Individuals can generally carry forward a tax loss forward to future income years indefinitely but must claim it at the first opportunity. You cannot choose to hold onto tax losses to offset them against future income if they can be offset against the current year’s income.
Carried-forward tax losses are offset against any net exempt income first, and then against assessable income. Losses must be claimed in the order in which they were incurred.
If you're carrying on a non-commercial business activity, which is a business activity that is not related to your primary source of income, as an individual, either alone or in a partnership, and your business makes a loss, you must check the non-commercial loss rules.
The rules determine if you can offset the loss against your income from other sources, such as wages in the year in which it was made, or whether it’s deferred to later income year, in which case it cannot contribute to a tax loss in the year it was made.
If a partnership makes a tax loss, each partner has a proportionate share of the loss and treats it like a loss from any business activity (after applying the non-commercial loss rules).
