Schedule C NOL

[macpham]

Can a 2020 schedule C loss still be carried back 3 years? Could it originally have been carried back 5 years?

[MarilynG1 · Accepted solution]

Yes, in 2017 the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act disallowed carryback of NOL's. You are correct that originally it could be carried back five years.  The 2017 TCJA also limited NOL deductions to 80% of taxable income.

Here's detailed info on NOL's from IRS Pub. 536.

@macpham 

[Mike9241]

just because schedule C shows a loss doesn't mean you have an NOL. you should use form 1045 Schedule A to compute it

in short, an NOL is the excess of business losses or items of business income reduced by the excess, if any, of nonbusiness income over nonbusiness deductions.

[macpham]

Agreed - it is an NOL