Originally Posted by TaxGuru

The IRS code allows taxpayer's who sustain capital losses in excess of $3,000 to be able to offset these against other capital gains. However, where you have no capital gains to offset these losses, Taxpayers are permitted to deduct $3,000 per year from their tax returns, with the balance carried forward to future years.

These losses are then available to be offset against other capital gains and if none exist, then another $3,000 loss is available for deduction in that year. Currently, the IRS has no restrictions on how many years these losses can be carried forward, so we can safely assume these losses can be carried forward indefinitely until they can be either offset against other future capital gains or until they are fully written off at a rate of $3,000 per year.