AMT Exemption 2026
Current year
For 2026, the AMT Exemption figures are $140,200 (Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses), $90,100 (Exemption, unmarried individuals), $70,100 (Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns) and 9 more figures below.
| Item | Joint returns or surviving spouses | Unmarried individuals | Married individuals filing separate returns | Estates and trusts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption | $140,200 | $90,100 | $70,100 | $31,400 |
| Exemption phaseout threshold | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $104,800 |
| Fully phased out | $1,280,400 | $680,200 | $640,200 | $167,600 |
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2025
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses | $137,000 | $140,200 | +$3,200 (+2.3%) |
| Exemption, unmarried individuals | $88,100 | $90,100 | +$2,000 (+2.3%) |
| Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns | $68,500 | $70,100 | +$1,600 (+2.3%) |
| Exemption, estates and trusts | $30,700 | $31,400 | +$700 (+2.3%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses | $1,252,700 | $1,000,000 | -$252,700 (-20.2%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals | $626,350 | $500,000 | -$126,350 (-20.2%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns | $626,350 | $500,000 | -$126,350 (-20.2%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts | $102,500 | $104,800 | +$2,300 (+2.2%) |
| Fully phased out, joint returns or surviving spouses | $1,800,700 | $1,280,400 | -$520,300 (-28.9%) |
| Fully phased out, unmarried individuals | $978,750 | $680,200 | -$298,550 (-30.5%) |
| Fully phased out, married individuals filing separate returns | $900,350 | $640,200 | -$260,150 (-28.9%) |
| Fully phased out, estates and trusts | $225,300 | $167,600 | -$57,700 (-25.6%) |
Exemption
Exemption phaseout threshold
Fully phased out
$31,400$1,280,400
One dot per column of the table, on a scale running from the smallest of these amounts to the largest. The scale is logarithmic - each faint line is ten times the one before it, so that the amounts crowded at the low end stay far enough apart to read. The table states which dot is which.
Who it applies to
Taxpayers subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax for taxable years beginning in 2026
What changed this year, and why
For taxable years beginning in 2026, the exemption amounts and phaseout thresholds under § 55(d) are set by Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and this is also the first year they rest on an amended statute rather than on the routine annual inflation math earlier years used. Section 70107 of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) amends § 55(d)(4) to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's temporary increase to the exemption and phaseout-threshold amounts, due to expire after 2025, permanent instead. As amended, § 55(d)(4)(B) fixes the joint-filer phaseout threshold at $1,000,000 and, unlike the expiring temporary provision, does not adjust that amount for inflation for any taxable year beginning before 2027. The $1,252,700 threshold Rev. Proc. 2024-40 published for 2025 was the last inflation-adjusted amount under that expiring provision; $1,000,000 is OBBBA's new permanent base, not a reduction from that inflation-adjusted figure.
Common questions
- What is the AMT exemption for 2026?
- For 2026, the exemption is $140,200 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $90,100 for unmarried individuals, $70,100 for married individuals filing separate returns, and $31,400 for estates and trusts.
- Why is the 2026 phaseout threshold lower than 2025's?
- It is not a cut. Section 70107 of the OBBBA made the TCJA's temporary phaseout-threshold increase permanent and reset it to a fixed $1,000,000 base for joint returns or surviving spouses, with $500,000 for unmarried individuals and for married individuals filing separate returns, which § 55(d)(4)(B) does not adjust for inflation before 2027. The $1,252,700 threshold Rev. Proc. 2024-40 published for 2025 was the last inflation-adjusted amount under the expiring temporary provision.
- At what income level is the AMT exemption completely phased out for 2026?
- $1,280,400 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $680,200 for unmarried individuals, $640,200 for married individuals filing separate returns, and $167,600 for estates and trusts.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The AMT exemption left on a joint return takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
What the alternative minimum tax actually is
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is an additional tax that runs alongside the regular income tax. It targets taxpayers who benefit from tax preferences - such as deductions or favorable income treatment - that would otherwise allow them to pay little or no regular tax despite having substantial economic income. The AMT recalculates tax liability using a broader definition of income and a flat rate structure, then requires payment of the higher amount. In effect, it establishes a floor on how much tax a taxpayer owes, preventing extensive use of tax benefits from eliminating tax liability entirely. If your AMT calculation exceeds your regular tax, you owe the difference.
The AMT is a separate tax that is imposed in addition to your regular tax. It applies to taxpayers who have certain types of income that receive favorable treatment or who qualify for certain deductions under the tax law. These tax benefits can significantly reduce the regular tax of some taxpayers with higher economic incomes. The AMT sets a limit on the amount these benefits can be used to reduce total tax.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
When you have to file Form 6251
Taxpayers must attach Form 6251 to their federal income tax return if any of several conditions are met. The most common trigger is when the tentative minimum tax calculated on line 7 of Form 6251 exceeds the regular tax amount on line 10, meaning the taxpayer actually owes AMT. Additional filing requirements apply if the taxpayer claims certain credits, including the general business credit (when specific line thresholds on Form 3800 are exceeded), the qualified electric vehicle credit, the personal-use portion of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit, or the credit for prior year minimum tax. Form 6251 must also be filed if the total of certain AMT adjustment lines is negative and line 7 would still exceed line 10 without taking those adjustments into account. These rules ensure that the IRS can properly verify AMT calculations and credit limitations for taxpayers who may be subject to the alternative minimum tax system.
Who Must File Attach Form 6251 to your return if any of the following statements are true.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
How the exemption is taken away as income rises
The AMT exemption is gradually reduced as alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) rises above a phaseout threshold. The IRS's exemption worksheet works this reduction out by subtracting the threshold from AMTI and multiplying what is left by 25%, then subtracting that amount from the full exemption. For 2026, the phaseout threshold is $1,000,000 for joint returns or surviving spouses and $500,000 for unmarried individuals and for married individuals filing separate returns, and the exemption is fully phased out once AMTI reaches $1,280,400 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $680,200 for unmarried individuals, and $640,200 for married individuals filing separate returns. Below the threshold, the full exemption applies: $140,200 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $90,100 for unmarried individuals, and $70,100 for married individuals filing separate returns.
4. Subtract line 3 from line 2. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 5. Multiply line 4 by 25% (0.25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
The two AMT rates and where the second one starts
The alternative minimum tax uses two rates for noncorporate taxpayers. The first rate, 26%, applies to the lower portion of taxable excess - the amount on line 6 of Form 6251 after the exemption is subtracted from alternative minimum taxable income. For taxable excess above a threshold, the second rate, 28%, applies to the amount exceeding that threshold. The instructions provide a simplified calculation: multiply the entire line 6 by 28% and subtract a fixed dollar amount to arrive at the same result as applying both rates separately. The threshold at which the higher rate kicks in and the corresponding subtraction amount vary by filing status, with lower thresholds for married individuals filing separately. These two brackets ensure that the AMT imposes a progressively higher burden as the amount of taxable excess increases.
multiplying line 6 by 26% (0.26). Otherwise, figure the amount to enter on line 7 by multiplying line 6 by 28% (0.28) and subtracting $4,782 ($2,391 if married filing separately) from the result.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
Exercising an incentive stock option can trigger AMT the year you exercise, not the year you sell
For regular income tax purposes, exercising an incentive stock option (ISO) does not create taxable income in the year you exercise it. But that deferral does not apply under the alternative minimum tax. Instead, in the year of exercise, you must generally include on line 2i of Form 6251 the excess of the stock's fair market value over the amount you paid for the stock (including any amount paid for the option itself). This means you may owe AMT in the year you exercise the option, even though you have not yet sold the shares and have received no cash from the transaction. The fair market value is determined when your rights in the acquired stock first become transferable or are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. If you exercise and dispose of the stock in the same year, the regular tax and AMT treatments match and no adjustment is required. The amount included as an AMT adjustment also increases your AMT basis in the stock, reducing future AMT gain when you eventually sell.
this rule doesn’t apply for the AMT. Instead, you must generally include on line 2i the excess, if any, of: 1. The fair market value (FMV) of the stock acquired through exercise of the option (determined without regard to any lapse restriction) when your rights in the acquired stock first become transferable or when these rights are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture; over 2. The amount you paid for the stock, including any amount you paid for the ISO used to acquire the stock.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
AMT you pay this year can become a credit against regular tax in a future year
The alternative minimum tax you pay in one year is not necessarily lost forever. The IRS allows a Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax that can offset regular tax in a future year when your regular tax exceeds your AMT. If you paid AMT for the prior tax year, or if you carried forward a minimum tax credit from an earlier return, you may be eligible for this credit. The credit is computed on Form 8801 and is claimed on your return for the following year. For example, if you pay AMT on your 2025 return, you may be able to take the credit on Form 8801 when you file your 2026 return, reducing the regular tax you owe that year.
See Form 8801, Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax—Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, if you paid AMT for 2024 or you had a minimum tax credit carryforward on your 2024 Form 8801. If you pay AMT for 2025, you may be able to take a credit on Form 8801 for 2026.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
Your tentative minimum tax caps how far certain credits can reduce your regular tax
When you figure your alternative minimum tax liability on Form 6251, the result includes a tentative minimum tax (line 9 of the form). That figure does more than determine whether you owe AMT. It also serves as a cap on how far certain nonrefundable credits can reduce your regular tax. In other words, even if you qualify for credits that would otherwise bring your regular tax below zero, those credits cannot reduce your tax below the tentative minimum tax amount. Taxpayers who need to determine whether their credits are limited in this way must compute their tentative minimum tax on Form 6251 and compare it to the credits listed under the form's filing requirements.
Also use Form 6251 to figure your tentative minimum tax (Form 6251, line 9). You may need to know that amount to figure the tax liability limit on the credits listed under Who Must File, earlier.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
Sell ISO stock too soon and you owe a reconciling AMT adjustment
If you sell shares acquired through the exercise of an incentive stock option before meeting the required holding periods, the sale is treated as a disqualifying disposition. For regular tax purposes, the spread at exercise becomes ordinary income in the year of sale. For AMT purposes, however, the adjustment already taken at exercise means the shares carry a higher basis, and the sale produces a capital gain or loss rather than ordinary income. Because the two systems treat the same sale differently, you must report a reconciling adjustment on line 2k of Form 6251. You first figure any ordinary income adjustment for the disqualifying disposition, then refigure your capital gain or loss for AMT using the AMT basis, which reflects the adjustment taken in the year of exercise. The difference between the regular tax and AMT treatment of the sale becomes an AMT adjustment that must be reported in the year of disposition.
Ordinary income from the disposition of property not already taken into account in (1) or (2) or on any other line on Form 6251, such as a disqualifying disposition of stock acquired in a prior year by exercising an incentive stock option; and 4. Capital gain or loss (including any carryover that is different for the AMT) reported on Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, or Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)
- Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses
Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $140,200
- Exemption, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $90,100
- Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $70,100
- Exemption, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $31,400
- Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses
For taxable years beginning in 2026, the amounts used under § 55(d)(2) to determine the phaseout of the exemption amounts are: Filing status Threshold Phaseout Amount Complete Phaseout Amount Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $1,000,000 $1,280,400
- Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $500,000 $680,200
- Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $500,000 $640,200
- Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $104,800 $167,600
- Fully phased out, joint returns or surviving spouses
Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $1,000,000 $1,280,400
- Fully phased out, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $500,000 $680,200
- Fully phased out, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $500,000 $640,200
- Fully phased out, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $104,800 $167,600
By year
Every published year
11 years on record, 2026 back to 2016. Each year links to its own page, its own document and its own verification date.
Oldest year at the left. Every line spans the same run of years, with a tick under each year it has a figure for, so a line that starts late is a column the law added late. The vertical axis is scaled to the values plotted rather than to zero, so a line shows the shape of the change and not the size of the amount. The table states every value.
| Year | Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses | Exemption, unmarried individuals | Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns | Exemption, estates and trusts | Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses | Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals | Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns | Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts | Fully phased out, joint returns or surviving spouses | Fully phased out, unmarried individuals | Fully phased out, married individuals filing separate returns | Fully phased out, estates and trusts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $140,200 | $90,100 | $70,100 | $31,400 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $104,800 | $1,280,400 | $680,200 | $640,200 | $167,600 |
| 2025 | $137,000 | $88,100 | $68,500 | $30,700 | $1,252,700 | $626,350 | $626,350 | $102,500 | $1,800,700 | $978,750 | $900,350 | $225,300 |
| 2024 | $133,300 | $85,700 | $66,650 | $29,900 | $1,218,700 | $609,350 | $609,350 | $99,700 | $1,751,900 | $952,150 | $875,950 | $219,300 |
| 2023 | $126,500 | $81,300 | $63,250 | $28,400 | $1,156,300 | $578,150 | $578,150 | $94,600 | $1,662,300 | $903,350 | $831,150 | $208,200 |
| 2022 | $118,100 | $75,900 | $59,050 | $26,500 | $1,079,800 | $539,900 | $539,900 | $88,300 | $1,552,200 | $843,500 | $776,100 | $194,300 |
| 2021 | $114,600 | $73,600 | $57,300 | $25,700 | $1,047,200 | $523,600 | $523,600 | $85,650 | $1,505,600 | $818,000 | $752,800 | $188,450 |
| 2020 | $113,400 | $72,900 | $56,700 | $25,400 | $1,036,800 | $518,400 | $518,400 | $84,800 | - | - | - | - |
| 2019 | $111,700 | $71,700 | $55,850 | $25,000 | $1,020,600 | $510,300 | $510,300 | $83,500 | - | - | - | - |
| 2018 | $109,400 | $70,300 | $54,700 | $24,600 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | -1 | -2 | - | - | - | - |
| 2017 | $84,500 | $54,300 | $42,250 | $24,100 | $160,900 | $120,700 | $80,450 | $80,450 | - | - | - | - |
| 2016 | $83,800 | $53,900 | $41,900 | $23,900 | $159,700 | $119,700 | $79,850 | $79,850 | - | - | - | - |
- Rev. Proc. 2018-18 states this year's phaseout threshold for married individuals filing separately together with estates and trusts as one shared amount, not as two amounts stated separately for the two categories
- Rev. Proc. 2018-18 states this year's phaseout threshold for estates and trusts together with married individuals filing separately as one shared amount, not as two amounts stated separately for the two categories
Download every year as a csv. One row per published figure, each carrying the document it was read from and the date it was checked.
The same calculator for another year
- 2025 AMT exemption left for an estate or trust
- 2025 AMT exemption left on a joint return
- 2025 AMT exemption left filing separately
- 2025 AMT exemption left for an unmarried filer
- 2024 AMT exemption left for an estate or trust
- 2024 AMT exemption left on a joint return
- 2024 AMT exemption left filing separately
- 2024 AMT exemption left for an unmarried filer
- 2023 AMT exemption left for an estate or trust
- 2023 AMT exemption left on a joint return
- 2023 AMT exemption left filing separately
- 2023 AMT exemption left for an unmarried filer
- 2022 AMT exemption left for an estate or trust
- 2022 AMT exemption left on a joint return
- 2022 AMT exemption left filing separately
- 2022 AMT exemption left for an unmarried filer
- 2021 AMT exemption left for an estate or trust
- 2021 AMT exemption left on a joint return
- 2021 AMT exemption left filing separately
- 2021 AMT exemption left for an unmarried filer