carryback

[ kar-ee-bak ]

noun

1. (in U.S. income-tax law) a special provision allowing part of a net loss or of an unused credit in a given year to be apportioned over one or two preceding years, chiefly in order to ease the tax burden. Compare carry·forward ( def 2 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of carryback¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase carry back