Deadline approaches to file the carryback claim for 2018 calendar year

Under the CARES Act, businesses can apply a five-year carryback for losses incurred from 2018, 2019 and 2020. The intent of these changes is to help businesses with cash flow during this period. Tax returns up to five years prior can now be modified to offset taxable income from each of those years.

Forms 1139 and 1045 are used to file an NOL carryback refund claim for corporations and individuals, respectively. Filing this form expedites the refund to the taxpayer before the amended return has been filed. There is generally a deadline for filing this form 12 months after the last day of the fiscal year, but the CARES Act has extended that to 18 months. Therefore, the deadline to file the carryback claim for 2018 calendar year returns is June 30, 2020. An amended return can still be filed after this date, but the refund will be processed at the same time as the tax return.