WASHINGTON — Most businesses may use losses incurred during the economic downturn to reduce income from prior tax years, under a revenue procedure issued today by the Internal Revenue Service.

Relief provided earlier this year was limited to small businesses. The latest move falls under Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 and is applicable o any taxpayer with business losses, except those that received payments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It also applies to a loss from operations of a life insurance company.

Taxpayers may elect to carry back a net operating loss for a period of three, four or five years, or a loss from operations for four or five years, to offset taxable income in those preceding taxable years. An NOL or loss from operations carried back five years may offset no more than 50 percent of a taxpayer's taxable income in that fifth preceding year. This limitation does not apply to the fourth or third preceding year.

The procedure applies to taxpayers that incurred an NOL or a loss from operations for a taxable year ending after Dec. 31, 2007, and beginning before Jan. 1, 2010.