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

Number of times losses occur, and their severity. These statistics measure expectation of loss, and are critical in establishing a basic premium or the pure cost of protection that is based ...

Organization that is part of a preferred provider organization (PPO) in which enrollees select an EPO provider to act as their primary care physician and serve as the gatekeeper. This ...

Same as term Contribution: principle of equity in property, casualty, and health insurance. When two or more policies apply to the loss, each policy pays its part of the loss, unless its ...

Group coverage for members of a fraternal association, usually on a nonprofit basis. ...

System of charges to an insured that fluctuates according to the loss experience of that insured. This is a form of experience rating. ...

Correction of a contract containing a mistake in order to prevent a party to that contract from gaining from that mistake. For example, if $1,000,000, instead of the correct amount of ...

Statute that makes it illegal in most states for an agent to rebate (return) any portion of his commission as an inducement for an applicant to purchase insurance from him. ...

Total amount of commissions and expense allowances paid by the reinsurer to its ceding company minus the total amount of reinsurance commissions and expense allowances that, in turn, its ...

Commission that is paid based on how profitable a particular type of business proves to be that is written by an agent. ...

Popular Insurance Questions