(MONEY Magazine) – After tax reform, municipal bonds -- once as similar as peas in a pod -- look more like succotash. You can profit from this variety if you are among the 99.8% of taxpayers who don't pay the alternative minimum tax on their income. The new law specifies that certain bonds issued after last Aug. 7 for projects benefiting individuals rather than the general public -- such as issues that finance single-family home mortgages or industrial development -- will pay interest that is taxable for the few people subject to the alternative minimum tax. But these particular bonds, known as AMT munis, are tax-exempt for everyone else. Yields on these issues are as much as 1 1/2 percentage points higher than yields on comparable public-purpose munis. What's more, private-purpose bonds, available from brokers in minimums of $5,000, are often backed by insurance or collateral, earning these securities higher credit ratings than standard-issue tax-exempts. The Phoenix, Ariz. Multifamily Housing 7.75% bond of 1997, for example, has an AAA rating and a 7.25% yield. Other high-yielding AMT bonds include the Monroe County, Ind. Development Agency 7.6% of 1996, rated AA and yielding 7.25%, and the Christian County, Ky. Multifamily 7.5% bonds of 1996, rated AAA and yielding 7.4%. ''The only reason for the extra yield is that AMT bonds are something new,'' says Michael Shamosh, municipal bond portfolio strategist at the New York City office of First Albany Corp. But since the bonds are not yet widely traded, they can be hard to find unless you deal with a municipal bond specialist such as Nuveen or Moseley Securities. You can also place an advance order for forthcoming AMT bond issues with your regular broker.