Form 1045 (2019) — Application for Tentative Refund
Purpose and Legal Context
Form 1045 permits individuals, estates, and trusts to apply for a quick refund by carrying back a 2019 net operating loss, unused general business credit, or net section 1256 contracts loss to prior tax years. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated NOL carrybacks for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. Still, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, enacted in March 2020, temporarily restored a five-year carryback period for NOLs arising in tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The domestic production activities deduction expired after 2017 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. You must reference only deductions allowed under post-TCJA rules when calculating your 2019 NOL, and you must carefully track any carryback interaction with foreign tax credit releases on line 9.
Eligibility and Filing Requirements
You must verify that your original 2019 return has been filed before submitting Form 1045. The 2019 tax year applies to returns with a taxable year ending December 31, 2019, or any fiscal year ending between January 1 and December 31, 2019. You must confirm that no prior Form 1045 was filed for 2019 before submitting this application, and you must file Form 1045 within one year after the end of the year in which the NOL, unused credit, net section 1256 contracts loss, or claim of right adjustment arose.
NOL Calculation Steps
Schedule A Completion
You must calculate your 2019 NOL using Schedule A with post-TCJA deductions only. Complete the following entries.
- Enter taxable income reduced by standard or itemized deductions for individuals on Schedule A line 1.
- Enter adjusted taxable income plus charitable and distribution deductions for estates and trusts on Schedule A line 1.
- Skip line 23 or enter zero because the domestic production activities deduction is unavailable for 2019.
- Do not claim any deduction under the former IRC section 199.
Capital Loss and Gain Reporting
You must separate nonbusiness and business capital losses and gains on Schedule A. Complete the following entries.
- Enter nonbusiness capital losses on line 2 and nonbusiness capital gains on line 3 without regard to IRC section 1202 exclusions.
- Enter business capital losses on line 11 and business capital gains on line 12.
- Apply the ordering rules and limitations on lines 4, 5, 10, and 14 only to 2019 carryback calculations.
Schedule D Loss References
For individual filers using Form 1040 or 1040-SR, you must reference your 2019 Schedule D to complete Schedule A. Line 16 of Schedule D combines your net short-term capital gain or loss from line 7 with your net long-term capital gain or loss from line 15. Enter the result from Schedule D line 16 as instructed on Schedule A, and enter amounts as positive numbers when completing NOL calculations.
For estates and trusts using Form 1041, you must reference Schedule D lines 7 and 16. Line 7 shows your net short-term capital gain or loss, and line 16 shows your net long-term capital gain or loss. You must use these amounts when completing Schedule A of Form 1045.
Section 1202 Exclusion
You may claim the section 1202 exclusion on Schedule A lines 17 and 4 only if applicable to 2019 gains. Complete the following steps if your 2019 Schedule D loss includes a section 1202 exclusion from qualified small business stock.
- Enter the exclusion as a positive number on line 17.
- Subtract this amount from the Schedule D loss on line 18.
- Recognize that this adjustment applies to NOL carryback mechanics and does not appear on the original Form 1040.
Carryback Year Computation
You must complete Schedule B for each year receiving the loss or credit. Begin with the earliest carryback year and follow these steps.
- Enter taxable income before 2019 NOL carryback on line 2 for that year.
- Increase the amount by charitable deduction and distribution deduction if you are an estate or trust.
- Enter any net capital loss deduction, section 1202 exclusion, and domestic production activities deduction as originally allowed for that year.
- Enter domestic production activities deduction on line 5 for carryback years before 2018 if applicable.
- Enter zero for domestic production activities deduction on line 5 for carryback years in 2018 and later.
Adjustments and Credits
Itemized Deductions
You must account for adjustments to adjusted gross income and itemized deductions on Schedule B lines 6 through 7 and lines 11 through 38 if applicable. If the carryback year precedes 2018 and you itemized deductions, you must complete lines 11 through 38 to recalculate medical expense, mortgage insurance premium, casualty loss, and miscellaneous deductions under pre-TCJA thresholds. For carryback years in 2018 and later, most miscellaneous itemized deductions were suspended under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and lines 33 through 37 apply only to pre-2018 carryback years.
Premium Tax Credit
You must report excess advance premium tax credit repayment on page 1, line 17, if a 2019 Form 8962 adjustment resulted in repayment. This amount represents a 2019-specific tax calculation separate from income tax and credits. The individual shared responsibility payment was reduced to zero beginning in 2019, so no shared responsibility payment applies to 2019 returns.
Credit Carrybacks
You must identify and report credit carrybacks on page 2, lines 20 through 23. Complete the following entries.
- Distinguish general business credit on line 20 from net premium tax credit on line 21.
- Recognize that the net premium tax credit derives from Form 8962 and remains subject to reconciliation rules unique to that form.
- Enter other allowable credits, such as research credit or low-income housing credit, on line 22 with identification.
- Do not claim credits that expired before 2019 or that are not allowed in carryback years.
Required Disclosures
You must answer line 8 regarding reportable transactions. If any portion of the NOL, credit, or loss carryback results from a reportable transaction under IRC section 6011 and Treasury Regulation section 1.6011-4, you must answer “Yes” and attach Form 8886 separately. Indicate “Yes” only if the current-year 2019 loss arose from a disclosed or required-to-be-disclosed transaction.
You must answer line 9 regarding foreign tax credit release. If the 2019 NOL or net section 1256 contracts loss carryback causes the prior-year foreign tax credit to expire or be released due to reduction of foreign-source income, you must answer “Yes.” This interaction affects overall refund calculation when creditable foreign taxes are recaptured and remains critical for multinational taxpayers.
Need Help With Your Tax Filing?
If you’re missing tax documents or want to ensure the numbers you enter match IRS records, we can help.
We offer:
- Full IRS transcript retrieval (Wage & Income + Account)
- Professional tax form review
- Preparation & filing support
- Tax relief options if you owe the IRS
Call now before filing: (888) 260-9441
Fast transcript pull available
This checklist is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Always review official IRS instructions and consult a qualified professional for guidance.
