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All tools Checked August 26, 2026

Tax calculator

2026 Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Calculator

Could these income and stock-option choices create extra federal tax?

Estimate whether income and stock-option choices may create extra federal tax.

How to use it

Start with the numbers you know.

Estimates are okay. Nothing is submitted when you calculate.

What this calculator estimates

Estimate whether income and stock-option choices may create extra federal tax.

Question-mark icons explain less-obvious terms. Hover, focus, or tap them for plain-English help.
Tax return
Use the filing status expected on the federal income-tax return for this year.
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Use the regular federal income tax before AMT from a current-year projection when possible. This is not withholding or the refund/balance due.
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Extra items for AMT
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This is often called the ISO bargain element.
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Credits
AMT credit carryforwards can offset tax in some later years. Use the amount from prior returns or a tax projection.
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Start with the decision

Could these income and stock-option choices create extra federal tax?

The alternative minimum tax is a parallel federal tax calculation that adjusts or disallows specified regular-tax items, applies an AMT exemption and phaseout, and then compares tentative minimum tax with regular tax. This 2026 screener focuses on common preference items and makes the regular-tax assumption explicit.

Before you act on the number

See what the result means—and what could change it.

01

How to read it

  • Tentative minimum tax is compared with regular tax; AMT is generally the excess, not the entire tentative amount.
  • A large ISO adjustment can create AMT and concentration risk simultaneously, so sale timing and cash for estimated tax should be coordinated.
  • Prior-year minimum tax credit and future recovery are separate calculations not captured by the current-year screen.
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What could change the answer

  • Every Form 6251 line, passive-activity adjustment, depreciation method, depletion, foreign tax credit, or trust item
  • Prior-year minimum tax credit, credit carryforward, or Form 8801
  • State alternative minimum taxes or state treatment of incentive stock options
  • Estimated-tax penalties, withholding, liquidity, or a recommendation to exercise or sell shares
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What to take forward

Use the result to identify which assumption needs verification, then bring that question to the professional helping you make the decision.

Transparent method

How the estimate works

See how the estimate is calculated

Start with entered taxable income and add modeled AMT adjustments or preference items such as the ISO bargain element, specified state and local tax deductions, and private-activity bond interest.

Apply the 2026 exemption for the selected filing status, reduce it through the statutory phaseout range, and prevent the exemption from falling below zero.

Apply the 26% and 28% AMT rates around the current breakpoint, then compare tentative minimum tax with the entered regular tax to estimate AMT exposure.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

What triggers the alternative minimum tax?

AMT can arise when specified adjustments and preferences make alternative minimum taxable income high relative to regular taxable income and regular tax. ISO exercises are a common trigger, but not the only one.

What is the 2026 AMT exemption?

The exemption varies by filing status and phases out at higher AMTI. The calculator uses the 2026 amounts in the published IRS rule list and shows their source beside the result.

How do incentive stock options affect AMT?

When ISO shares are exercised and held beyond year-end, the bargain element can be an AMT adjustment. A same-year disqualifying sale may change the treatment, and payroll and basis records must be reconciled.

Can AMT paid this year be recovered later?

Some AMT attributable to deferral items may create a minimum tax credit usable in future years, subject to Form 8801 rules. Exclusion items generally do not create the same recovery opportunity.

Sources

Rules and references behind this calculator

See every published value
Method referenceIRS: Form 6251 and current instructionsPublic source used to define this calculator's method and limitsOpen source

Want the fine print? See sources, methods, and limits.

Keep going

View every planning tool
ISO Exercise and AMT CalculatorCould exercising and holding incentive stock options create extra federal tax?Capital Loss Carryforward CalculatorHow much of a capital loss may reduce income now, and what may carry into next year?Net Investment Income Tax CalculatorHow much investment income may be exposed to the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax?