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

Important 1944 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the insurance business constituted interstate commerce and was thus subject to the SHERMAN antitrust act. This decision came in U.S. v. ...

Variation of group life insurance that covers a small group of persons who work for the same employer. With group life insurance, the employer owns the policy; with wholesale insurance, ...

Form of deferred annuity; a life insurance policy that usually guarantees from 120 to 180 monthly income payments to the annuitant at retirement. If the annuitant dies during the deferral ...

Latin phrase meaning "beyond power or authority" describing an act by a corporation that exceeds its legal powers. For example, corporations do not have the authority to engage in the ...

Professional designation earned after the successful completion of six national examinations given by the insurance institute of America (IIA). Covers such areas of expertise as ocean ...

Special policy blank issued by an insured for individual shipments or other purposes under an open policy. The open policy allows an insured to buy protection for all marine business for an ...

Situation in which several liability insurance policies are in force to cover the same risk, thereby resulting in higher limits of coverage than is required to adequately insure the risk. ...

Professional designation earned after the successful completion of six national examinations given by the insurance institute of America (IIA). Covers such areas of expertise as business ...

Expense listed on the Income and Expenditure accounting statement for the unexpired insurance policy owned. ...

Popular Insurance Questions