NOL not available to carry forward

[ddg217]

In last year's tax return, I had a significant NOL (over $100,000) but for some reason, my tax return doesn't show any of that NOL as being available to carry forward (i.e. line 14a in the federal carryover worksheet is blank). Why is that? Is there any reason why I am unable to carry forward my NOL from last year's tax return to offset this year's income?

[KatherineC]

Since TurboTax returns are considered to be self-prepared, you will need to calculate the amount of your Net Operating Loss.  A negative AGI does not necessarily result in a Net Operating Loss Carryback/Carryover.

To access an NOL worksheet, please click on "How To Figure an NOL Carryover".  Under "NOL Carryover From 2016 to 2017" you can click on Table 1 to access the worksheet.

To carry the loss forward, an election to forego the carryback should have been made with your 2016 return.  Unless you filed your extended 2016 return in October 2017, you cannot amend your 2016 return to include the election.

"If you filed your original return on time but did not file the statement with it, you can make this choice on an amended return filed within 6 months of the due date of the return"

and

"If you do not file this statement on time, you cannot waive the carryback period."

This information can be found here.  Click on "Waiving the Carryback Period" located two lines above "How to Claim an NOL Deduction" in the column on the left.

If you filed your extended 2016 return in October 2017, follow the instructions below to amend your return.

 https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5567856

When you are ready to add the election to forego the carryback on your amended return, follow these instructions:    

Type "nol elections, current year" in the search box in the upper right corner.  Click on the "Jump to" link.

Click on Forms in the upper right corner and look for "IRC 172(b)(3)"  in the list of Forms in your return to see the election.

If you did not file your extended 2016 return in October 2017, you will need to carry back your NOL.

Since TurboTax doesn't support Form 1045, you will need to prepare the Form 1045 to carry back the loss.  Click here for the Form 1045 and click on Instructions for the how-to of preparing Form 1045.

If you have an NOL to enter in your 2017 tax return: 

And you are using TurboTax online, scroll to Other Business Situations and click on Show more.  The screenshot below was taken in TurboTax Self-Employment but is located in the same place in other versions.

[ddg217]

I filed my extended 2016 return in October 2017 and I waived the carryback period, but I did not fill out and submit Form 1045 because I was not presented that option in TurboTax Self Employed when doing my taxes.  Is the fact that I did not fill out and submit Form 1045 what is causing the issue of not being able to apply my net operating loss to this year's income?  If so, what can I to fix this?

[KatherineC]

You would only need to file the Form 1045 if you had not waived the carryback.
You need to calculate your NOL, (second paragraph above)
And you need to enter your NOL in 2017 TurboTax.  (Last paragraph)
If this doesn't allow the NOL please add another comment.

[ddg217]

The issue is that I don't see the option of entering the 2016 NOL in 2017 TurboTax.  It doesn't look like TurboTax is even giving me that option in 2017.  I am worried that this is happening because I never filled out Form 1045 when I submitted my taxes in 2016 and therefore never officially calculated my NOL for 2016.  Is this possible?  If so, is there a way I can go back and fix that in my 2016 return?

[KatherineC]

You only have to fill out the Form 1045 if you are carrying the loss back.
Did you follow the instructions above and calculate the NOL?

[ddg217]

Yes, I used Schedule A of Form 1045 to calculate my NOL for 2016, though there are a few things that I was uncertain about.  For Line 2 (nonbusiness capital losses), I used the amount in Line 15 of Form 1040, Schedule D (I had no short-term losses, only long-term).  For Line 6 (nonbusiness deductions), I used the amount in Line 40 of Form 1040, which is essentially my standard deduction.  For Line 11 (business capital losses), I used the amount in Line 31 of Form 1040, Schedule C, which is the net loss from my business.  Did I fill out these rows correctly?

The result of this was a NOL of $105,800.  Interestingly enough, when I entered this in TurboTax 2017 as my Net Operating Loss Carryover, it didn't make much of a dent in my Federal Balance Due.  However, if I enter the same amount as AMT Net Operating Loss Carryover, my Federal Balance Due decreased dramatically.  What is the difference between Net Operating Loss Carryover and AMT Net Operating Loss Carryover?  Which is the one where I should state my 2016 NOL?  Obviously, I am hoping the latter is correct, as this seems to have the bigger impact on my Federal Balance Due.

[KatherineC]

Preview your Form 1040 and tell me what you see on LINE 45  of your Form 1040.
You can preview your tax return.  You need to be in your tax return as you follow the steps below. 
• Please click on Tax Tools in the column on the left side of your Turbo Tax screen. 
• Then click on Tools;
• Then View Tax Summary
Click on "Preview my 1040" in the left column.

[ddg217]

$23,192

[KatherineC]

that explains why you didn't see a tax benefit until you entered the same loss for AMT
You will need to calculate the differences between the regular NOL and the AMT NOL.  You can mostly see the differences in any prior year Form 6251.  As high as your AMT is for 2017 - I think you must have been filing Form 6251 for a while.
One of your biggest differences will be AMT depreciation.

[KatherineC]

The best source of information for you would be the publication I put a link to in the original answer.
Starting at How to Figure an NOL, the publication gives detailed information about what does or does not go on the various lines of the NOL calculation.
By the way,  Nonbusiness Capital Losses are only excluded up to the amount of Nonbusiness Capital Gains (in other words they can't increase the loss - just offset the capital gains.

[ddg217]

This is the first year I've had to deal with this because 2016 was the first year I had a NOL.  I've been using TurboTax software for several years, so if I've been filing Form 6251, this must have been something that was generated automatically by TurboTax.  I think I am going to file an extension this year and consult with a tax professional to make sure that I am calculating everything correctly.  As things currently stand, I have an estimated 2017 AGI of $41,646 (net of the NOL I am carrying forward from 2016) and total federal taxes of $49,685, so I am hoping that something is off here.

[KatherineC]

Did you choose Expert Services?  They would be able to see what you have and help you.

It's just impossible for me to actually be able to tell what is going on with your return.
I am all for extending ... much better to do that than to rush through the calculation.