Form 6251

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service (99)

Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals

▶ Information about Form 6251 and its separate instructions is at www.irs.gov/form6251.

▶ Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040NR.

OMB No. 1545-0074

2012

Attachment 

Sequence No. 32

Name(s) shown on Form 1040 or Form 1040NR Your social security number 

Part I Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (See instructions for how to complete each line.) 

1 If filing Schedule A (Form 1040), enter the amount from Form 1040, line 41, and go to line 2. Otherwise, 

enter the amount from Form 1040, line 38, and go to line 7. (If less than zero, enter as a negative amount.) 1 

2 Medical and dental. Enter the smaller of Schedule A (Form 1040), line 4, or 2.5% (.025) of Form 1040, line 

38. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

3 Taxes from Schedule A (Form 1040), line 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

4 Enter the home mortgage interest adjustment, if any, from line 6 of the worksheet in the instructions for this line 4 

5 Miscellaneous deductions from Schedule A (Form 1040), line 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

6 Skip this line. It is reserved for future use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

7 Tax refund from Form 1040, line 10 or line 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ( )

8 Investment interest expense (difference between regular tax and AMT). . . . . . . . . . . . 8

9 Depletion (difference between regular tax and AMT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

10 Net operating loss deduction from Form 1040, line 21. Enter as a positive amount . . . . . . . . 10 

11 Alternative tax net operating loss deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ( )

12 Interest from specified private activity bonds exempt from the regular tax . . . . . . . . . . 12

13 Qualified small business stock (7% of gain excluded under section 1202) . . . . . . . . . . . 13

14 Exercise of incentive stock options (excess of AMT income over regular tax income) . . . . . . . . 14 

15 Estates and trusts (amount from Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), box 12, code A) . . . . . . . . . 15

16 Electing large partnerships (amount from Schedule K-1 (Form 1065-B), box 6) . . . . . . . . . 16 

17 Disposition of property (difference between AMT and regular tax gain or loss) . . . . . . . . . 17

18 Depreciation on assets placed in service after 1986 (difference between regular tax and AMT) . . . . 18 

19 Passive activities (difference between AMT and regular tax income or loss) . . . . . . . . . . 19

20 Loss limitations (difference between AMT and regular tax income or loss) . . . . . . . . . . . 20

21 Circulation costs (difference between regular tax and AMT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

22 Long-term contracts (difference between AMT and regular tax income) . . . . . . . . . . . 22

23 Mining costs (difference between regular tax and AMT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

24 Research and experimental costs (difference between regular tax and AMT) . . . . . . . . . . 24

25 Income from certain installment sales before January 1, 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 ( )

26 Intangible drilling costs preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

27 Other adjustments, including income-based related adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

28 Alternative minimum taxable income. Combine lines 1 through 27. (If married filing separately, see 

instructions.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Part II Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) 

29 Exemption. See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

30 Subtract line 29 from line 28. If more than zero, go to line 31. If zero or less, enter -0- here and on lines 31, 

33, and 35, and go to line 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

31 • If you are filing Form 2555 or 2555-EZ, see instructions for the amount to enter. } • If you reported capital gain distributions directly on Form 1040, line 13; you reported qualified dividends 

on Form 1040, line 9b; or you had a gain on both lines 15 and 16 of Schedule D (Form 1040) (as 

refigured for the AMT, if necessary), complete Part III on the back and enter the amount from line 54 here. . . . 31 

• All others: If line 30 is $175,000 or less ($87,500 or less if married filing separately), 

multiply line 30 by 26% (.26). Otherwise, multiply line 30 by 28% (.28) and subtract 

$3,500 ($1,750 if married filing separately) from the result. 

32 Alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

33 Tentative minimum tax. Subtract line 32 from line 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

34 Tax from Form 1040, line 44 (minus any tax from Form 4972 and any foreign tax credit from Form 

1040, line 47). If you used Schedule J to figure your tax, the amount from line 44 of Form 1040 must be 

refigured without using Schedule J (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

35 AMT. Subtract line 34 from line 33. If zero or less, enter -0-. Enter here and on Form 1040, line 45 . . . 35

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax return instructions. Cat. No. 13600G Form 6251 (2012) 
Form 6251 (2012) Page 2 

Part III Tax Computation Using Maximum Capital Gains Rates 

Complete Part III only if you are required to do so by line 31 or by the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet in the instructions.

36 Enter the amount from Form 6251, line 30. If you are filing Form 2555 or 2555-EZ, enter the amount from 

line 3 of the worksheet in the instructions for line 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

37 Enter the amount from line 6 of the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax 

Worksheet in the instructions for Form 1040, line 44, or the amount from line 

13 of the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the instructions for Schedule D (Form 

1040), whichever applies (as refigured for the AMT, if necessary) (see 

instructions). If you are filing Form 2555 or 2555-EZ, see instructions for the 

amount to enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

38 Enter the amount from Schedule D (Form 1040), line 19 (as refigured for the 

AMT, if necessary) (see instructions). If you are filing Form 2555 or 2555-EZ, 

see instructions for the amount to enter . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

39 If you did not complete a Schedule D Tax Worksheet for the regular tax or the 

AMT, enter the amount from line 37. Otherwise, add lines 37 and 38, and 

enter the smaller of that result or the amount from line 10 of the Schedule D 

Tax Worksheet (as refigured for the AMT, if necessary). If you are filing Form 

2555 or 2555-EZ, see instructions for the amount to enter . . . . . . 39

40 Enter the smaller of line 36 or line 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

41 Subtract line 40 from line 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

42 If line 41 is $175,000 or less ($87,500 or less if married filing separately), multiply line 41 by 26% (.26). Otherwise, 

multiply line 41 by 28% (.28) and subtract $3,500 ($1,750 if married filing separately) from the result . . . ▶ 42 

43 Enter: 

• $70,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er),

• $35,350 if single or married filing separately, or 

• $47,350 if head of household. } . . . . . . . 43

44 Enter the amount from line 7 of the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax 

Worksheet in the instructions for Form 1040, line 44, or the amount from line 

14 of the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the instructions for Schedule D (Form 

1040), whichever applies (as figured for the regular tax). If you did not 

complete either worksheet for the regular tax, enter -0- . . . . . . . 44

45 Subtract line 44 from line 43. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . 45 

46 Enter the smaller of line 36 or line 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

47 Enter the smaller of line 45 or line 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

48 Subtract line 47 from line 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

49 Multiply line 48 by 15% (.15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ▶ 49

If line 38 is zero or blank, skip lines 50 and 51 and go to line 52. Otherwise, go to line 50. 

50 Subtract line 46 from line 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

51 Multiply line 50 by 25% (.25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ▶ 51 

52 Add lines 42, 49, and 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

53 If line 36 is $175,000 or less ($87,500 or less if married filing separately), multiply line 36 by 26% (.26). 

Otherwise, multiply line 36 by 28% (.28) and subtract $3,500 ($1,750 if married filing separately) from the result 53

54 Enter the smaller of line 52 or line 53 here and on line 31. If you are filing Form 2555 or 2555-EZ, do not 

enter this amount on line 31. Instead, enter it on line 4 of the worksheet in the instructions for line 31 . . 54 

Form 6251 (2012)