AMT Rates:
26%, on Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (AMTI) up to
2026 - $244,500 ($122,250 for married filing separately)
2025 - $239,100 ($119,550 for married filing separately)
2024 - $232,600 ($116,300 for married filing separately)
28% on AMTI over the above amounts.
The AMT Exemption
Because the alternative minimum tax (AMT) was never intended to apply to
lower and middle income taxpayers who have small amounts of AMT adjustment or preference items, an exemption is provided to taxpayers to generally prevent them from being subject to the AMT.
The AMT exemption is an amount that a taxpayer is allowed to deduct from
alternative minimum taxable income AMTI before calculating the taxpayer’s AMT liability. The exemption amount for a particular taxpayer depends on the taxpayer’s filing status. To prevent upper-income taxpayers from benefiting from the AMT exemption, the exemption phases out after a taxpayer’s AMTI reaches a certain level, also based on the taxpayer’s filing status.
AMT Exemption Amounts - 2026
For 2026, the AMT exemption amounts for taxpayers not subject to the
exemption phase-out are:
A child subject to the kiddie tax rules for regular tax purposes determines his or her AMT exemption under special rules in Code Sec. 59(j)(1). The AMT exemption for a child subject to the kiddie tax is the lesser of the AMT
exemption for a single taxpayer or the total of the child's earned income for the tax year plus $5,000, indexed for inflation. For 2026, the amount indexed for inflation is $9,750.
Exemption Phase-Out and Phase-Out Thresholds - 2026
The AMT exemption amount is reduced one dollar for every two dollars of AMTI above the threshold amount for the taxpayer’s filing status.
Exemption phase-out thresholds: The phase-out thresholds are:
EXAMPLE: Tim and Heather, a couple filing jointly, have AMTI of $1,200,000 in 2026. Their AMT exemption is $40,200, which is the full exemption amount of $140,200 less $100,000 [.5 x ($1,200,000 - $1,000,000)].
AMTI level exemption is completely phased out: Because the AMT exemption phase-out is controlled by the amount of the exemption for a filing status and the amount that AMTI exceeds the phase-out threshold for that filing status, there is a common AMTI level where the exemption for each filing status phases out completely for all taxpayers filing under that status. The exemption phases out completely at the following levels of AMTI in 2026:
Exemption Phaseouts in 2025 and prior years
For 2025 and earlier years, the AMT exemption was reduced one dollar for every four dollars of AMTI above the threshold amount for the taxpayer’s filing status.
EXAMPLE: The full exemption amount for 2025 for taxpayers filing married filing jointly was $137,000. The phaseout threshold for taxpayers filing married filing jointly for 2025 was $1,252,700. Tim and Heather, a couple filing married filing jointly, had AMTI of $1,267,100 in 2025. Their AMT exemption for 2025 was $133,400, which is the full exemption amount for 2025 of $137,000 less $3,600 [.25 x ($1,267,100 - $1,252,700)].
Need more help with the AMT Exemption rules?
Submit a question to the AMT Advisor.
