How the Alternative Minimum Tax could slam you

Here we go again. As if the prospect of the Fiscal Cliff weren’t enough, Congress is set to battle once again over the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. Enacted in 1969 to ensure all taxpayers paid a minimum amount of taxes, the AMT has been “patched” several times. This year, unless Congress applies a new patch, an estimated 27 million more tax filers could pay an average of $3,700 more in taxes in 2012.