How does an individual get to deduct business losses on their personal return?

[LiberalFighter]

[tonyt53]

1. Schedule C - Profit or Loss from Business or Profession

[LiberalFighter]

5. That can be done even if the company has stockholders?

[Cicada]

9. No. Such C is for sole owners.

You can be a partner in a partnership and you report your share of partnership income on your personal tax return. The partnership files a business partnership tax return and they send you a "k1" form telling you what share of partnership income on your personal tax return. In some cases your share could be a loss of 900 million dollars and if that exceeded your other income you would have a net operating loss which you can carry back to the previous 3 years or you can carry losses forward if you prefer. A corporation can choose to be taxed under subchapter S of the tax code and then the corporation files a corporate tax return but "passes through" all its income e or loss to the shareholders who report their share on their personal tax returns. That income can also generate an NOL. So too with Limited Liability Companies and a couple o t her things LG instant in some states.

[thesquanderer]

10. I think Trump's businesses are all privately owned (by him alone or with partners), no shares to the public.

A public company has to be a lot more transparent than anything we've seen from a Trump business.

[Angry Dragon]

2. sole proprietorship

[whatthehey]

3. That part is pretty standard - it's the massive carry-forward that's a developer special.

[NewJeffCT]

8. What gets me about the carry forward

is that for the next 18-20 years, he did not make enough money to offset that $916 million loss. So, his wealth is greatly exaggerated - even more than his hand size.

[Hortensis]

6. Major corruption. Law meant to help out GENUINE

small business owners was also written to allow the very wealthy to participate also, i.e., transfer vast sums to entities set up for that purpose to use them as tax dodges.

There are so many of these corrupt dodges. My healthcare savings account is more valuable to our physicians than us. We keep having to dip into it to cover expenses, but if we didn't, we could transfer its contents each year into (permanently) tax-deferred investments--as the Republicans who inserted it into the ACA by amendment intended.

(They were allowed some of these concessions in return for the understanding that they would vote for it. They did not, but Congress has blocked the usual "tweaking" of major legislation that would normally take place after it was passed--and allow Obama to remove them.)

[beachbum bob]

7. Tax laws bought and paid for starters....

No comprehensive tax reform in decades... and billions spent by lobbying congress each year..

Nothing changes. Until citizens united goes away