The Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 made technical corrections to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, amended the Superfund Revenue Act of 1986, added simplification and clarification provisions, extended and modified expiring tax provisions, enacted various trade provisions, social security programs, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance and Retirement Improvement Act of 1988, and the first Taxpayers' Bill of Rights.

Some of the changes enacted by TAMRA '88 affected liquidation transition rules, S corporation built-in gains, intercorporate dividends, the estate valuation freeze rules, and qualified domestic trusts. The Act's financial product provisions extended the wash sale rules, and dealt with the deduction of amortizable bond premiums, installment sale rules applicable to non-publicly traded stock and securities, the definition of personal holding company income, the authorization of regulations on mixed straddles, and the rules applicable to foreign currency transactions.

TAMRA raised revenues by accelerating corporate estimated tax payments, repealing special rules governing the sale of tax losses by Alaska Native Corporations, restricting use of completed contract method of accounting by defense contractors, and revising tax treatment of single-premium and other investment-oriented life insurance products.

Other TAMRA provisions further restricted the use of the completed-contract method, limited the tax benefits of borrowing from investment-oriented insurance policies, limited deductions for phones used in home offices, reduced the R&D expense deduction by half the amount of the R&D credit claimed, and increased the excise tax on pension reversions.

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