If your business took a hit last year, you might be sitting on a goldmine and not even know it. You can get fast cash from NOL carrybacks by unlocking IRS refunds from taxes you already paid in previous years. That’s right—you already paid the IRS. Now it’s time to get your money back.
At Icarus Fund, we help contractors and business owners tap into this overlooked strategy and turn last year’s loss into this year’s working capital. If you’ve won a government contract but don’t have the cash to mobilize, this article is for you.
What Is an NOL Carryback?
A Net Operating Loss (NOL) happens when your business expenses exceed your income for the year. Sounds bad? It’s actually a huge opportunity. If you made money in earlier years and paid taxes, you can apply the current-year loss to those years and get a refund.
That’s what we mean when we say you can get fast cash from NOL carrybacks. It’s not a loan. It’s not credit. It’s your own money coming back to you—taxes you already paid in good years.
Why This Is a No-Brainer for Government Contractors
Here’s the deal. Government contracts pay slow. But they expect you to get started yesterday. You need cash upfront for:
Payroll
Materials and equipment
Insurance and bonding
Subcontractors
One of our clients—a federal roofing contractor in Texas—took a $500K loss in 2023. He came to us stressed about funding the upfront costs on a new $2.7 million FEMA contract. We reviewed his 2020 and 2019 tax returns and realized he paid $140K in taxes those years. We filed a carryback using Form 1139. He got $132K refunded in 68 days and used it to buy materials and hire three new crew members.
That’s what happens when you get fast cash from NOL carrybacks—you stop waiting, and you start building.
How the IRS Pays You Back
The fastest way to trigger a refund is by filing:
Form 1045 (for individuals or S-Corp shareholders)
Form 1139 (for corporations)
These forms are what the IRS calls “tentative refund applications.” They’re designed to fast-track your refund without having to amend prior year returns individually. If filed properly, they’re usually processed in 60 to 90 days.
At Icarus Fund, we file these forms every week. We know how to submit them clean, fast, and audit-ready. No mistakes. No guesswork.
Why Carryback Beats Carryforward
Most business owners hear about “carrying forward” a loss to offset future profits. That’s fine. But if you’re in need of cash right now, that does nothing for your current situation.
Carrying losses forward is like saying, “I’ll save money someday.”
Carrybacks say, “Give me my money now.”
When you get fast cash from NOL carrybacks, you’re not playing the long game—you’re fixing your cash flow problem today.
How to Maximize Your Refund (So You Don’t Leave Money on the Table)
1. Look Back 5 Years
Depending on the loss year, you can go back up to five years. We help you identify the tax years where you paid the most so your refund is as big as possible.
2. Don’t Underestimate Your Loss
Most people think their NOL is smaller than it is. We go through every line of your financials to uncover:
Bad debt write-offs
Startup expenses
R&D costs
Legal fees
Insurance costs
Pre-contract spending
The bigger the loss, the bigger the refund.
3. File on Time
This is non-negotiable. You have 12 months from the end of the loss year to file Form 1045 or 1139. Miss it, and you’re stuck waiting years to claim the benefit as a carryforward.
We make sure you never miss the deadline.
Icarus Fund in Action
Let me give you another example. A logistics company out of Georgia lost $750K in 2023 due to fuel price spikes and late-paying contracts. They were awarded a $4 million USDA delivery contract in 2024 but couldn’t meet the insurance and fleet requirements.
We stepped in. Looked back to 2018 and 2019. Found $210K in taxes paid. We filed the NOL carryback, got them $188K back in just over 9 weeks. They bought four trucks, signed three new drivers, and were up and running before the USDA’s first milestone hit.
That’s how you get fast cash from NOL carrybacks—you don’t hope, you act.
What Happens If You Do Nothing?
Let’s be honest. If you do nothing:
You’ll be waiting months for the government to pay you
You’ll be stuck using expensive financing or burning personal savings
You’ll leave money—your money—sitting with the IRS
The difference between companies that scale and companies that stall is speed. NOL carrybacks are speed. Period.
Why Icarus Fund?
We specialize in helping contractors and small businesses turn tax losses into growth capital. This is our lane.
Here’s what we offer:
Full refund analysis and strategy
Historical tax return review
Clean filing of Form 1045 or 1139
Integration with your contract financing plan
We don’t just help you get the refund—we help you use it to win.
Your Loss Is Your Leverage
Taking a loss isn’t failure. It’s the cost of building. The trick is knowing how to make that pain pay you back. When you get fast cash from NOL carrybacks, you’re turning yesterday’s losses into today’s momentum.
Stop waiting for funding. Stop leaving money with the IRS. And stop thinking your loss is a dead end—it’s a direct path to your next project launch.
Took a loss last year? Just won a government contract?
Let Icarus Fund help you get fast cash from NOL carrybacks—before the window closes.
👉Book your free refund assessment today.
Let’s get you paid.
