TAP 04-002

Revisions to Form 6251

Statement of Issue:

The Area 5 Committee found the Instructions for Form 6251, Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals, to be extremely complex.

Proposal:

Since it is estimated that many more ordinary taxpayers may be subject to the AMT in 2003 and 2004, the Committee believes that the instructions need to be simplified so that the average tax filer can understand them. IRS staff member Bob Erikson of Forms and Publications indicated that he would welcome suggestions for revising the Instructions from an external panel such as TAP. Area 5 provided line -by -line recommendations for improving the Form 6251 Instructions. The Committee decided to limit its review to the General Instructions and to those Specific Instructions that would most likely apply to the ordinary taxpayer caught up in the AMT.

Response Notes:

Issue will be considered for next revision of the 1040 series instruction booklet; missed deadline for Tax Year 2003 instructions.

The IRS initially responded that the suggested revisions were received after the form had already been released for print and indicated the intention to consider the proposals for 2004 revisions. Subsequently, the IRS provided an itemized response to the proposals to revise the Form 6251 Instructions. The IRS adopted or partially adopted many of the line-by-line suggestions for change proposed by TAP. The IRS also provided a detailed explanation of the reason(s) each suggestion was only partially accepted or not accepted.