DISPOSAL OF BUSINESS VS DISPOSAL OF HOBBY

[irs say business is hobby]

• IF I SAID I DISPOSED OF MY NON-RENTAL BUSINESS IN 2018 CAN I AGAIN INDICATED YES DISPOSED OF BUSINESS IN 2020 SO THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO INCLUDE CARRYOVER LOSSES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS?
• 2NDLY AS I HAVE HAD LOSSES FOR MORE THAN 7 YEARS IN 2015 THE IRS SAID I WAS A HOBBY SO DOES THAT MEAN I WAS STILL A HOBBY IN 2018 AND THE QUESTION  REGARDING DISPOSAL OF BUSINESS IS IRRELEVANT? 
• THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ANSWERING  

[ColeenD3 · Accepted solution]

• IF I SAID I DISPOSED OF MY NON-RENTAL BUSINESS IN 2018 CAN I AGAIN INDICATED YES DISPOSED OF BUSINESS IN 2020 SO THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO INCLUDE CARRYOVER LOSSES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS? No. If it closed in 2018, that is the end of it.

• 2NDLY AS I HAVE HAD LOSSES FOR MORE THAN 7 YEARS IN 2015 THE IRS SAID I WAS A HOBBY SO DOES THAT MEAN I WAS STILL A HOBBY IN 2018 AND THE QUESTION  REGARDING DISPOSAL OF BUSINESS IS IRRELEVANT? If you had a hobby, then no losses are allowable. Yes, the question about disposing of a business is irrelevant, since you never had a business to begin with.

[irs say business is hobby]

Thank you for responding, just another question of clarification.  

Yes,  I disposed of it in 2018 so how do I deal with the NOL from that year and previous years when I did make a small profit but my losses were larger - hence, IRS determination that it "was a hobby". 

I thought with the new tax law I could carry it back 5 years or forward until exhausted.  (As you can see I am trying to carry forward losses for 2019, and 2020 to utilize the NOL which allows me to reduce my adjusted gross income?  

Or is the NOL carryforward also moot as the IRS had declared it a hobby prior to 2018 given the continuous losses?  

Finally, not to be confusing but should I go back and amend 2018 and 2019?  

Getting confused, thanks for listening and trying to assist.