A transaction or investment by which a taxpayer shelters some or all income from tax liability because of tax credits or applicable deductions. Abuses of tax shelters resulted in extensive reform of the Internal Revenue Code, restricting loss from a business or an investment to only the capital that is at risk. This greatly reduced the availability of tax shelters. adj. temporary Something that will last for only a limited period of time; transitory. Temporary is meaningless with regard to th...