Dozens of temporary tax provisions expired at the end of 2013, and several other temporary tax provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of 2014. Most of the provisions that expired at the end of 2013 have been part of past temporary tax extension legislation. Most recently, many temporary tax provisions were extended as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA; P.L. 112-240). Collectively, temporary tax provisions that are regularly extended by Congress-often for one to two years-rather than being allowed to expire as scheduled are often referred to as "tax extenders." The 113th Congress has considered legislation that would extend selected expired or expiring tax provisions. The Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act (S. 2260), which would extend most expired and soon-to-expire tax provisions through 2015, was reported by the Senate Finance Committee on April 28, 2014. The act subsequently became an amendment to H.R. 3474 which did not advance in the Senate, as a motion to end debate on H.R. 3474 was voted down on May 15, 2014. In contrast to the Senate, the House has voted to permanently extend certain expired tax provisions as part of the Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4), which passed the House on September 18, 2014. Several expired charitable-related provisions would be made permanent as part of the America Gives More Act of 2014 (H.R. 4719), which passed the House on July 17, 2014. The President's FY2015 Budget identifies several expiring provisions that should be permanently extended (and in some cases substantially modified), including the research and experimentation (R&D) tax credit, enhanced expensing for small businesses, the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC), and the new markets tax credit (NMTC). Several other expired provisions would be temporarily extended. The President's FY2015 Budget also assumes that the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), the earned income tax credit (EITC) expansions, and the child tax credit (CTC) expansions, that were extended through 2017 as part of ARTA, are made permanent. There are several reasons why Congress may choose to enact tax provisions on a temporary basis. Enacting provisions on a temporary basis provides legislators with an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of tax policies prior to expiration or extension. Temporary tax provisions may also be used to provide temporary economic stimulus or disaster relief. Congress may also choose to enact tax provisions on a temporary rather than permanent basis due to budgetary considerations, as the foregone revenue from a temporary provision will generally be less than if it was permanent. The provisions that expired at the end of 2013 are diverse in purpose, including provisions for individuals, businesses, the charitable sector, energy, community assistance, and disaster relief. Among the individual provisions that expired are deductions for teachers' out-of-pocket expenses, state and local sales taxes, qualified tuition and related expenses, and mortgage insurance premiums. On the business side, under current law, the R&D tax credit, the WOTC, the active financing exceptions under Subpart F, and increased expensing and bonus depreciation allowances will not be available for taxpayers after 2013. Expired charitable provisions include the enhanced deduction for contributions of food inventory and provisions allowing for tax-free distributions from retirement accounts for charitable purposes. The renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) expired at the end of 2013, along with a number of other incentives for energy efficiency and renewable and alternative fuels. The new markets tax credit, a community assistance program, also expired at the end of 2013.

A number of tax provisions have either expired in 2011 or are scheduled to expire at the end of this FY 2012. These include the Bush tax cuts, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, the temporary payroll tax cut, and other temporary expiring provisions, many of which are commonly referred to as "tax extenders." Aside from the payroll tax cut, which was extended by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, the most recent law extending many of these provisions was the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. This book provides an overview of these expiring provisions with a focus on past cost and cost of extension and a brief discussion of the current debate concerning the policy.

The 113th Congress has considered legislation that would extend selected expired or expiring tax provisions. The Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act (S. 2260), which would extend most expired and soon-to-expire tax provisions (commonly referred to as "tax extenders") through 2015, was reported by the Senate Finance Committee on April 28, 2014. The act subsequently became an amendment to H.R. 3474 which did not advance in the Senate, as a motion to end debate on H.R. 3474 was voted down on May 15, 2014. In contrast to the Senate, the House has voted to permanently extend certain expired tax provisions as part of the Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4), which passed the House on September 18, 2014. This report briefly summarizes and discusses the economic impact of selected business-related tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013 and are being considered for extension.

This report discusses a number of tax provisions either expired in 2011 or schedule to expire at the end of 2012. These include the Bush tax cuts; the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch; the temporary payroll tax cut; and other temporary expiring provisions, many of which are commonly referred to as "tax extenders." This report provides an overview of these expiring provisions. For each provision (or group of provisions), this report first describes the provision, then outlines its past cost and the cost of its extension, and concludes with a brief discussion of the current debate concerning the policy. In the case of the Bush tax cuts and tax extenders, the details of the provisions are provided in accompanying tables. This is a print on demand report.

A number of tax provisions either expired in 2011 or are scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. These include the following: The Bush tax cuts, which reduced income taxes by reducing tax rates, reducing the marriage penalty, repealing limitations on personal exemptions and itemized deductions (PEP and Pease, respectively), expanding refundable credits, and modifying education tax incentives. The Bush tax cuts also reduced estate tax liabilities by increasing the amount of an estate exempt from taxation and by lowering the tax rate; The alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, which, by increasing the amount of income that is exempt from the AMT and allowing certain personal credits against the AMT, prevents an estimated 26 million additional taxpayers from owing the AMT; The payroll tax cut, which reduced an employee's share of Social Security taxes by two percentage points; A variety of previously extended temporary tax provisions, commonly referred to as “tax extenders,” which affect individuals, businesses, charitable giving, energy, community development, and disaster relief. As Congress decides whether to extend these provisions, it may consider the estimated revenue losses associated with their extension. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending these provisions through 2022, except for the payroll tax cut, which CBO assumes expires as scheduled at the end of 2012, would reduce revenues by $5.4 trillion between 2013 and 2022. Specifically, over this 10-year budgetary window extending the Bush tax cuts and extending the AMT patch would reduce revenues by $4.6 trillion, while extending the tax extenders would reduce revenues by $839 billion. The cost of extending the payroll tax cut for one year (2012) was estimated to be $114 billion over the 2012-2022 budgetary window. In addition to budgetary cost, Congress may also consider other factors when evaluating tax policy. For example, when considering extending the Bush tax cuts, policy makers might consider that the majority of the benefits of this policy accrued to the top 20% of taxpayers. They might also evaluate the potential contractionary impact the expiration of these cuts in 2013 may have on the economy, especially since both the scheduled expiration of the payroll tax cut and the enactment of budget cuts as part of the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25) are scheduled to go into effect at the same time. Similarly, Congress may examine the cost effectiveness of the payroll tax cut. According to CBO, the short-term stimulus impact of the payroll tax cut is lower than increasing aid to the unemployed or providing additional refundable tax credits to low- and middle-income households, but more stimulative than extending the Bush tax cuts. Finally, Congress may weigh the lower budgetary costs of short-term extensions of tax extenders against the unpredictability for taxpayers that can arise from short-term extensions. In past years, Congress has extended expiring provisions en masse in one legislative vehicle. In the 112th Congress, Members have considered legislation to extend certain provisions, including S. 3412, S. 3413, and H.R. 8, which extend some or all of the Bush tax cuts and the AMT patch. In addition, the Senate may consider S. 3521, which extends certain temporary expiring provisions.