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

Duration of a policy. Property and casualty coverages are usually written for one year, although a personal automobile policy can be for six months. Life insurance can be written on a term ...

Standard set under the occupational safety and health act that sets allowable levels of worker exposure to such toxic substances as asbestos, certain chemicals, and radiation. In many cases ...

Coverage for goods in transit and the vehicles of transportation on waterways, land, and air. ...

Dollar limitations under the Internal Revenue Service code as follows: The elective annual deferral limit is $10,000. A highly compensated employee's annual compensation limit is $80,000. ...

Situation wherein the agent's conduct causes a client or prospective insured reasonably to believe that the agent has the authority to sell an insurance policy and contract on behalf of the ...

Coverage for goods during shipment on a common carrier. ...

Additional amount of surplus generated by an additional amount of capital to be included in book value surplus. This additional surplus is necessary to act as a supplement to the statutory ...

Proceeds from a life insurance policy paid on a monthly basis instead of in a lump sum. ...

Classification at death of all pension plans, profit-sharing plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAS), annuities, and installment payments to the extent to which the deceased was ...

Popular Insurance Questions