loss
noun
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Definition of loss
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Examples of loss in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hall started six games in his rookie season, collecting 22 tackles, three for a loss, and failing to register a sack. — Jenny Vrentas And Greg Bishop, SI.com, "The Raiders Are Jon Gruden’s Show Now," 6 Sep. 2019 And that helped Lawler become a beloved Clippers’ representative regardless of the wins or losses. — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Paul Westphal and Ralph Lawler took different paths to the Hall of Fame," 5 Sep. 2019 Last month, the company filed its IPO paperwork, the contents of which raised a number of red flag, including a history of steep losses and a controversial approach to corporate governance. — Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, "WeWork may cut its IPO valuation by billions," 5 Sep. 2019 Von Miller: 89 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss and 17 sacks. — Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post, "Madden NFL 20 simulation: Here’s how the Broncos fared in the 2019 season," 5 Sep. 2019 Cal managed only 93 yards of total offense in a 33-7 loss to the Huskies in 2017 and didn’t score an offensive touchdown in a 12-10 win last year. — Rusty Simmons, SFChronicle.com, "Meet Cal’s new star running back," 4 Sep. 2019 Edwards started nine games as a junior and recorded 33 tackles, three for losses and one sack after transferring from Blinn Junior College. — Aaron Wilson, Houston Chronicle, "Ex-Texans DL Javier Edwards working out for Lions," 4 Sep. 2019 Both editors, Minnesota Book Award winners, have personal experience with infant loss and miscarriage and wanted to add to the few resources for women of color or Native American women dealing with this kind of grief. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, "Mysteries, folktales, history and adventure: Fall brings heaps of new books from Minnesota authors and publishers," 3 Sep. 2019 Tisha B’Av is a day to commemorate national loss and communal suffering. — baltimoresun.com, "Letters: Howard redistricting plan fixes nothing; don’t blame ICE for doing its job; and more from readers," 3 Sep. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'loss.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for loss
capital loss
nounFinancial Definition of capital loss
What It Is
A capital loss is a decrease in the value of an investment. It is the difference between the sale price and the purchase price (the basis) of an asset.
How It Works
The formula for capital loss is:
Purchase Price - Sale Price = Capital Loss
Note that this formula assumes the purchase price is higher than the sale price. If an investor sells an asset for more than he or she paid, this is called a capital gain.
Let's assume you purchase 100 shares of XYZ Company for $5 per share. After three months, the share price decreases to $1. This means the value of the investment has decreased from $500 to $100, for a capital loss of $400.
Why It Matters
Capital losses are generally tax deductible, but only when they are realized. That is, they only become deductible when the asset is actually sold (unless the stock is legally deemed worthless). Until that point, any losses are considered unrealized and are not deductible. The IRS considers nearly every asset owned by individuals and companies as capital assets and thus subject to capital gains taxes and capital loss deductions.
Taxpayers report capital losses on IRS Schedule D. An investor's capital losses will sometimes offset all or a portion of his or her capital gains, lowering the investor's tax bill. There is a limit to how much the investor can offset (generally $3,000), but remaining losses can typically be carried over to future tax years. To prevent trading for the sole purpose of tax avoidance, the wash sale rule prevents investors from deducting capital losses on a security if they purchased a "substantially identical security" within thirty days before or after the sale.
Many analysts claim that the deductibility of capital losses encourages tax-loss selling during November and December of each year, which in turn fuels the "January effect," which is a tendency for the market to rise during that month. Analysts believe this is the case because the wash sale rule requires investors who sell stock for tax-losses in November and December to wait at least thirty days to repurchase those shares.
Source: Investing Answers
net operating loss
nounFinancial Definition of net operating loss
What It Is
A net operating loss (NOL) is a negative profit for tax purposes. It usually occurs when a company's tax deductions exceed its taxable, making the company unprofitable.
How It Works
Net operating losses can be used to reduce future tax payments. For example, let's assume Company XYZ has taxable income of $1,000,000 and tax deductions of $1,300,000. Its net operating loss is $1,000,000 - $1,300,000 = - $300,000.
Company XYZ will probably not have to pay taxes that year (because it didn't have any taxable income). But let's assume that next year, Company XYZ makes a lot more money and records $500,000 of taxable income.
If Company XYZ is taxed at a corporate tax rate of 40%, it would need to pay $500,000 x 40% = $200,000 in taxes. But because it incurred an NOL last year, it can apply that NOL to this year's tax bill, reducing it significantly (or even to $0, depending on the jurisdiction Company XYZ is in). Company XYZ could also carry the NOL "back" and apply it against taxable income in preceding years.
Why It Matters
NOLs are important because they create future tax relief for companies. The general idea is that when a firm makes money, it pays taxes; when it doesn't make money, it can get some relief. As a result, NOLs in and of themselves are valuable assets. In fact, sometimes companies purchase other companies solely for their NOLs.
The laws on applying NOLs vary by state, but usually an NOL from the last two or three years can be applied up to 20 years in the future, at which point it will expire. There are rules and exceptions for almost any circumstance, so it's best to check with the IRS or a qualified tax accountant when calculating and applying NOLs.
Source: Investing Answers
loss
noun