On the IRS Capital-Loss Carryover Worksheet for tax year 2020, step #4 says:
- Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 3b.
However, I do not see a line “3b” --is this a simple typo or what? Do they mean “line 3” instead of “line 3b” or is there a missing line 3b? I can’t find any info on IRS site, and never make any assumptions about these IRS forms–
Another Q:
Step #1 says:
“Enter the amount from your 2019 Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b…If the amount would have been a loss if you could enter a negative number on that line, enclose the amount in parentheses.”
This is ambiguous to me–do they mean to go to my 2019 1040-SR, and re-do the subtraction that results in the negative number for line 11b, and then enter that negative number on carryover worksheet line 1?
In previous years while doing this cap-loss carryover worksheet, I always copied a number directly from the previous year’s 1040 forms–never had to re-calculate a subtraction.
Thanks for help–