Advanced individual taxation
The Surtax and AMT Stack
Build the individual bill in layers: stack ordinary then gains, take NIIT on the lesser-of, and owe AMT only when tentative minimum tax tops regular tax.
How the exam words it
- -The stem gives wages plus investment income and asks for the net investment income tax, testing the 3.8 percent lesser-of computation.
- -It layers ordinary income under long-term gain or qualified dividends and asks which 0, 15, or 20 percent band the gain lands in.
- -It gives Schedule C profit and asks for self-employment tax, expecting the 0.9235 base factor and the one-half deduction.
- -It lists items such as private-activity bond interest or an ISO bargain element and asks for an AMT preference or whether AMT is owed.
The playbook
- 1Fill the ordinary brackets first, then stack net long-term gain and qualified dividends on top to read the 0, 15, or 20 percent rate off total taxable income.
- 2Compute NIIT as 3.8 percent of the lesser of net investment income or the excess of MAGI over the 200,000 single or 250,000 MFJ threshold.
- 3Multiply Schedule C profit by 0.9235 for the SE base, apply 15.3 percent up to the wage base and 2.9 percent above it, and deduct half above the line.
- 4Add AMT preferences to taxable income, subtract the exemption, apply the 26 and 28 percent rates for tentative minimum tax, and owe AMT only when it exceeds regular tax.
The trap
Taxing all net investment income under the 3.8 percent NIIT, or reporting AMT just because a preference exists. NIIT hits only the lesser-of amount, and AMT applies only when TMT exceeds regular tax.
How the exam varies it
The same pattern, re-skinned along these axes:
Which surtax: 3.8 percent NIIT on investment income versus 0.9 percent additional Medicare tax on earned incomeCapital-gain stacking and which 0, 15, or 20 percent band the gain reachesAMT preference identification versus whether TMT exceeds regular tax
Drill this pattern
8 questions of The Surtax and AMT Stack from across the AUD topics. Clear it by getting 5 right with a streak of 3.