Tax laws keep changing, but don't be the last to know about them.
In trying to determine tax liability under AMT, you do get to exempt a certain amount of income from your calculations. Decisions by the administrators of the estate or trust may be beyond your control. You should be aware that deductions for state income taxes and real estate taxes are not allowed for the AMT. Really high earners may not even get the full exemption since it is phased out above certain income levels. Other items create timing differences, such as depreciation differences between the two tax systems, and will generate a credit on Form 8801 and reduce your taxes in future years. The advance is included in your income, and you take your expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions.
High marginal tax rates encourage tax avoidance and penalize work and saving. The financing may not exceed the purchase price of the residence. If you have vacant land on which you are paying real estate tax, you could turn it into a farm rental and deduct the taxes on Form 4835. You may need to sell some of the stock in the year of the exercise to pay the tax due.
John Snow, treasury secretary, talks about tax code changes on CNN's In The Money. You compare this figure to the tax you calculated under the regular tax system on Form 1040. Tax laws keep changing, but don't be the last to know about them.