Taxpayers get AMT relief for 2007

In last-minute 2007 legislation, Congress passed a one-year "patch" to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Without this legislation, an estimated 25 million taxpayers would have had to pay an average $2,000 in additional taxes for 2007.

The alternative minimum tax is a separate tax calculation that disallows many of the deductions and credits that are allowed under the regular income tax system. Created originally to prevent the very rich from using tax breaks to eliminate their tax liability, the AMT exemption amount was not adjusted annually for inflation. As a result, more and more taxpayers have found themselves subject to the higher AMT. For the last several years, Congress has provided these AMT "patches" to keep millions of middle-income Americans from facing a tax hike that was never intended to hit them.

The "Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007," signed by President Bush on December 26, 2007, extends through 2007 AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increases the 2007 AMT exemption amount to $66,250 for joint filers and to $44,350 for single filers.

The IRS must now revise 12 forms affected by the AMT and reprogram its computers for the recent change. Those who file their 2007 tax returns early this year are likely to experience refund delays.