The Impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 on Personal Investments

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (Act)' represents the culmination of a lengthy process to make the Internal Revenue Code (Code) both simple and fair. Although that goal has been achieved for a vast number of lower-income taxpayers, the resulting Code is anything but simple for investors in real estate and other tax-advantaged investments. The removal of various tax subsidies is causing both investors and tax planners to rethink long-standing investment strategies. This article focuses on the effect of the changes made by the Act to personal investments, including the loss of the capital gain deduction, the introduction of limitations on passive activity losses, modifications to investment credits, the extension to real estate of the at-risk rules and other changes affecting investments.