Deficit Reduction Act of 1984

Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98–369), also known as the DEFRA, was a federal law enacted in the United States in 1984.^[1] Originally part of the stalled Tax Reform Act of 1983, it was adjusted and reintroduced as the Tax Reform Act of 1984. After passing in the House, it was merged with the Senate version into its final form. Collectively known as the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, it was signed into law by president Ronald Reagan on July 18, 1984.^[2][3]

Deficit Reduction Act of 1984

Long title	An Act to provide for tax reform, and for deficit reduction.
Acronyms (colloquial)	DEFRA
Enacted by	the 98th United States Congress
Effective	January 1, 1985
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 98–369
Statutes at Large	98 Stat. 494
Codification
Titles amended	26 U.S.C.: Internal Revenue Code
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 4170 by Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) on October 20, 1983 Committee consideration by House Ways and Means Passed the House on April 11, 1984 (318-97) Passed the Senate on May 17, 1984 (74-23, in lieu of H.R. 2163) Reported by the joint conference committee on Jun 23, 1984; agreed to by the House on June 27, 1984 (268-155) and by the Senate on June 27, 1984 (83-15) Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 18, 1984

Summary of provisions

The Office of Tax Analysis of the United States Department of the Treasury summarized the tax changes as follows:^[4][5]

• repealed scheduled 15% net interest exclusion ($900 cap)
• reduced benefits from income averaging
• reduced tax benefits for property leased by tax exempt entities
• temporarily extended federal telephone excise tax (through 1987)
• increased depreciation lives for real property from 15 years to 18 years