Tax benefit allowing an individual or organization to reduce a tax liability by applying net operating losses incurred in the current fiscal year against income reported in earlier years. IRS tax rules permit carrying back losses (the excess of allowable deductions over gross income) over the three prior years, resulting in a tax refund. A tax loss carry forward, on the other hand, is an operating loss charged against income in future years.
In general, banks are subject to the same rules as other corporations in computing a tax loss carry back or carry forward, under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 except for losses attributable to bad debt. Starting in 1987, a bank can apply a net operating loss to taxable income in the previous three years, or forward 15 years. The Tax Reform Act repealed the old ten-and-five rule (ten years back and five years forward).
The Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 imposed additional restrictions on tax losses, namely the requirement that short-term losses be applied first to reduce any long-term gains. This effectively reduced the gain available for the more favorable long-term capital gain tax rate.
