<P> The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, Pub. L. 115--97, is a congressional revenue act originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), that amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 . Major elements of the changes include reducing tax rates for businesses and individuals; a personal tax simplification by increasing the standard deduction and family tax credits, but eliminating personal exemptions and making it less beneficial to itemize deductions; limiting deductions for state and local income taxes (SALT) and property taxes; further limiting the mortgage interest deduction; reducing the alternative minimum tax for individuals and eliminating it for corporations; reducing the number of estates impacted by the estate tax; and repealing the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). </P> <P> The Act is based on tax reform advocated by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration . The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that under the Act individuals and pass - through entities like partnerships and S corporations would receive about $1,125 billion in net benefits (i.e. net tax cuts offset by reduced healthcare subsidies) over 10 years, while corporations would receive around $320 billion in benefits . The CBO estimates that implementing the Act would add an estimated $2.289 trillion to the national debt over ten years, or about $1.891 trillion after taking into account macroeconomic feedback effects, in addition to the $9.8 trillion increase forecast under the current policy baseline and existing $20 trillion national debt . </P> <P> The individual and pass - through tax cuts fade over time and become net tax increases starting in 2027 while the corporate tax cuts are permanent . This enabled the Senate to pass the bill with only 51 votes, without the need to defeat a filibuster, under the budget reconciliation process . The House passed the penultimate version of the bill on December 19, 2017, though for Senate procedural reasons small changes were needed and a revote was held in the House . The Senate passed the final version on December 20 in a 51--48 vote and that final version was passed by the House of Representatives on that same day . The bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 22, 2017 . Most of the changes introduced by the bill went into effect on January 1, 2018 and will not affect 2017 taxes . </P> <P> Critics in the media, think tanks and academia assailed the law, mainly based on forecasts of its adverse impact (e.g., higher budget deficit, higher trade deficit, greater income inequality, lower healthcare coverage and higher healthcare costs), disproportionate impact on certain states and professions and the misrepresentations made by its advocates . Some of the reforms passed by the Republicans have become controversial within key states, particularly the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductibility, and are being challenged in federal court . Polls have consistently found the law to be unpopular with the public . </P>

When did the new tax bill take effect