Tax Guru – Ker$tetter Letter

Q:

Subject:  any update on AMT for 2008?

Just trying to get a handle on what my liability will be.  Last year we crept over the line and we subject to AMT for the first time.  I suspect we will be again this year, but would like to get a better fix on how big it will be.

thx

A:

As part of the big bail-out bill that was passed last month, the AMT exemption amounts were increased for 2008 to:

$46,200 for people filing as Single or Head of Household
$69,960 for Married Filing Joint or Qualifying Widow
$34,975 for Married Filing Separate

As it stands now, these amounts will drop for 2009 to:

$33,750 for people filing as Single or Head of Household
$45,000 for Married Filing Joint or Qualifying Widow
$22,500 for Married Filing Separate

Whether those figures will be changed is completely up in the air now that we have an anti-success Socialist administration ready to take over control of the tax code next year.

You can download the complete 24+ page pdf summary of the latest tax bill from The TaxBook at:

www.thetaxbook.com/updates/thetaxauthority_update_service/pdf/bulletin/10-10-2008_update.pdf

Good luck.  I hope this helps.

Kerry Kerstetter