Lana Dolyna, EA Tax Consultant
Tax reform made a lot of good changes in the tax law for the small-business owner.
But the changes to the net operating loss (NOL) deduction rules are not in the good-changes category. They are designed to hurt you and put money in the IRS’s pocket.
Now, if you have a bad year in your business, the new NOL rules are designed to stop you from using your business loss to find some immediate cash. The new (let’s call them bad-for-you) rules certainly differ from the prior beneficial rules.
Old NOL Rules
You have an NOL when your business deductions exceed your business income in a taxable year.
Before tax reform, you could carry back the NOL to prior tax years and get refunds of taxes paid in those prior years.
Alternatively, you could have elected to waive the NOL carryback and instead carry forward the NOL to offset some or all of your taxable income in future tax years.
New NOL Rules
Tax reform made two key changes to the NOL rules:
The changes put more money in the IRS’s pocket by
We are bringing the NOL rules to your attention in case you need to do some planning with us. We likely have some strategies that can help you get some immediate benefits from your business loss. If this is of interest, please schedule your free strategy session by clicking the green “Schedule Now” button now.
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