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TAX TIPS
Don't Try to Sidestep the AMT
by Kevin McCormally

As we predicted, the alternative minimum tax -- a levy designed in the 1960s for the filthy rich -- is hitting a lot not-so-rich taxpayers this year, including yours truly. The new head of the IRS even says that he got nailed by the AMT this year.

As the tax reaches down into the upper-middle class, one reader in Illinois asks a very simple question: If high itemized deductions can trigger the AMT, is it legal to skip some of your write-offs to sidestep the stealth tax?

Sure you can ignore deductions, but you'd be shooting yourself in the foot. You owe the AMT only when it costs more than the regular tax. You beat the AMT if skipping legitimate write-offs drives your regular tax bill above the AMT amount, but you wind up paying more tax.

Here's a money-saving tip: Claim all your deductions.