How to take a stock loss from years back

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You have to carry a capital loss from year to year continuously. You can't just omit it from your tax returns for years, then apply it in a future year. If you had a capital loss some years ago and did not carry it over, you will have to recalculate your tax returns for all the intervening years to determine how much of the loss is still available for 2016. Some of it will be used up in the intervening years. You can file amended returns for 2013, 2014, and 2015 to claim the loss in those years. The deadline to get an additional refund for 2013 is April 15, 2017. It's too late to get a refund for earlier years, so there is no need to file amended returns for earlier years. But save your calculations for all the intervening years in case the IRS questions your capital loss carryover for 2016, or for any of the years for which you do file amended returns.

Here's how to enter a capital loss carryover in TurboTax.

• Click the Federal Taxes tab.
• Click Wages & Income.
• Click "I'll choose what I work on" or "Jump to a full list."
• On the screen "Your 2016 Income Summary," scroll down to the Investment Income section.
• Click the Start, Update, or Revisit button for Capital Loss Carryover.