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Alternative Minimum Taxpayers by State , Record No.: RS22083, Date: March 17, 2005 1 (March 17, 2005)

handle is hein.tera/crstax0003 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22083
March 17, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Alternative Minimum Taxpayers By State
Gregg Esenwein
Specialist in Public Finance
Government and Finance Division
Summary
Personal exemptions, itemized deductions for state/local taxes, and miscellaneous
itemized deductions account for 90% of the preference items that are subject to tax
under the alternative minimum tax (AMT) but not subject to tax under the regular
income tax. 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.
In 2003, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and
California had the highest percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT. Tennessee,
South Dakota, Alaska, Alabama, and Mississippi had the lowest percentage of taxpayers
subject to 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 AMT coverage. 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.
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The alternative minimum tax for individuals (AMT) was originally enacted to ensure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.
Temporary increases in the AMT exemptions are scheduled to expire at the end of
2005. If this occurs, then the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT will rise from
around 2.3 million in 2003 to over 19 million in 2006. Absent legislation, by 2010, some
31 million taxpayers will be subject to the AMT. Taxpayers with incomes in the $100,000

Congressional Research Service Ae The Library of Congress

'See CRS Report RL30149, The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals, by Gregg Esenwein.

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