2025 AMT Exemption
For 2025, the AMT Exemption figures are $137,000 (Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses), $88,100 (Exemption, unmarried individuals), $68,500 (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 | $137,000 | $88,100 | $68,500 | $30,700 |
| Exemption phaseout threshold | $1,252,700 | $626,350 | $626,350 | $102,500 |
| Fully phased out | $1,800,700 | $978,750 | $900,350 | $225,300 |
Effective 2025-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2024
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses | $133,300 | $137,000 | +$3,700 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption, unmarried individuals | $85,700 | $88,100 | +$2,400 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns | $66,650 | $68,500 | +$1,850 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption, estates and trusts | $29,900 | $30,700 | +$800 (+2.7%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses | $1,218,700 | $1,252,700 | +$34,000 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals | $609,350 | $626,350 | +$17,000 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns | $609,350 | $626,350 | +$17,000 (+2.8%) |
| Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts | $99,700 | $102,500 | +$2,800 (+2.8%) |
| Fully phased out, joint returns or surviving spouses | $1,751,900 | $1,800,700 | +$48,800 (+2.8%) |
| Fully phased out, unmarried individuals | $952,150 | $978,750 | +$26,600 (+2.8%) |
| Fully phased out, married individuals filing separate returns | $875,950 | $900,350 | +$24,400 (+2.8%) |
| Fully phased out, estates and trusts | $219,300 | $225,300 | +$6,000 (+2.7%) |
Exemption
Exemption phaseout threshold
Fully phased out
$30,700$1,800,700
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 federal Alternative Minimum Tax, including individuals filing as joint returns or surviving spouses, unmarried individuals, married individuals filing separate returns, and estates and trusts.
What changed this year, and why
For taxable years beginning in 2025, the IRS has announced updated exemption amounts and phaseout thresholds for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) under § 55(d).
Common questions
- What is the AMT exemption amount for 2025?
- For taxable years beginning in 2025, the AMT exemption amounts are: $137,000 for joint returns or surviving spouses; $88,100 for unmarried individuals (other than surviving spouses); $68,500 for married individuals filing separate returns; and $30,700 for estates and trusts.
- At what income level does the AMT exemption begin to phase out in 2025?
- For taxable years beginning in 2025, the AMT exemption begins to phase out when alternative minimum taxable income exceeds $1,252,700 for joint returns or surviving spouses. The exemption is fully phased out at a higher income level.
- How do the 2025 AMT exemption amounts compare to prior years?
- The 2025 AMT exemption amounts are higher than the corresponding amounts for 2024 for all filing statuses.
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 is a parallel income tax that runs alongside the regular federal income tax. It is not a replacement for the regular tax; rather, it is imposed in addition to it. The AMT targets taxpayers who would otherwise use favorable tax treatments - such as special deductions or exemptions that lower their regular tax - to substantially reduce their total tax burden. By applying its own set of rules and rates, the AMT places a floor on how much tax a taxpayer with higher economic income must pay, regardless of the preferences that reduced the regular tax. Taxpayers compute their regular tax and their AMT liability separately and then pay the larger of the two amounts. If the AMT calculation produces a higher figure than the regular tax, the difference is owed as additional tax for the year.
The AMT is a separate tax that is imposed in addition to your regular tax.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
When you have to file Form 6251
You must attach Form 6251 to your federal return whenever any one of four conditions is met. The first is that line 7 of the form - the line that figures your tentative AMT - comes out larger than line 10, meaning you actually owe AMT after credits. The second is that you claim a general business credit (on Form 3800) and either line 6 of Part I or line 25 of the form is more than zero. The third is that you claim any of three specific credits: 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). The fourth is that the total of lines 2c through 3 of Form 6251 is negative and, without taking those lines into account, line 7 would be larger than line 10. If none of the four statements is true, you do not need to file the form.
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 (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 rises. The IRS provides a worksheet on which you compare your AMTI to a set of threshold amounts. If your AMTI reaches or exceeds a certain level, your exemption is zero. For 2025, those complete-phase-out levels are $978,750 for single or head-of-household filers, $1,800,700 for married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouses, and $900,350 for married filing separately. Between the start of the phase-out range and the complete-phase-out level, the exemption is reduced proportionally. If your AMTI is below the start of the phase-out range, you still receive the full exemption: $137,000 for joint returns or surviving spouses, $88,100 for unmarried individuals, and $68,500 for married individuals filing separate returns. The phase-out ensures that higher-income taxpayers receive less or no benefit from the exemption, while those below the thresholds retain the full amount.
Note: If Form 6251, line 4, is equal to or more than $978,750 if single or head of household, $1,800,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, or $900,350 if married filing separately, your exemption is zero.
Instructions for Form 6251 (2025), Alternative Minimum Tax - Individuals (IRS)
The two AMT rates and where the second one starts
The AMT is computed using two graduated rates. The first rate is 26% (0.26). It applies to the amount on line 6 of Form 6251 up to $239,100, or up to $119,550 if you are married filing separately. Any amount above that threshold is taxed at the second rate of 28% (0.28). To figure the tax when the higher rate applies, you multiply the full line 6 amount by 28% (0.28) and then subtract $4,782 ($2,391 if married filing separately) from the result. That subtraction produces the same total you would reach by applying the 26% rate to the first bracket and the 28% rate only to the excess over the threshold. The result is entered on line 7 of the form.
Instead, if Form 6251, line 6, is $239,100 or less ($119,550 or less if married filing separately), 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 $4,782 ($2,391 if married filing separately) from the result.
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
If you paid alternative minimum tax for 2024 or had a minimum tax credit carryforward on your 2024 Form 8801, you may be able to claim a Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax. Form 8801 allows taxpayers who paid AMT in a prior year to claim a credit against their regular tax in a future year. If you pay AMT for 2025, you may be able to take a credit on Form 8801 for 2026. This credit prevents double taxation when the same income is taxed under both systems in different years. It is particularly relevant for taxpayers who paid AMT because of exercising incentive stock options or other deferral preferences: the credit allows recovery of some or all of that AMT in years when regular tax exceeds tentative minimum tax. The credit is not a refund of the AMT paid but rather a reduction of future regular tax liability, subject to the computation on Form 8801.
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
The AMT sets a floor on how much certain tax benefits can reduce your total tax. You use Form 6251 to figure your tentative minimum tax on line 9. You may need to know that amount to figure the tax liability limit on certain credits. In other words, your tentative minimum tax caps how far those credits can reduce your regular tax. The credits subject to this limit are identified in the instructions. Taxpayers with significant AMT liability may find that their ability to use otherwise available credits is restricted, because the AMT system ensures that taxpayers with higher economic income pay a minimum level of tax regardless of credits claimed under the regular tax. The tentative minimum tax therefore serves both as the measure of the AMT itself and as the ceiling that constrains how much selected credits can offset.
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
When you exercise an incentive stock option, the spread between the stock's fair market value and your exercise price is included as an adjustment on Form 6251, line 2i, raising your AMT basis in the stock above your regular-tax basis. If you later sell those shares in a disqualifying disposition - because you did not hold them long enough after exercise or after the option was granted - the regular tax and AMT treatments diverge at sale. For regular tax, the sale produces ordinary income measured from the original lower basis. For the AMT, you have no ordinary income but instead a capital gain or loss measured against the higher AMT basis that reflects the earlier line 2i adjustment. You must refigure the sale on Form 8949 and Schedule D for the AMT. The difference between the regular-tax amount and the AMT amount is entered as an adjustment on line 2k of Form 6251, reversing part of the AMT adjustment you recognized at exercise so that over the full holding period the two systems are reconciled.
On January 18, 2025, you sold 100 of the shares for $75,000. Because you didn’t hold these shares more than 1 year, that sale is a disqualifying disposition. For the regular tax, you have ordinary income of $65,000 ($75,000 minus your $10,000 basis in the 100 shares). You have no capital gain or loss for the regular tax resulting from the sale. For the AMT, you have no ordinary income but have a short-term capital loss of $25,000 ($75,000 minus your $100,000 AMT basis in the 100 shares).
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. 2024-40 (IRS)
- Exemption, joint returns or surviving spouses
Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $137,000
- Exemption, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $88,100
- Exemption, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $68,500
- Exemption, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $30,700
- Exemption phaseout threshold, joint returns or surviving spouses
For taxable years beginning in 2025, the amounts used under § 55(d)(2) to determine the phaseout of the exemption amounts are: Threshold Phaseout Amount Complete Phaseout Amount Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $1,252,700 $1,800,700
- Exemption phaseout threshold, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $626,350 $978,750
- Exemption phaseout threshold, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $626,350 $900,350
- Exemption phaseout threshold, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $102,500 $225,300
- Fully phased out, joint returns or surviving spouses
Joint Returns or Surviving Spouses $1,252,700 $1,800,700
- Fully phased out, unmarried individuals
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses) $626,350 $978,750
- Fully phased out, married individuals filing separate returns
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $626,350 $900,350
- Fully phased out, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $102,500 $225,300