topic I'm not sure what you are asking. in Deductions & credits

TAX YEAR 2018 or earlier I entered my job expenses, being tools. I put full value this year versus depreciation over time. I didn't get any additional refund.

bryan_bierl — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:55:08 GMT

I didn't understand why I didn't get any additional refund from adding thousands of dollars of tools? Is there a minimum dollar amount I need to hit? Not enough expenses vs income?

Edited 3/11/18 If you are an employee, you may have trigg...

Coleen3 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:23 GMT

Edited 3/11/18

If you are an employee, you may have triggered the Alternative Minimum Tax.

To avoid the AMT, you need to understand how the AMT differs from the regular tax system. We'll walk through Form 6251, line by line, looking at the way the AMT handles different deductions and expenses, and wherever we see a tax-planning opportunity, we will suggest how to lessen the impact of the AMT.

Line 5, Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions: Miscellaneous itemized deductions are not deductible for AMT purposes. Often generated by employee business expenses, these itemized deductions can save you a lot of money on your regular return. If so, when the AMT puts them back into your taxable income, you could face a big problem.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T056-C000-S001-how-can-i-avoid-the-amt.html

Despite the popular notion that the AMT is a "rich people's tax," 2017 taxpayers can (theoretically) get hit with the AMT on AGIs as low as $54,301 (single or head-of-household), $84,501 (married filing jointly), or $42,251 (married filing separately). Those are hardly rich-people incomes.

Upper-middle class taxpayers are the most likely victims, but again, this is not always a given. Common reasons for getting hit with the AMT include:

Exercising or selling ISOs (incentive stock options);
Living in an area with a high state or local income tax (e.g. California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois);
Having many dependents, especially if filing jointly;
Deducting interest from a large second mortgage;
Taking a large miscellaneous deduction, for example unreimbursed employee business expenses;
Claiming business depreciation.

If you are subject to the AMT, you don't have to pay it separately; we've already accounted for it in your refund or taxes owed amount.

Have you heard? Experts predict that next year, the percentage of AMT-paying taxpayers will drop by over 95% as a result of recently-enacted tax reform legislation. Among other changes, the AGI thresholds for the AMT will increase to $70,300 (single, HOH), $109,400 (MFJ), and $54,700 (MFS) in tax year 2018.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3266532-

As the name says, it's an "alternative" tax which we calculate behind-the-scenes, along with your regular federal tax. If the alternate method results in a higher tax than the regular method, you'll pay the difference on top of your regular tax.

AMT calculations are too complicated to explain here. If you're really interested, you can fill out Form 6521 according to the 6521 instructions; your AMT amount, if any, will appear on line 35 of the 6521 (or you can just let TurboTax figure it for you).

For tax year 2017, the AGI thresholds subject to the AMT start at $54,300 (single and head-of-household), $84,500 (married filing jointly), and $42,250 (married filing separately). Next year, as a result of tax reform legislation, the AGI thresholds increase to $70,300 (single, HOH), $109,400 (MFJ), and $54,700 (MFS).

Based on what you've entered into your return, we'll let you know if you are subject to the AMT, which will transfer to line 45 of your 1040 form. We'll also add Form 6251 to your return. Your final refund/taxes owed amounts will already include the AMT – you don't pay it separately.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899184

I'm not understanding that..how do I find this post again...

bryan_bierl — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:25 GMT

I'm not understanding that..how do I find this post again when I return to turbotax site?

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Coleen3 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:26 GMT

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Aside from the notification in the top menu bar by the se...

bryan_bierl — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:28 GMT

Aside from the notification in the top menu bar by the search button, is there a way to access this post to answer back.. I can't find the post otherwise.

I also don't understand the minimum tax..is there a minim...

bryan_bierl — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:28 GMT

I also don't understand the minimum tax..is there a minimum amount on expenses that I didnt spend as to why I didn't receive a refund on my thousands in tools I spent?

You are posting in the same thread. You can bookmark a...

VolvoGirl — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:31 GMT

You are posting in the same thread. You can bookmark a link to this thread here
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4344924-i-entered-my-job-expenses-being-tools-i-put-full-value-this-year-versus-depreciation-over-time-i-didn-t-get-any-additional-refund">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4344924-i-entered-my-job-expenses-being-tools-i-put-full-value-this-year-versus-depreciation-over-time-i-didn-t-get-any-additional-refund</a>

But even though you have more than 2% of your AGI then al...

VolvoGirl — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:42:32 GMT

But even though you have more than 2% of your AGI then all your deductions have to be more than the Standard Deduction to get any benefit. Turbo Tax starts out by giving you the Standard Deduction so you won't see a change until all your deductions are more than the Standard Deduction.

And by increasing your deductions it will decease your income and you may not be getting as many credits as before. Also after you reduce your income to zero there is no more refund to get back but you still may owe for other things like self employment tax or the 10% early withdrawal penalty from 401k or IRA accounts.

topic I'm not sure what you are asking. in Deductions & credits

** TAX YEAR 2018 or earlier** I entered my job expenses, being tools. I put full value this year versus depreciation over time. I didn't get any additional refund.

Edited 3/11/18 If you are an employee, you may have trigg...

I'm not understanding that..how do I find this post again...

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Aside from the notification in the top menu bar by the se...

I also don't understand the minimum tax..is there a minim...

You are posting in the same thread. You can bookmark a...

But even though you have more than 2% of your AGI then al...

TAX YEAR 2018 or earlier I entered my job expenses, being tools. I put full value this year versus depreciation over time. I didn't get any additional refund.