Limit on years for cap loss carryover?

Is there any limit to the number of future years to which we can apply capital loss carryover?

I would think not. But it doesn't hurt to ask. (Hah!)

Like so many people, I imagine, 2008 was a banner year for capital losses :-(. Obviously, only -3000 applies to 2008, leaving me with a huge carryover.

I can imagine it will take more than 3 years to work off the carryover; and that assumes that it does not grow in 2009.

Reply to
curiousgeorge408
Loading thread data ...

No. In fact I don't believe the carryover form tracks the year of loss, just the dollar amount, e.g. if I lost $100,000 in the netcom bubble, and still show $70,000 carry over, the last set of forms doesn't identify that the original loss was 2001. The loss will carry until you use it all $3000/yr, have gains which the loss can negate, or the tax laws change and make those carry forward losses either not allowed or moot.

Joe

Reply to
JoeTaxpayer

you die.

Phil Marti, VITA Volunteer Clarksburg, MD

Reply to
Phillip Marti

sometime in the recent past snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com posted this:

I'm pretty sure you need to file the Sch. D every year until it's gone, even in a year that you have no regular income or capital gains to apply it against otherwise it is lost.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Reply to
Wilson

Nope, just keep the annual carryover worksheet for your records.

-Mark Bole

Reply to
Mark Bole

In addition to what already has been posted... there are two issues one must look out for:

  1. The carryover losses get applied before the deduction for personal exemptions. Therefore, it is possible to have zero taxable income and still use up capital losses.

E.g., joint return, 3 exemptions. Without any application of a $4000 capital loss carryover, income after deducting the std deduction is $5000. After deducting $10500 in personal exemptions, TI goes negative. Taxpayer has to first apply the $3000 capital loss carryover. This drops the income after deducting the std deduction to $2000. As this is still positive, taxpayer only has $1000 of capital losses to carry over to the next year.

  1. Some states' tax laws don't conform to federal rules on capital gains and losses and some also don't conform to the rules for carryover losses. Therefore, it is quite possible that the state carryover will be different then the federal carryover and how it gets applied will be different.
Reply to
Alan

It may not be required, but it's still better to file the return. It doesn't confuse the IRS and gets the period of limitations started.

Reply to
D. Stussy

curiousgeorge408> I can imagine it will take more than 3 years to work off the curiousgeorge408> carryover; and that assumes that it does not grow in 2009.

I have a related question/observation. Presume a taxpayer has a large AMT-only deferred capital loss, and an AMT credit (think ISO exercise-and-hold, pay tax, see stock plummet, sell shares in later tax year).

Given the provisions for tax years 2008 & 2009 that accelerate the return of AMT credit from ISOs, all of the remaining ISO-generated AMT credit is returned to taxpayer in tax year 2009, but only a small part of the deferred capital loss is used up.

That means the AMT loss will outlive AMT credits by many tax years. Are there benefits to having such a loss on the books, when there's no AMT credit to be gained? Are there situations where the deferred losses can reduce AMTI and keep taxpayer out of AMT in years when otherwise he'd be paying it?

Reply to
John Kohl

BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.