investing in a partnership, an individual should inquire about AMT items that the partnership may generate. Once invested, it generally is too late to do anything about them.

Conclusion

While the old maxim that taxes should not determine an investment strategy is true, nevertheless an investor who is stuck in the AMT may be earning a significantly lower after-tax yield on his investments than he realizes. Remember that it is only after-tax income that an investor actually gets to keep; ignoring taxes, especially the AMT, is unwise.

In general, a passive activity is either: 1) a trade or business in which the taxpayer did not materially participate; or 2) an investment involving rental real estate. “Material participation” means active involvement in the operations of the business on a regular, continuous and substantial basis. A typical passive activity is an investment partnership in which the taxpayer is a passive investor, not involved in the day-to-day management.

The passive activity rules were enacted as a way to curtail the use of tax shelters, where individual investors had ownership interests in partnerships that were generating tax losses that the individuals reported in their tax returns. Before the passive activity rules, these investors were allowed to offset other income, like dividends, interest, and salaries and wages, with these losses.

Passive activity losses are very limited in how that may be used against other income for purposes of the Regular Tax. If they cannot be used in the year they are first generated, the losses are carried forward to a future year when they can be used against income generated from the passive activities. In many cases this is the year the taxpayer exits the activity.

For purposes of the Alternative Minimum Tax, these same limitations apply, but the difference is that there also may be AMT items included within the computation of the passive activity loss itself. One common example is depreciation, whether the activity is rental property or a trade or business. For purposes of computing the amount of AMT loss that may be used against AMT passive income, whether in the current year or to be carried forward to be used in a future year, AMT adjustments like depreciation must be taken into account.

As an example of how this works, assume a taxpayer is a partner in a partnership and the Schedule K-1 the taxpayer receives shows the following:

- a Regular Tax passive activity loss of $2,500
- a depreciation adjustment of $500 (less depreciation allowed for the AMT)
- an adjustment of $250 to the gain from sale of property (less gain for the AMT)

In this case the taxpayer’s passive activity loss for Alternative Minimum Tax purposes is $2,250. It is important for the taxpayer to keep records of this difference in order to be able to properly compute his Regular Tax and his AMT in the years the loss is utilized, particularly in view of the impact it could have on his overall AMT planning.

Note – the taxpayer must be careful to have the AMT adjustments going in the right direction. In the example above, one adjustment decreased the loss while the other increased the loss. See the articles on amtblog.com on these two common passive activity AMT items, Depreciation, and Disposition of Business or Rental Property, that appeared on the blog on January 20th and January 24th, respectively.

For the Regular Tax, an itemized deduction is allowed for medical expenses paid during the year. A tax benefit is received, however, only to the extent the expenses exceed more than 7.5% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI). AGI is the number on the last line (Line 37 for 2009) of page one of the Form 1040.

For purposes of the AMT, however, there is a slight difference – the threshold a taxpayer must exceed is 10% of AGI, instead of 7.5%. This difference in the computation is the AMT item reported on the Form 6251.

The tax-saving strategy for medical expenses is essentially the same for the AMT as it is for the Regular Tax, but it also requires keeping an eye on that 2.5% difference. As mentioned above, the key is when the medical expenses are incurred and, most importantly, when those expenses actually are paid.

If an individual currently is in the AMT, to the extent any elective surgery, dental, vision work, etc. could be delayed until next year (so long as these expenses are not covered by medical insurance, and are not cosmetic improvements that would not be deductible medical expenses in the first place), consideration should be given to doing so. If the taxpayer is not in the AMT next year, a tax benefit might be achieved that would not be obtained this year. Also note that, even if the individual is in the AMT again next year, to the extent a grouping of medical expenses results in exceeding the10% threshold, the taxpayer will at least get a benefit for that amount.

For example, assume AGI is $100,000 and that it will be the same next year. The taxpayer decides to get “fixed-up” a bit, and the list includes a physical exam with diagnostic tests and x-rays, seeing the dentist for braces, and Lasik eye surgery – all together, $20,000 in medical expenses. For a taxpayer in the AMT, it would be a disaster to do half of this now and half next year – the total after-tax cost would be the full $20,000. If instead all the work is done in one year, the IRS offers a nice subsidy – as much as $2,800 for an AMT payer ($20,000 less $10,000 (10% of AGI), multiplied by the 28% AMT bracket).

Even better, if in this example the taxpayer is in the AMT this year but through tax planning will not be in it again next year, the IRS’ subsidy possibly could be $5,000 ($20,000 less the 7.5% of AGI, times the 39.6% bracket – the expected highest Regular Tax bracket in 2011).

Certainly something to think about!

When property is disposed of, a taxpayer calculates the gain or loss based on the difference between the selling price and his tax basis. For something like a stock or a bond, tax basis is the amount originally paid for the investment – that is all that is needed. This same concept also applies to the sale of business or rental property, but with one important difference – depreciation. In the case of depreciable property, tax basis is the amount originally paid, but then reduced for any depreciation taken.

The tax basis of depreciable property changes every year. In the example in the last article, a $10,000 machine was depreciated by taking a $4,000 deduction in the first year, and a $2,400 deduction in the second year. At the end of year 2, therefore, the tax basis of this machine was $3,600 ($10,000 less the $6,400 of total depreciation taken).

What would happen if the machine were sold at this point? The same basic principle of computing the difference between selling price and tax basis applies. Assume, for example, a sales price of $5,000. In this case the taxpayer’s gain would be $1,400, and this amount would be included in taxable income. This is the Regular Tax treatment.

The AMT item arises at the time of sale of property because, in general, a taxpayer uses a different method of depreciation for purposes of the Alternative Minimum Tax than is used for Regular Tax purposes. To the extent the taxpayer has these AMT items from differences in depreciation in prior years, the tax basis of that property similarly is different for the AMT than it is for the Regular Tax. Therefore, gain or loss on a sale of the property also is different. Essentially, the AMT difference in computing the gain or loss is a reversal of the Regular Tax-AMT depreciation differences in the past.

Continuing with the same example, if after two years a taxpayer has been allowed $5,100 in depreciation deductions for the AMT (see the prior article), the machine’s AMT tax basis is $4,900. Assuming a sale for $5,000, taxable gain for AMT purposes would be $100.

This $1,300 difference in taxable gain (the $100 of AMT gain compared to the $1,400 of Regular Tax gain) is an AMT item in the year of sale. This is a favorable adjustment in computing the taxpayer’s Alternative Minimum Tax. It would be entered as a negative number on the Form 6251, making Alternative Minimum Taxable Income $1,300 less than Regular Tax taxable income.

One out of every 14 AMT payers has this item, so it is important that both the Alternative Minimum Tax basis and the Regular Tax basis of depreciable property are properly calculated. Incorrect calculations can have the effect of negating other AMT planning that a taxpayer may have accomplished, costing real tax dollars.