The Alternative Tax System Catching High Earners By Surprise

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]In 1969, a tax was written to catch 155 ultra-wealthy households in America. And in 2026, it's coming for households earning over $500,000.

[00:00:11]Now, if you just filed your taxes in the last few weeks and thought you were done, you might not be. AMT, alternative minimum tax, is a parallel tax that strips out most deductions. If that number comes in higher than your regular tax bill, you pay the difference.

[00:00:25]By 2017, it was hitting over 5.2 million Americans.

[00:00:30]After the tax code change, it dropped to about 200,000.

[00:00:34]Most high earners have not owed it in almost a decade.

[00:00:38]That's about to flip.

[00:00:39]Starting this tax year, the AMT phase-out drops to $500,000 for single filers and $1 million for married couples.

[00:00:48]The phase-out rate doubles from 25 to 50% and the center of exposure lands exactly where many of you might live.

[00:00:56]$750,000 to $1.5 million for married [music] households. This is the tax shift that you want to pay attention to right now.

[00:01:04]More coming on [music] what high earners are actually doing about it in future episodes.

[00:01:09]I'm Tony from [music] Range. Stay tuned for more.