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

Legislation that provides support for legal actions against individuals or organizations involved in systematic illegal activities. This act has been applied against insurance organizations ...

Investments made in a variety of securities issued by government agencies. ...

Approved or accepted policy for a particular type of risk. The only type of risk covered by a standard form mandated by law is the fire policy. In 1886, New York adopted a standard fire ...

Transfer of high severity risks through the insurance contract to protect against catastrophic occurrences. While insurance is generally not the most cost-effective means of recovery of ...

Option under a participating life insurance policy in which dividends are left on deposit with the company to accumulate at a specified interest rate. If this option is chosen, it is ...

Nominal interest rate minus the rate of inflation. ...

Provides the same coverage as a comprehensive personal liability insurance policy, plus coverage to exposures that are peculiar to farms, such as farm business operations, farm employees ...

Flow of funds out of one financial instrument, whose interest rates are low, into another financial instrument, whose interest rates are higher. In the early 1980s, insurance companies ...

Same as term Fixed Dollar Annuity: annuity that guarantees that a specific sum of money will be paid in the future, usually as monthly income, to an annuitant. For example, a $1000-a-month ...

Popular Insurance Questions