2019 AMT Exemption
For 2019, the AMT Exemption figures are $111,700 (Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses), $71,700 (Exemption, unmarried individuals), $55,850 (Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns) and 5 more figures below.
| Item | Joint returns or surviving spouses | Unmarried individuals | Married individuals filing separate returns | Estates and trusts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption | $111,700 | $71,700 | $55,850 | $25,000 |
| Exemption phaseout threshold | $1,020,600 | $510,300 | $510,300 | $83,500 |
Effective 2019-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2018-57 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2018
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses | $109,400 | $111,700 | +$2,300 (+2.1%) |
| Exemption, unmarried individuals | $70,300 | $71,700 | +$1,400 (+2.0%) |
| Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns | $54,700 | $55,850 | +$1,150 (+2.1%) |
| Exemption, estates and trusts | $24,600 | $25,000 | +$400 (+1.6%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses | $1,000,000 | $1,020,600 | +$20,600 (+2.1%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals | $500,000 | $510,300 | +$10,300 (+2.1%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns | -1 | $510,300 | - |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts | -2 | $83,500 | - |
- 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
Exemption
Exemption phaseout threshold
$25,000$1,020,600
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 under IRC § 55, including individuals, married couples, estates, and trusts.
What changed this year, and why
Inflation adjustments to the Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amounts and phaseout thresholds under IRC § 55 for taxable years beginning in 2019.
Common questions
- What are the AMT exemption amounts for 2019?
- For 2019, the AMT exemption amounts are $111,700 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $71,700 for unmarried individuals (other than surviving spouses), $55,850 for married individuals filing separate returns, and $25,000 for estates and trusts. The exemption begins to phase out when alternative minimum taxable income exceeds $1,020,600 for joint returns or surviving spouses.
What the alternative minimum tax actually is
Every return that has to consider the AMT ends up with two figures: the regular tax, and a parallel one computed under a different set of rules. The words that matter in the instruction are 'if any' - for most filers the second computation produces nothing extra and the work stops there. Where it does produce something, the cause is the composition of the return rather than its size. Income the law treats favorably and deductions the law allows can cut a large economic income down to a small regular tax, and the AMT is the ceiling set on how much cutting those provisions can do between them. It withdraws none of them individually; it caps their combined effect, and what the cap produces is charged in addition to the regular tax. That is also why the AMT cannot be judged one item at a time. A single incentive rarely brings it about, several used together on one return can, and two people with the same income can get different answers. Form 6251 is where the parallel figure is worked out, which is why the form has to be filled in before anyone can know whether the answer is nothing at all.
Use Form 6251 to figure the amount, if any, of your alternative minimum tax (AMT). 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 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
When you have to file Form 6251
For 2019, you must attach Form 6251 to your federal income tax return if any of these conditions apply: your tentative minimum tax (line 7) exceeds your regular tax liability figured without certain credits (line 10); you claim a general business credit and either line 6 of Part I or line 25 of Form 3800 is more than zero; you claim the qualified electric vehicle credit (Form 8834), the personal-use portion of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit (Form 8911), or the credit for prior-year minimum tax (Form 8801); or the total of Form 6251 lines 2c through 3 is negative and line 7 would still exceed line 10 without those amounts. Even if you owe no alternative minimum tax, filing Form 6251 may be necessary to figure the tax liability limit on these credits or to determine whether you can carry back or carry forward an unused minimum tax credit. The form also calculates your tentative minimum tax, which you may need to report elsewhere on your return.
Who Must File Attach Form 6251 to your return if any of the following statements are true. 1. Form 6251, line 7, is greater than line 10. 2. You claim any general business credit, and either line 6 (in Part I) of Form 3800 or line 25 of Form 3800 is more than zero. 3. You claim the qualified electric vehicle credit (Form 8834), the personal use part of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit (Form 8911), or the credit for prior year minimum tax (Form 8801). 4. The total of Form 6251, lines 2c through 3, is negative and line 7 would be greater than line 10 if you didn’t take into account lines 2c through 3.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
How the exemption is taken away as income rises
For 2019, the AMT exemption is reduced once your alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) rises above a phaseout threshold. The exemption worksheet instructs you to enter your AMTI from Form 6251, line 4, on line 2, and then enter the threshold for your filing status on line 3: $510,300 if single or head of household, $1,020,600 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), or $510,300 if married filing separately. You subtract line 3 from line 2. If the result is zero or less, no reduction applies. Otherwise, you multiply the excess by 25% (0.25) on line 5 and subtract that amount from your base exemption on line 6. Because the reduction is 25 cents per dollar of income above the threshold, the exemption shrinks to zero once AMTI exceeds the threshold by four times the base exemption amount. The base exemptions are $71,700 for single or head of household filers, $111,700 for married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), and $55,850 for married filing separately.
3. Enter: $510,300 if single or head of household; $1,020,600 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er); $510,300 if married filing separately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 4. Subtract line 3 from line 2. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 5. Multiply line 4 by 25% (0.25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. 6. Subtract line 5 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0-.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
The two AMT rates and where the second one starts
The alternative minimum tax applies two rates to your taxable excess. The lower rate is 26% and it applies to the first $194,800 of taxable excess for most filers, or the first $97,400 for married individuals filing separately. Taxable excess above that threshold is subject to a higher rate of 28%. The instructions provide a simplified method: if your line 6 amount is $194,800 or less (or $97,400 or less for separate filers), you multiply the entire amount by 26%. If it exceeds that threshold, you multiply by 28% and then subtract $3,896 (or $1,948 for separate filers) to arrive at the same result. These figures apply for the 2019 tax year.
All other Form 1040-NR filers, don’t complete Part III. Instead, if Form 6251, line 6, is $194,800 or less ($97,400 or less if you checked filing status box 5 on Form 1040-NR), figure the amount to enter on line 7 by 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 $3,896 ($1,948 if you checked filing status box 5) from the result.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
Exercising an incentive stock option can trigger AMT the year you exercise, not the year you sell
When you exercise an incentive stock option (ISO), the bargain element - the difference between the fair market value of the stock and the exercise price - is not included in your regular taxable income for that year. However, that same amount is treated as an adjustment for alternative minimum tax purposes in the year of exercise. This means that exercising ISOs can push you into AMT liability in the year you exercise, even though you have not sold the stock and have no cash proceeds from the transaction. The adjustment is reported on Form 6251 and increases your tentative minimum tax for that year. If the AMT you owe exceeds your regular tax, you must pay the difference. This is a timing issue: you may owe tax on income you have not yet realized in cash. Planning the timing of ISO exercises, or setting aside funds to cover any AMT due, can help manage this consequence.
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;
Instructions for Form 6251 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
AMT you pay this year can become a credit against regular tax in a future year
AMT you pay in one year does not simply disappear. If you paid AMT for 2018, or if you had a minimum tax credit carryforward on your 2018 Form 8801, you may be entitled to a credit against your regular tax in a later year. The IRS provides Form 8801, Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax - Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, to calculate this credit. If you pay AMT for 2019, you may be able to take a credit on Form 8801 when you file for 2020. The credit is designed to prevent double taxation: amounts you paid as AMT because of deferral adjustments (such as the ISO exercise adjustment) can eventually be recovered as a credit in years when your regular tax exceeds your tentative minimum tax. The credit is not automatic; you must file Form 8801 to claim it. Keep copies of prior-year Forms 6251 and 8801 to support the calculation.
If you pay AMT for 2019, you may be able to take a credit on Form 8801 for 2020.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2019), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
Your tentative minimum tax caps how far certain credits can reduce your regular tax
Certain tax credits cannot reduce your regular tax below a floor called the tentative minimum tax. If you claim specific nonrefundable credits - such as the qualified electric vehicle credit, the personal use part of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit, or the credit for prior year minimum tax - you must use Form 6251 to compute your tentative minimum tax and then apply that amount as a cap on how far those credits can offset your liability. In practice, you calculate your regular tax, subtract your tentative minimum tax, and the result limits the credits you may actually use. Any portion of a credit that exceeds this limit cannot be claimed for the current year. This rule prevents taxpayers with high economic income from using preferences to eliminate both regular tax and AMT entirely. The tentative minimum tax figure from line 9 of Form 6251 is the number that establishes the floor.
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 (2019), 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. 2018-57 (IRS)
- Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses
Joint Returns or $111,700 Surviving Spouses
- Exemption, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than $71,700 Surviving Spouses)
- Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate $55,850 Returns
- Exemption, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $25,000
- Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses
For taxable years beginning in 2019, the amounts used under § 55(d)(3) to determine the phaseout of the exemption amounts are: Joint Returns or $1,020,600 Surviving Spouses
- Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than $510,300 Surviving Spouses)
- Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate $510,300 Returns
- Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $83,500