CRS Updates State-by-State AMT Projections
RS22083
- AuthorsMaguire, Steven
- Institutional AuthorsCongressional Research Service
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2008-4643
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2008 TNT 44-24
Order Code RS22083
Updated February 8, 2008
Steven Maguire
Specialist in Public Finance
Government and Finance Division
Summary
______________________________________________________________________________
In 2004, 3.1 million taxpayers were subject to the AMT. By 2005, some 4.1 million taxpayers were subject to the AMT. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Maryland had the highest percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT. South Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alaska, and Alabama had the lowest percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT.
In 2008, absent legislative change, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, some 25.7 million taxpayers will be subject to the AMT. At that time, whether a married taxpayer has itemized deductions for state/local taxes or miscellaneous deductions will become a much less important factor than it is at present in determining AMT coverage. This occurs because, whether they itemize their deductions or not, married taxpayers across a wide range of the income spectrum will be subject to the AMT because personal exemptions are not allowed against the AMT. This report will be updated as legislative action warrants or as new data become available.
The alternative minimum tax for individuals (AMT) was originally enacted to ensure that high-income taxpayers paid a fair share of the federal income tax. However, the lack of indexation of the AMT coupled with the recent reductions in the regular income tax has greatly expanded the potential impact of the AMT.1
Temporary increases in the AMT exemptions expired at the end of 2007. If legislative changes do not extend the expired changes, then the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT will rise from around 5 million in 2007 to 25.7 million in 2008. Further, by 2010, some 31 million taxpayers will be subject to the AMT.2 Taxpayers with incomes in the $100,000 to $500,000 income range will be the hardest hit: 88% of these taxpayers will be subject to the AMT in 2010.
Itemized deductions for state/local taxes (62.7%), personal exemptions (22.4%), and miscellaneous itemized deductions (11.4%) together account for 96% of the preference items that are subject to tax under the AMT but not subject to tax under the regular income tax.3 As a result, over certain income ranges, taxpayers who claim itemized deductions for state/local taxes, miscellaneous deductions, and/or have large families are more likely to fall under the AMT than taxpayers who do not have these characteristics.
Table 1 and Table 2 show for 2004 and 2005, respectively, the percentage of taxpayers in each state that were subject to the AMT. Of all the states, South Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alaska, and Alabama had the smallest percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT. In these five states, 1% of taxpayers were on the AMT in 2005. These are states in which either many taxpayers have relatively low incomes, or state/local taxes that are deductible from the federal income tax are relatively low. As a result of the combination of these factors, taxpayers in these states tend not to itemize their deductions and hence, are less likely to be subject to the AMT than taxpayers in other states.4
On the other hand, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Maryland were the states with the largest percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT. For instance, in New Jersey, about 56 out of every 1,000 taxpayers fell under the AMT in 2004. By 2005, about 68 taxpayers out of every 1,000 paid the AMT. In these states, many taxpayers have relatively high incomes and the state/local tax burden is also relatively high. The combination of these factors produces a larger number of itemizers and, consequently, a larger percentage of taxpayers being pushed into the AMT.
It should be noted that absent legislative change, whether a married taxpayer has itemized deductions for state/local taxes and/or miscellaneous deductions will become a less important factor in determining whether taxpayers are subject to the AMT. This will result because, if the AMT is not modified, then across a broad range of the income spectrum all married taxpayers will be subject to the AMT whether they itemize their deductions or not.
The potentially expanding impact of the AMT has been mitigated through temporary increases in the basic exemption for the AMT and temporary changes that allow taxpayers to use nonrefundable personal tax credits to reduce their AMT liabilities. The most recent increase in the basic AMT exemption occurred in December 2007 with the enactment of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 (TIPA, P.L. 110-166). Under provisions of this act, the AMT exemption for 2007 was set at $66,250 for joint returns and $44,350 for unmarried taxpayers. In addition, this act allows taxpayers to temporarily use nonrefundable tax credits to offset AMT liability. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that these two changes will reduce federal revenues by almost $50.6 billion. In 2008, the basic AMT exemption is scheduled to decrease to its prior law level of $45,000 for joint returns ($35,750 for unmarried taxpayers), and nonrefundable tax credits will not be allowed to offset AMT liability.
Because the temporary patches to the AMT expired at the end of 2007, in 2008 almost 20 million more taxpayers will likely be subject to the AMT.5 An increase of this magnitude will affect taxpayers in every state, regardless of whether taxpayers in that state itemize and deduct their state/local taxes and/or miscellaneous deductions from their federal tax returns.
For example, in 2005, 25,415 taxpayers in Tennessee were subject to the AMT. Thus, Tennessee taxpayers accounted for only 0.62% of the total AMT returns filed in the United States that year. However, if that percentage remains constant, and the temporary patches to the AMT expire, then by 2008 up to 148,451 (0.62% times 24.156 million) taxpayers in Tennessee could be subject to the AMT.
Table 3 shows the potential number of AMT returns by state in 2008 if the temporary patches to the AMT are no extended. The CRS calculations are an extrapolation based on the assumption that the ratio of AMT taxpayers in each state to total AMT taxpayers in the entire country will remain the same in 2008 as it was in 2005. The methodology makes assumptions that could be challenged, but still provides a reasonable estimate of the potential impact of the AMT in 2008 absent legislative changes.
Table 1. Number of Alternative Minimum Taxpayers by State
Tax Year 2004
(Returns in thousands)
Number of AMT returns as
Rank State returns AMT returns % of total
U.S.A. 133,092 3,146 2.36%
46 Alabama 1,910 14 0.73%
50 Alaska 345 2 0.58%
35 Arizona 2,372 30 1.26%
37 Arkansas 1,136 12 1.06%
4 California 15,327 606 3.95%
31 Colorado 2,110 32 1.52%
3 Connecticut 1,665 80 4.80%
24 Delaware 395 6 1.52%
5 District of Columbia 277 11 3.97%
26 Florida 8,173 118 1.44%
13 Georgia 3,782 73 1.93%
23 Hawaii 606 9 1.49%
29 Idaho 594 8 1.35%
15 Illinois 5,762 112 1.94%
43 Indiana 2,854 29 1.02%
36 Iowa 1,334 17 1.27%
22 Kansas 1,229 19 1.55%
32 Kentucky 1,757 23 1.31%
42 Louisiana 1,869 18 0.96%
19 Maine 618 11 1.78%
6 Maryland 2,635 102 3.87%
7 Massachusetts 3,061 116 3.79%
27 Michigan 4,561 69 1.51%
11 Minnesota 2,407 57 2.37%
47 Mississippi 1,165 7 0.60%
34 Missouri 2,585 34 1.32%
30 Montana 439 6 1.37%
20 Nebraska 808 13 1.61%
38 Nevada 1,092 13 1.19%
21 New Hampshire 643 11 1.71%
1 New Jersey 4,107 228 5.55%
39 New Mexico 827 8 0.97%
2 New York 8,625 437 5.07%
14 North Carolina 3,769 69 1.83%
48 North Dakota 305 2 0.66%
12 Ohio 5,447 120 2.20%
41 Oklahoma 1,476 16 1.08%
10 Oregon 1,604 37 2.31%
16 Pennsylvania 5,811 114 1.96%
8 Rhode Island 500 13 2.60%
25 South Carolina 1,844 26 1.41%
51 South Dakota 362 2 0.55%
49 Tennessee 2,606 17 0.65%
33 Texas 9,431 118 1.25%
28 Utah 996 13 1.31%
18 Vermont 306 5 1.63%
9 Virginia 3,491 89 2.55%
40 Washington 2,860 35 1.22%
44 West Virginia 747 6 0.80%
17 Wisconsin 2,621 51 1.95%
45 Wyoming 243 2 0.82%
Source: Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service.
Table 2. Number of Alternative Minimum Taxpayers by State
Tax Year 2005
(Returns in thousands)
Number of AMT returns as
Rank State returns AMT returns % of total
U.S.A. 135,258 4,068 3.01%
47 Alabama 1,956 21 1.07%
48 Alaska 347 3 0.86%
27 Arizona 2,474 49 1.98%
39 Arkansas 1,154 17 1.47%
6 California 15,573 757 4.86%
23 Colorado 2,160 46 2.13%
3 Connecticut 1,682 99 5.89%
21 Delaware 403 9 2.23%
4 District of Columbia 282 15 5.32%
28 Florida 8,411 161 1.91%
15 Georgia 3,918 102 2.60%
22 Hawaii 621 14 2.25%
30 Idaho 614 12 1.95%
13 Illinois 5,836 153 2.62%
41 Indiana 2,884 41 1.42%
37 Iowa 1,347 22 1.63%
24 Kansas 1,242 26 2.09%
35 Kentucky 1,780 31 1.74%
43 Louisiana 1,770 22 1.24%
19 Maine 621 15 2.42%
5 Maryland 2,674 134 5.01%
7 Massachusetts 3,083 146 4.74%
26 Michigan 4,563 93 2.04%
10 Minnesota 2,446 74 3.03%
50 Mississippi 1,170 11 0.94%
33 Missouri 2,611 47 1.80%
32 Montana 448 8 1.79%
25 Nebraska 816 17 2.08%
38 Nevada 1,150 18 1.57%
20 New Hampshire 650 15 2.31%
1 New Jersey 4,153 283 6.81%
42 New Mexico 843 11 1.30%
2 New York 8,716 523 6.00%
18 North Carolina 3,880 93 2.40%
46 North Dakota 307 3 0.98%
12 Ohio 5,460 152 2.78%
40 Oklahoma 1,496 21 1.40%
11 Oregon 1,645 48 2.92%
14 Pennsylvania 5,867 154 2.62%
9 Rhode Island 502 17 3.39%
31 South Carolina 1,885 35 1.86%
51 South Dakota 367 3 0.82%
49 Tennessee 2,658 25 0.94%
34 Texas 9,728 172 1.77%
29 Utah 1,031 19 1.84%
16 Vermont 310 8 2.58%
8 Virginia 3,541 124 3.50%
36 Washington 2,932 50 1.71%
45 West Virginia 754 9 1.19%
17 Wisconsin 2,656 65 2.45%
44 Wyoming 248 3 1.21%
Source: Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service.
Table 3. Potential AMT Returns by State in 2008
(Returns in thousands)
Potential AMT returns
in 2008
State AMT returns in 2005 (CRS)
U.S.A. 4,068 24,156
Alabama 21 125
Alaska 3 18
Arizona 49 291
Arkansas 17 101
California 757 4,495
Colorado 46 273
Connecticut 99 588
Delaware 9 53
District of Columbia 15 89
Florida 161 956
Georgia 102 606
Hawaii 14 83
Idaho 12 71
Illinois 153 909
Indiana 41 243
Iowa 22 131
Kansas 26 154
Kentucky 31 184
Louisiana 22 131
Maine 15 89
Maryland 134 796
Massachusetts 146 867
Michigan 93 552
Minnesota 74 439
Mississippi 11 65
Missouri 47 279
Montana 8 48
Nebraska 17 101
Nevada 18 107
New Hampshire 15 89
New Jersey 283 1,680
New Mexico 11 65
New York 523 3,106
North Carolina 93 552
North Dakota 3 18
Ohio 152 903
Oklahoma 21 125
Oregon 48 285
Pennsylvania 154 914
Rhode Island 17 101
South Carolina 35 208
South Dakota 3 18
Tennessee 25 148
Texas 172 1,021
Utah 19 113
Vermont 8 48
Virginia 124 736
Washington 50 297
West Virginia 9 53
Wisconsin 65 386
Wyoming 3 18
Source: Calculations by CRS assuming that the ratio of AMT
taxpayers in each state to total AMT taxpayers in the entire country
will remain the same in 2008 as it was in 2005. Projected Number of
AMT taxpayers in the U.S. in 2008 are based on data from the Joint
Committee on Taxation.
1 See CRS Report RL30149, The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals, by Steven Maguire.
2 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, "Present Law and Background Relating to the Alternative Minimum Tax," JCX-38-07, June 25, 2007.
3 JCT, June 25, 2007, p. 18.
4 This relationship might change given the recent enactment of a temporary provision allowing itemized deductions for state/local sales taxes in lieu of income taxes. See CRS Report RL32781, Federal Deductibility of State and Local Taxes, by Steven Maguire.
5 JCT, June 25, 2007.
END OF FOOTNOTES
- AuthorsMaguire, Steven
- Institutional AuthorsCongressional Research Service
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2008-4643
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2008 TNT 44-24