779 / What is the alternative minimum tax exemption?

For 2025, the AMT exemption amounts are: $137,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns (half this amount if separate returns are filed) and $88,100 for all other taxpayers (other than estates and trusts, where the exemption is $30,700).

For 2024, the AMT exemption amounts are: $133,300 for married taxpayers filing joint returns (half this amount if separate returns are filed) and $85,700 for all other taxpayers (other than estates and trusts, where the exemption is $29,900).

The applicable phaseout thresholds are $1,252,700 for married filing jointly and $626,350 for all other taxpayers in 2025 and $1,218,700 for married filing jointly and $609,350 for all other taxpayers in 2024.

While the Act itself provided that the $500,000 limit would apply for taxpayers other than estates or trusts, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2018-57, which provided that the limit for estates and trusts is $99,700 in 2024 and $102,450 in 2025.¹

ATRA permanently “patched” the AMT exemption amount, and applies retroactively to 2012 and all tax years thereafter. Because the AMT was originally intended to apply only to higher income taxpayers who are able to avoid taxation through the use of tax preferences, only taxpayers with income levels above a certain threshold amount are required to calculate their AMT tax liability. Prior to enactment of ATRA, Congress passed legislation each year to retroactively “patch” the AMT exemption amount for the prior tax year so that millions of lower income taxpayers would not become subject to the AMT. ATRA includes an inflation adjustment provision so that the exemption amount will be increased annually for inflation for all tax years beginning after 2012.

In 2018-2025, these exemption amounts are reduced by 25 percent of the amount by which the AMTI exceeds $1 million ($1,252,700 in 2025, $1,218,700 in 2024, $1,156,300 in 2023, $1,079,800 in 2022 and $1,047,200 in 2021) on a joint return and $500,000 ($626,350 in 2025, $609,350 in 2024, $578,100 in 2023, $539,900 in 2022 and $523,600 in 2021) for all other filers.² In 2017, these threshold levels were $160,900 on a joint return, $120,700 on a single return and $80,450 on a separate return filed by a married taxpayer, or in the case of an estate or trust.³

For children subject to the “kiddie tax” ( Q 679) the exemption is the lesser of the above amounts or the child’s earned income plus  $9,550 in 2025 (up from $9,250 in 2024, $8,800 in 2023, $8,200 in 2022, $7,950 in 2021, $7,900 in 2020, and $7,750 in 2019).⁴ For tax years beginning in 2020, the unearned income of minors will no longer be subject to trusts and estates tax rates. Pre-reform rules will again apply.