Order Code RS22100
April 22, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals:
Legislative Initiatives and Their Revenue
Effects
Gregg Esenwein
Specialist in Public Finance
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals was originally enacted to
ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum
amount of federal taxes. However, the AMT is not indexed for inflation, and this
factor, combined with the recent reductions in the regular income tax, has greatly
expanded the potential impact of the AMT.
Temporary provisions intended to mitigate the effects of the AMT expire at the end
of 2005. If this occurs, then the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT will increase
from 3 million in 2004 to 21 million in 2006. The Congressional Budget Office
estimates that holding the AMT “harmless” would reduce federal revenue by $198
billion over the next five years.
The House budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95) assumes $105 billion in tax relief
over the next five years, while the Senate budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 18) assumes
$134 billion in tax relief over the next five years. Neither bill would provide enough tax
relief to hold the AMT harmless over the next five years. To date, five stand-alone bills
(H.R. 206, H.R. 703, H.R. 1186, H.R. 1538, and H.R. 1599) modifying the AMT have
been introduced in the 109th Congress. The Administration did not include
modifications to the AMT in its FY2006 budget proposal.
This report will be updated as legislative action warrants.
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals was originally enacted to ensure
that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of
federal taxes1. However, absent legislative action, there will be a significant increase in
the number of middle- to upper-middle-income taxpayers affected by the AMT in the near
1 There is also a corporate minimum tax, but it is not addressed in this report.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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future. In 2004, about 3 million taxpayers were subject to the AMT, but by 2006, up to
21 million taxpayers could be subject to the AMT.
There are two main reasons for the increase in the number of taxpayers affected by
the AMT. First, the regular income tax is indexed for inflation, but the AMT is not. Over
time this has produced a reduction in the differences between regular income tax
liabilities and AMT liabilities at any given nominal income level, differences that will
continue to shrink in the absence of AMT indexation. The second reason is that recent
reductions in the regular income tax have further narrowed the differences between
regular and AMT tax liabilities. The combination of these two factors means that, absent
legislative changes, there will be a significant growth in the number of taxpayers affected
by the AMT.2
The effects of the AMT have been temporarily mitigated through an increase in the
basic exemption for the AMT. For 2005, the AMT exemption is $58,000 for joint returns
and $40,250 for unmarried taxpayers. In 2006, the basic AMT exemption is scheduled
to decrease to $45,000 for joint returns and $35,750 for unmarried taxpayers.3
Revenue Effects of Modifying the AMT
The fact that the AMT is poised to affect so many taxpayers in the near future has
prompted calls to remedy the situation. Absent legislative action, the AMT will “take
back” much of the recently enacted reductions in the regular income tax for millions of
taxpayers. Because personal exemptions are not allowed against the AMT, large families
will be particularly susceptible to the AMT. In addition, since deductions for state/local
taxes are not allowed against the AMT, taxpayers who itemize and deduct these taxes on
their regular income tax returns are also likely to be adversely affected by the AMT.
However, modifications to the AMT will prove costly in terms of forgone revenue.
For instance, to keep the AMT from affecting more taxpayers in the out years than
it will in 2005 would, at the least, require maintaining the higher exemption levels and
indexing the AMT for inflation. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
this option, which will basically hold the AMT “harmless,” will cost $198 billion over
the first five years. If the 2001 and 2003 reductions in the regular income tax are
extended beyond their current expiration date of 2010, then this approach to fixing the
AMT would reduce revenues by $642 billion over 10 years. CBO also estimates that
allowing AMT taxpayers to take personal exemptions and either the regular standard
deduction or their itemized deductions for state/local taxes would reduce revenues by
$282 billion over the first five years. (A 10-year revenue estimate of this policy option
that includes the interactive effects of extending the 2001/2003 tax cuts is not available.)
Repeal of the AMT would be the most expensive policy option. According to
Treasury Department data, repeal of the AMT would reduce federal revenues by
2 For more detailed information on the AMT see CRS Report RL30149, The Alternative
Minimum Tax for Individuals, by Gregg Esenwein.
3 For information on the income levels of taxpayers affected by the AMT in 2006, see CRS
Report RS21817, The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT): Income Entry Points and “Take Back”
Effects, by Gregg Esenwein.

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approximately $348 billion over the FY2006 to FY2010 period. If the 2001/2003 tax cuts
are extended, then repealing the AMT would reduce federal revenues by over a trillion
dollars between FY2006 and FY2015.4 In fact, the Treasury Department has estimated
that by 2013, it would be less expensive to repeal the regular income tax than it would be
to repeal the AMT.
Table 1. Revenue Costs of Modifying the AMT
(billions of dollars)
Policy Option
FY2006-
FY2006-
FY2010
FY2015
Maintain higher AMT exemption level, index exemption
and bracket amounts1
$198
$642
Allow AMT taxpayers to take personal exemptions and
either the standard deduction or deductions for
$282
N/A3
state/local taxes. (AMT basic exemption reverts to prior
law levels)2
Repeal the AMT4
$348
$1,160
1. Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2006 to 2015,
January 2005, p. 8.
2. Congressional Budget Office, Budget Options, February 2005, p. 275.
3. Not available.
4. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fact Sheet: The Toll of Two Taxes: The Regular Income Tax
and the AMT, March 2, 2005.

Legislative Initiatives in the 109th Congress
On March 17, 2005, the House approved its FY2006 budget resolution, H. Con. Res.
95. The House resolution assumes $106 billion in tax reductions over the next five fiscal
years. Although the budget resolution does not identify specific changes to the tax code,
it does note that, at least for 2006, the budget could accommodate an extension of the
increased AMT exemption levels and extension of the provision allowing taxpayers to use
personal tax credits against the AMT.5 The House budget resolution, however, does not
provide for enough tax reductions to cover the cost of holding the AMT harmless over the
full five-year budget horizon.
Also on March 17, 2005, the Senate approved its budget resolution, S. Con. Res. 18.
The Senate budget resolution assumes $134 billion in tax reductions over the FY2006 to
4 These estimates do not include the additional cost that would arise through debt financing of
these policy options. These additional costs would be substantial. For instance, CBO estimates
that the cost of the debt service associated with maintaining the higher AMT exemption levels
and indexation of the AMT would be $132 billion over a 10-year period.
5 Effective in 2006, certain personal tax credits (for example, the dependent care credit, the
HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning credit, and the D.C. homebuyer’s credit) cannot be
used to reduce a taxpayer’s regular income tax below their AMT liability.

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FY2010 period. It does not specify how the tax reductions are to be allocated. As is the
case in the House budget resolution, the Senate budget resolution does not provide for
enough tax relief to hold the AMT harmless over the five-year budget horizon.
In addition to the budget resolutions, five stand-alone bills affecting the AMT have
been introduced in the 109th Congress.
H.R. 206: Introduced on January 4, 2005, by Representative José Serrano. This bill
would provide a business credit for the use of clean-fuel vehicles by businesses located
within designated areas. The credit would be allowed against both the regular income tax
and the AMT for both individuals and corporations.
H.R. 703: The Middle Class Fairness Act of 2005. Introduced February 9, 2005, by
Representative Scott Garrett. This bill would repeal the AMT limitation on the use of
state and local tax deductions. It would also index, beginning in 2005, the AMT
exemption amount for inflation.
H.R. 1186: Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal Act of 2005. Introduced on March 9, 2005,
by Representative Phil English. This bill would repeal the AMT starting in 2006.
H.R. 1538: Introduced April 8, 2005, by Representative Steve Israel. Increases the AMT
exemption to $100,000 for joint returns and $75,000 for all other returns. Increases the
AMT exemption phase-out threshold. Indexes the AMT exemptions and phase-out
thresholds.
H.R. 1599: Introduced April 13, 2005, by Representative Jeb Bradley. Extends and
indexes the increased AMT exemption amounts through 2007.
Revenue estimates for these specific legislative initiatives in the 109th Congress are
not available.
Administration’s Proposal
In its 2005 budget proposal, the Administration proposed a one-year extension for
both the increased AMT exemption levels and the provision allowing personal credits to
offset AMT tax liability. Both of these proposals were ultimately enacted as part of the
Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004. The Administration also directed the Treasury
Department to study and to report back within a year, on long-term solutions to the AMT
problem.
In its 2006 budget proposal, the Administration did not address the AMT issue.
Subsequent statements by Secretary of the Treasury John Snow indicate that the AMT
issue is to be addressed by the tax reform panel appointed by the Administration.
Although the tax reform panel has not released its recommendations, it is expected that
any tax reform proposals will be revenue neutral. If the reform proposal is revenue
neutral, and if a long-term AMT solution is to be incorporated into the panel’s reform
proposal, then other taxes will have to increase by at least an amount equal to the revenue
cost of holding the AMT harmless under the current system. Hence, the reform proposal
will need to raise $198 to $642 billion over the next five to ten years to cover the
minimum cost of fixing the AMT.

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