Carryovers

Carryovers are amounts, credits, or obligations that are not fully realized or settled in a given period and are moved forward to subsequent periods. They occur in finance, taxation, human resources, and project management as a way to reflect timing differences or persistent value.

In taxation, carryovers allow taxpayers to apply losses or credits to future years when current income is insufficient to absorb them. Common forms include net operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards. The duration, amount, and limits of carryforwards are set by law and may vary by jurisdiction, with rules sometimes allowing indefinite carryforwards or annual caps.

In financial accounting and budgeting, carryovers help align expenses, deductions, or unspent funds with the periods that benefit from them. Examples include unused tax credits carried forward, or seasonal revenues and costs recognized in later periods. In human resources or operations, employees may carry over unused leave, and organizations may carry over budget balances to the next period subject to policy.

Carryover concepts are related to carryback and carryforward practices and to the broader idea of lagged effects in economics and policy analysis. They provide a mechanism to manage timing mismatches and preserve value across reporting periods.