what is a net operating loss nol carryforward 
the net operating loss can generally be used to offset a company s tax payments in other tax periods through an internal revenue service irs tax provision called a loss carryforward this offers a benefit to a company in that it can reduce a company s future tax liability by offsetting taxable income in future years the purpose behind this tax provision is to allow some form of tax relief when a company loses money in a tax period 1