How do I claim an old mutual fund investment loss from 2011 that I've neglected to claim until now? I have the 1099B for tax year 2011. Is it too late?

[wut1]

I had mutual fund investment loss way back in 2011. At the time I didn't know about claiming losses. 

Now it's tax year 2017. I've obtained 1099B form for 2011 from the brokerage to prove the loss from the sales, now I'm wondering how to claim them.

Is it too late because it's been 6 years?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

It's too late to claim the loss for 2011.

However, you should try to determine whether the loss was large enough to produce a capital loss carryover that would carry forward to 2014. If so, you could file amended returns for 2014 and any later years that still had a carryover. Whether the loss is large enough to carry forward to 2014 or later depends on how much net capital gain you had in 2011 through 2013. You would have to recalculate your 2011 through 2013 tax returns as if you had claimed the loss, even though you can't actually claim it for those years, and see if there is a carryover to 2014. You might want to have a tax professional do this for you. If you have copies of your tax returns for 2011 through 2013, an experienced tax professional can probably quickly determine whether there would be any carryover to 2014, without actually having to recalculate the old returns.

If the original loss in 2011 was $3,000 or less, there would be no carryover and there is nothing for you to do now. The loss is just gone.

The deadline for getting a refund for an amended return for 2014 is this coming April 13, 2018, just three weeks from now. You have a year or more for the later years. Tax pros are very busy right now, and will get busier as April 17 approaches. But if you go now, you might be able to find someone who is willing to at least take a quick look and tell you whether there is anything worth pursuing.