Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: The Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet in the Schedule D instructions figures the losses you carry from 2024 to 2025. It works from your 2024 taxable income and your 2024 Schedule D, and splits the result into a short-term amount (line 8) and a long-term amount (line 13). Those go on Schedule D lines 6 and 14.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 6781 instructions.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 550.
What this worksheet is for
The instructions open the worksheet with its purpose: “Use this worksheet to figure your capital loss carryovers from 2024 to 2025 if your 2024 Schedule D, line 21, is a loss and” “(a) that loss is a smaller loss than the loss on your 2024 Schedule D, line 16;” “or (b) if the amount on your 2024 Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 15 would be less than zero if you could enter a negative amount on that line.” “Otherwise, you don’t have any carryovers.”
For couples who changed how they file: “If you and your spouse once filed a joint return and are filing separate returns for 2025, any capital loss carryover from the joint return can be deducted only on the return of the spouse who actually had the loss.”
The carryover lands on the Schedule D lines 6 and 7 and Schedule D lines 13 to 15. The 2024 amount that line 21 of Schedule D allowed is covered on Schedule D lines 21 and 22.
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Enter the amount from your 2024 Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 15.” “If the amount would have been a loss if you could enter a negative number on that line, enclose the amount in parentheses.” |
| 2 | “Enter the loss from your 2024 Schedule D, line 21, as a positive amount” |
| 3 | “Combine lines 1 and 2. If zero or less, enter-0-” |
| 4 | “Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 3” |
| Before 5 | “If line 7 of your 2024 Schedule D is a loss, go to line 5; otherwise, enter-0- on line 5 and go to line 9.” |
| 5 | “Enter the loss from your 2024 Schedule D, line 7, as a positive amount” |
| 6 | “Enter any gain from your 2024 Schedule D, line 15. If a loss, enter-0-” |
| 7 | “Add lines 4 and 6” |
| 8 | “Short-term capital loss carryover for 2025. Subtract line 7 from line 5. If zero or less, enter-0-. If more than zero, also enter this amount on Schedule D, line 6” |
| Before 9 | “If line 15 of your 2024 Schedule D is a loss, go to line 9; otherwise, skip lines 9 through 13.” |
| 9 | “Enter the loss from your 2024 Schedule D, line 15, as a positive amount” |
| 10 | “Enter any gain from your 2024 Schedule D, line 7. If a loss, enter-0-” |
| 11 | “Subtract line 5 from line 4. If zero or less, enter-0-” |
| 12 | “Add lines 10 and 11” |
| 13 | “Long-term capital loss carryover for 2025. Subtract line 12 from line 9. If zero or less, enter-0-. If more than zero, also enter this amount on Schedule D, line 14” |
Line 1 uses your 2024 taxable income, which on Form 1040 is the line captioned “This is your taxable income”. The short-term section is lines 4 to 8, and the long-term section is lines 9 to 13.
A worked example
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented, including the loss on 2024 line 21, which in a real return comes from your own Schedule D. Example 1 has a short-term loss and a long-term gain in 2024.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Line 1 (2024 Form 1040 line 15, invented) | $20,000 |
| Line 2 (2024 Schedule D line 21 loss, invented) | $3,000 |
| Line 3, combine lines 1 and 2 | $23,000 (computed) |
| Line 4, smaller of line 2 or line 3 | $3,000 (computed) |
| Line 5 (2024 Schedule D line 7 loss, invented) | $7,000 |
| Line 6 (2024 Schedule D line 15 gain, invented) | $1,000 |
| Line 7, add lines 4 and 6 | $4,000 (computed) |
| Line 8, line 5 minus line 7, goes to Schedule D line 6 | $3,000 (computed) |
Example 1 carries a short-term loss to Schedule D line 6. Line 15 of the 2024 Schedule D was a gain, so the worksheet tells you to skip lines 9 through 13.
Illustration, not an IRS example. Example 2 has a short-term gain and a long-term loss in 2024, so line 7 of the 2024 Schedule D is not a loss and line 5 is zero. Lines 6 through 8 are not used.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Line 1 (2024 Form 1040 line 15, invented) | $15,000 |
| Line 2 (2024 Schedule D line 21 loss, invented) | $3,000 |
| Line 3, combine lines 1 and 2 | $18,000 (computed) |
| Line 4, smaller of line 2 or line 3 | $3,000 (computed) |
| Line 5 (2024 Schedule D line 7 is a gain, so enter zero) | $0 |
| Line 9 (2024 Schedule D line 15 loss, invented) | $9,000 |
| Line 10 (2024 Schedule D line 7 gain, invented) | $2,000 |
| Line 11, line 4 minus line 5 | $3,000 (computed) |
| Line 12, add lines 10 and 11 | $5,000 (computed) |
| Line 13, line 9 minus line 12, goes to Schedule D line 14 | $4,000 (computed) |
Example 2 carries a long-term loss to Schedule D line 14.
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Where the number comes from
Every input is on your 2024 return. Line 1 is from the 2024 Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 15, and the worksheet says “If the amount would have been a loss if you could enter a negative number on that line, enclose the amount in parentheses.” parentheses. Lines 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 come from the 2024 Schedule D lines 21, 7 and 15. If you do not have the 2024 return, you need it before the worksheet can be completed. The activity itself is reported on Form 8949 and flows to Schedule D; the net result is entered on Form 1040 on the line captioned “Capital gain or (loss). Attach Schedule D if required”.
Where it goes next
Line 8 says “If more than zero, also enter this amount on Schedule D, line 6”. Line 13 says “If more than zero, also enter this amount on Schedule D, line 14”. See Schedule D (Form 1040) and Form 1040 line 7.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040), for the tax year 2025 return filed in 2026. The worksheet carries losses from 2024 to 2025 and refers to the 2024 Form 1040 and Schedule D. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own copy and use that year’s line numbers, because a different year’s worksheet can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Using the worksheet when it does not apply. The instructions say “Otherwise, you don’t have any carryovers.”
- Entering a negative number without marking it. The line 1 instruction says “If the amount would have been a loss if you could enter a negative number on that line, enclose the amount in parentheses.”
- Running lines 9 to 13 when the 2024 long-term result was not a loss. The worksheet says “otherwise, skip lines 9 through 13.”
Related: Schedule D lines 6 and 7, Schedule D lines 13 to 15, Schedule D lines 21 and 22, Form 8949, and Schedule D (Form 1040).
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sd.pdf
- Form 1040 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.