You have an eligible capital loss carryover if your loss is more than $3,000 as of 2025 or your taxable income increased by at least the amount of your capital loss deduction, whichever is less. The IRS provides Worksheet 4-1 in Publication 550 to help you figure it out.
Look on your last year's Schedule D - Capital Gains and Losses. If line 16 shows a loss, and if it's more than the loss shown on line 21, then you have a capital loss carryover from last year.
The vast majority of taxpayers with a capital loss carryover will use the same amount for Regular and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Because many things have to happen to create a difference in the carryover amount, it's not very common. However, there are a few cases that might cause your capital loss carryover to be different for Regular and AMT purposes.
If you received a copy of Schedule D in a prior year that had a label at the top reading Alternative Minimum Tax, For AMT Purposes Only, then your capital loss may be different for AMT. If you don’t recall seeing this, then it’s likely that you don't have a different capital loss carryover for AMT.
If you have a capital loss after refiguring Schedule D for the Alternative Minimum Tax, apply the $3,000 capital loss limitation separately to the AMT loss. Because the amount of your gains and losses may be different for the AMT, the amount of any capital loss carryover may also be different for the AMT. See example here.
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