Section 17276.
Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 17276.
in effectExcept as provided in Sections 17276.1, 17276.2, 17276.4, 17276.5, 17276.6, and 17276.7, the deduction provided by Section 172 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to net operating loss deduction, shall be modified as follows:
(a)
(1)
Net operating losses attributable to taxable years beginning before January 1, 1987, shall not be allowed.
(2)
A net operating loss shall not be carried forward to any taxable year beginning before January 1, 1987.
(3)
The amendments made by Section 13302(a)(1) of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-97) and Section 2303(a)(1)
of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136) to Section 172(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to the deduction allowed, shall not apply.
(b)
(1)
Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), the provisions of Section 172(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to amount of carrybacks and carryovers, shall be modified so that the applicable percentage of the entire amount of the net operating loss for any taxable year shall be eligible for carryover to any subsequent taxable year. For purposes of this subdivision, the applicable percentage shall be:
(A)
Fifty percent for any taxable year beginning before January 1, 2000.
(B)
Fifty-five percent for any
taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2000, and before January 1, 2002.
(C)
Sixty percent for any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2002, and before January 1, 2004.
(D)
One hundred percent for any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2004.
(2)
Section 172(b)(2)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code shall not apply.
(3)
In the case of a taxpayer who has a net operating loss in any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1994, and who operates a new business during that taxable year, each of the following shall apply to each loss incurred during the first three taxable years of operating the new business:
(A)
If the net operating loss is equal to or less than the net loss from the new business, 100 percent of the net operating loss shall be carried forward as provided in subdivision (d).
(B)
If the net operating loss is greater than the net loss from the new business, the net operating loss shall be carried over as follows:
(i)
With respect to an amount equal to the net loss from the new business, 100 percent of that amount shall be carried forward as provided in subdivision (d).
(ii)
With respect to the portion of the net operating loss that exceeds the net loss from the new business, the applicable percentage of that amount shall be carried forward as provided
in subdivision (d).
(C)
For purposes of Section 172(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, the amount described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall be absorbed before the amount described in clause (i) of subparagraph (B).
(4)
In the case of a taxpayer who has a net operating loss in any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1994, and who operates an eligible small business during that taxable year, each of the following shall apply:
(A)
If the net operating loss is equal to or less than the net loss from the eligible small business, 100 percent of the net operating loss shall be carried forward to the taxable years specified in subdivision (d).
(B)
If the net operating loss is greater than the net loss from the eligible small business, the net operating loss shall be carried over as follows:
(i)
With respect to an amount equal to the net loss from the eligible small business, 100 percent of that amount shall be carried forward as provided in subdivision (d).
(ii)
With respect to that portion of the net operating loss that exceeds the net loss from the eligible small business, the applicable percentage of that amount shall be carried forward as provided in subdivision (d).
(C)
For purposes of Section 172(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, the amount described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall be absorbed before the amount described in clause
(i) of subparagraph (B).
(5)
In the case of a taxpayer who has a net operating loss in a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1994, and who operates a business that qualifies as both a new business and an eligible small business under this section, that business shall be treated as a new business for the first three taxable years of the new business.
(6)
In the case of a taxpayer who has a net operating loss in a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1994, and who operates more than one business, and more than one of those businesses qualifies as either a new business or an eligible small business under this section, paragraph (2) shall be applied first, except that if there is any remaining portion of the net operating loss after application of clause
(i) of subparagraph (B) of that paragraph, paragraph (3) shall be applied to the remaining portion of the net operating loss as though that remaining portion of the net operating loss constituted the entire net operating loss.
(7)
For purposes of this section, the term “net loss” means the amount of net loss after application of Sections 465 and 469 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(c)
Section 172(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to years to which the loss may be carried, is modified as follows:
(1)
Net operating loss carrybacks shall not be allowed for any net operating losses attributable to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2018, and before January 1, 2013.
(2)
A net operating loss attributable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2019, shall be a net operating loss carryback to each of the two taxable years
preceding the taxable year of the loss in lieu of the number of years provided therein.
(A)
For a net operating loss attributable to a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2014, the amount of carryback to any taxable year shall not exceed 50 percent of the net operating loss.
(B)
For a net operating loss attributable to a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2015, the amount of carryback to any taxable year shall not exceed 75 percent of the net operating loss.
(C)
For a net operating loss attributable to a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2015, and before January 1, 2019, the amount of carryback to any taxable year
shall not exceed 100 percent of the net operating loss.
(3)
A net operating loss carryback shall not be carried back to any taxable year beginning before January 1, 2011.
(d)
(1)
(A)
For a net operating loss for any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1987, and before January 1, 2000, Section 172(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code shall apply as it read on January 1, 2015, and is modified to substitute “five taxable years” in lieu of “20 taxable years” except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(B)
For a net operating loss for any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2000, and before January 1, 2008, Section
172(b)(1)(A)(ii)(I) of the Internal Revenue Code is modified to substitute “10 taxable years” in lieu of “20 taxable years.”
(C)
Section 172(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to years to which loss may be carried, shall not apply.
(D)
Section 172(b)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to special rule for losses arising in 2018, 2019, and 2020, shall not apply.
(2)
For any taxable year beginning before January 1, 2000, in the case of a “new business,” the “five taxable years” in paragraph (1) shall be modified to read as follows:
(A)
“Eight taxable years” for a net operating loss attributable to the first taxable year of that
new business.
(B)
“Seven taxable years” for a net operating loss attributable to the second taxable year of that new business.
(C)
“Six taxable years” for a net operating loss attributable to the third taxable year of that new business.
(3)
For any carryover of a net operating loss for which a deduction is denied by Section 17276.3, the carryover period specified in this subdivision shall be extended as follows:
(A)
By one year for a net operating loss attributable to taxable years beginning in 1991.
(B)
By two years for a net operating loss attributable to taxable years beginning before January 1,
1991.
(4)
The net operating loss attributable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1987, and before January 1, 1994, shall be a net operating loss carryover to each of the 10 taxable years following the year of the loss if it is incurred by a taxpayer that is under the jurisdiction of the court in a Title 11 or similar case at any time during the income year. The loss carryover provided in the preceding sentence does not apply to any loss incurred after the date the taxpayer is no longer under the jurisdiction of the court in a Title 11 or similar case.
(e)
For purposes of this section:
(1)
“Eligible small business” means any trade or business that has gross receipts, less returns and allowances, of less
than one million dollars ($1,000,000) during the taxable year.
(2)
Except as provided in subdivision (f), “new business” means any trade or business activity that is first commenced in this state on or after January 1, 1994.
(3)
“Title 11 or similar case” shall have the same meaning as in Section 368(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(4)
In the case of any trade or business activity conducted by a partnership or “S” corporation paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be applied to the partnership or “S” corporation.
(f)
For purposes of this section, in determining whether a trade or business activity qualifies as a new business under paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), the
following rules apply:
(1)
In any case where a taxpayer purchases or otherwise acquires all or any portion of the assets of an existing trade or business (irrespective of the form of entity) that is doing business in this state (within the meaning of Section 23101), the trade or business thereafter conducted by the taxpayer (or any related person) shall not be treated as a new business if the aggregate fair market value of the acquired assets (including real, personal, tangible, and intangible property) used by the taxpayer (or any related person) in the conduct of its trade or business exceeds 20 percent of the aggregate fair market value of the total assets of the trade or business being conducted by the taxpayer (or any related person). For purposes of this paragraph only, the following rules apply:
(A)
The determination of the relative fair market values of the acquired assets and the total assets shall be made as of the last day of the first taxable year in which the taxpayer (or any related person) first uses any of the acquired trade or business assets in its business activity.
(B)
Acquired assets that constituted property described in Section 1221(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code in the hands of the transferor shall not be treated as assets acquired from an existing trade or business, unless those assets also constitute property described in Section 1221(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code in the hands of the acquiring taxpayer (or related person).
(2)
In a case in which a taxpayer (or any related person) is engaged in one or more trade or business activities in
this state, or has been engaged in one or more trade or business activities in this state within the preceding 36 months (“prior trade or business activity”), and thereafter commences an additional trade or business activity in this state, the additional trade or business activity shall only be treated as a new business if the additional trade or business activity is classified under a different division of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, than are any of the taxpayer’s (or any related person’s) current or prior trade or business activities.
(3)
In a case in which a taxpayer, including all related persons, is engaged in trade or business activities wholly outside of this state and the taxpayer first commences doing business in this state (within
the meaning of Section 23101) after December 31, 1993 (other than by purchase or other acquisition described in paragraph (1)), the trade or business activity shall be treated as a new business under paragraph (2) of subdivision (e).
(4)
In a case in which the legal form under which a trade or business activity is being conducted is changed, the change in form shall be disregarded and the determination of whether the trade or business activity is a new business shall be made by treating the taxpayer as having purchased or otherwise acquired all or any portion of the assets of an existing trade or business under the rules of paragraph (1).
(5)
“Related person” shall mean any person that is related to the taxpayer under either Section 267 or 318 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(6)
“Acquire” shall include any gift, inheritance, transfer incident to divorce, or any other transfer, whether or not for consideration.
(7)
(A)
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1997, the term “new business” shall include any taxpayer that is engaged in biopharmaceutical activities or other biotechnology activities that are described in Codes 2833 to 2836, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, and as further amended, and that has not received regulatory approval for any product from the Food and Drug Administration.
(B)
For purposes of this paragraph:
(i)
“Biopharmaceutical activities” means those activities that use organisms or materials derived from organisms, and their cellular, subcellular, or molecular components, in order to provide pharmaceutical products for human or animal therapeutics and diagnostics. Biopharmaceutical activities make use of living organisms to make commercial products, as opposed to pharmaceutical activities that make use of chemical compounds to produce commercial products.
(ii)
“Other biotechnology activities” means activities consisting of the application of recombinant DNA technology to produce commercial products, as well as activities regarding pharmaceutical delivery systems designed to provide a measure of control over the rate, duration, and site of pharmaceutical delivery.
(g)
Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, a deduction shall be allowed to a “qualified taxpayer” as provided in Sections 17276.1, 17276.2, 17276.4, 17276.5, 17276.6, and 17276.7.
(h)
The Franchise Tax Board may prescribe appropriate regulations to carry out the purposes of this section, including any regulations necessary to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of this section through splitups, shell corporations, partnerships, tiered ownership structures, or otherwise.
(i)
The Franchise Tax Board may reclassify any net operating loss carryover determined under either paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) as a net operating loss carryover under paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) upon a
showing that the reclassification is necessary to prevent evasion of the purposes of this section.
(j)
Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by Chapter 107 of the Statutes of 2000 apply to net operating losses for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2000.
References
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 17276.1.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13302.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 2303.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 172.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 17276.3.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 368.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23101.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 1221.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 267.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026