I'm doing DD's federal taxes; she is a college student and had very
> little income last year. In round numbers, $250 in wages, $2000 from
> US Savings Bonds, and $100 in bank interest. She also had a $4500
> loss on a mutual fund sale. Do we have to write off $3000 this year
> and only carry [$1500] forward to next year? (I guess that's better
> than having to write off the whole $4500 this year)
>
> Or can she take $2000 of the loss this year (the amount that drives
> her tax liability to zero) and carry over [$2500]?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
Looks like the carry-over calculations are more complicated than I thought. The line 41 income (if negative) gets added back into a carry-over worksheet at the bottom of schedule D. That's not as good as it could be, but it answers my question, and it's not bad.
Bob