Skip year for Capital loss ?

You have to try to use them. File schedule D each year, and apply the loss from last year and attempt to use it. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it uses up only some of the carryover, and sometimes none of the carryover gets used. There is a capital loss carryover worksheet to help you determine how much of the loss is actually carried over.

If you have regular income, you have to take the $3000 offset.

No, you have to fill out the forms and worksheets and see what they tell you gets carried forward.

Seth

My 13 year old daughter has a loss carryforward from 2006, when I sold some stock my father had given her the year before and bought something else.

Since then she hasn't had enough income to need to file, so I've assumed I can just hold onto the loss and apply it when her income is high enough that she needs to file. Was I supposed to file anyway and work off the loss against her $100/yr of dividends?

R's, John

If you don't file, you at least have to fill out a tax form and especially fill out and keep the capital loss carryover worksheet to see how much of the loss carryover is left for next year. And keep copies of these.