Here is what the authors of the statement that explains the H.R. 1 conference report say about how the final version of the bill handles net operating losses:
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement follows the House bill and the Senate amendment. 3. Five-year carryback of operating losses (sees. 1411 and 1412 of the House bill, secs. 1211 and 1212 of the Senate amendment, sec. 1211 of the conference agreement, and sec. 172 of the Code)
Present Law
Under present law, a net operating loss (NOL) generally means the amount by which a axpayer's business deductions exceed its gross income. In general, an NOL may be carried back two years and carried over 20 years to offset taxable income in such years.) NOLs offset taxable income in the order of the taxable years to which the NOL may be carried.
The alternative minimum tax rules provide that a taxpayer's NOL deduction cannot reduce the taxpayer's alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) by more than 90 percent of the AMTI.
Different rules apply with respect to NOLs arising in certain circumstances. …
In the case of a life insurance company, present law allows a deduction for the operations loss carryovers and carrybacks to the taxable year, in lieu of the deduction for net operation losses allowed to other corporations. A life insurance company is permitted to treat a loss from operations (as defined under section 810(c>> for any taxable year as an operations loss carryback to each of the three taxable years preceding the loss year and an operations loss carryover to each of the 15 taxable years following the loss year. Special rules apply to new life insurance companies.
House Bill
The House bill provides an election to increase the present-law carryback period for an applicable 2008 or 2009 NOL from two years to any whole number of ycars elected by the taxpayer which is more than two and less than six. An applicable NOL is the taxpayer's NOL for any taxable year cnding in 2008 or 2009, or if elected by the taxpayer, the NOL for any taxable year beginning in 2008 or 2009. If an election is made to increase the carryback period, the applicable NOL is permanently reduced by 10 percent….
