Question: Amending last year's return with 1256 Transactions

[slee126]

When I did taxes last year using turbo tax, I imported my 1099 from interactive brokers.  I did not realize that 1256 transactions were not imported until doing this year's returns.

Last year, I lost money on futures contracts and did not report them.

I made money on futures contracts this year and hoped to offset the gains using last year's losses.  

Can I amend last year's returns to carry forward the losses to offset this year's gains?  If this is possible, can I do this year's taxes carrying the losses forward, or I can not offset the losses until the amended returns are accepted i.e. pay taxes on this year's gains first.

Thank you 

[RachelW33]

Yes, you can amend last year's returns to carry forward the losses to offset this year's gains.  

Prepare and file your amended returns first, then prepare and file your returns for this year.  Fortunately, you do not have to wait for your amendments to be fully processed before you file your current year returns as this is not something that the IRS matches up right away.

Please see this TurboTax Help article: How do I amend my federal return for a prior year?

[slee126]

Thank you so much for your response.  Very insightful.

[RachelW33]

You're welcome!