The AMT has been patched.
That's next on Tax Break.
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The alternative minimum tax was the 800-pound gorilla in the room before the fiscal cliff deal was finalized.
Because tax law grants special treatment to some kinds of income and allows special deductions and credits for some kinds of expenses, Congress enacted The Alternative Minimum Tax to assure that high-income earners who benefit from this special treatment pay their fair share of taxes.
Since the AMT hadn't been adjusted for inflation for many years, an AMT patch was put into place. Without it, some 60 million unsuspecting taxpayers would have been hit with an unwelcome tax increase.
With its end-of-year fiscal deal, Congress readjusted the exemption amount so the AMT requirement once again applies to only about four million taxpayers.
