Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax: Implications For Corporate-owned Life Insurance

Definition of "Corporate alternative minimum tax: implications for corporate-owned life insurance"

INSURANCE tax that exhibits direct impact on the book income preference. Beginning with the year 1990, the book income preference became equal to 75% of the excess of current adjusted earnings of the alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI). Book income preferences are affected by corporate-owned life insurance in the following situations:

  1. If the insured dies, the excess of the life insurance policy's DEATH BENEFIT over the CASH SURRENDER VALUE becomes book income to the corporation.
  2. If the insurance policy's annual premium exceeds the increase in the cash surrender value for a particular year, the result is a decline in the book income and thus a decline in the corporation's exposure to the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
  3. Conversely, if the insurance policy's cash surrender value exceeds the increase in the annual premium for a particular year, the result is an increase in the book income and thus an increase in the corporation's exposure to the alternative minimum tax.

Generally, if the corporation in any given year has taxable income, corporate-owned life insurance results in an alternative minimum tax liability if a significant death benefit is paid to the corporation upon the death of the insured. The result is that the alternative minimum tax will cause a reduction in the net death benefit from the life insurance policy paid to the corporation.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Death from other than accidental means. ...

State operated insurance company used in workers compensation insurance in some states where the risks are so great that the commercial insurance companies cannot operate at affordable ...

Shortened report showing pertinent insurance policy information, copies of which are distributed in the insurance company's home office and branch offices, as well as to agents and brokers. ...

Amount in a cash value life insurance policy that a policy owner will receive upon surrender of the policy, minus any outstanding loan and accrued interest. A table in the policy shows the ...

Model state law designed to govern use of information collected from insurance applications. The law forbids any insurer or agent from impersonating someone else to gain information about ...

Limited pay whole life policy under which all premium payments have been made. For example, a 20 pay policy is completely paid for after 20 payments; no future premiums have to be made, and ...

Coverage for bodily injury, property damage or destruction, for which the insured garage and/or its representatives become legally liable resulting from the operation of the garage. For ...

Model state law of the NAIC that requires that the insurance policy contain language that meets a readability test (usually, the Flesch readability test that uses a formula approach to ...

Government agency whose function is to administer the Federal Flood Insurance Program, the Federal Crime Insurance Program, and the fair access to insurance requirement (fair) plan. ...

Popular Insurance Questions