Publication 547
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225224To determine your deduction for a casualty or theft loss, you
must first figure your loss.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225225
Table 1. Reporting Loss on Deposits
| IF you choose to report the loss as a(n)... | | THEN report it on... |
| casualty loss | | Form 4684 and Schedule A
(Form 1040).
|
| ordinary loss | | Schedule A (Form 1040). |
| nonbusiness bad debt | | Schedule D (Form 1040). |
Figure the amount of your loss using the following steps.
- Determine your adjusted basis in the property before the casualty
or theft.
- Determine the decrease in fair market value (FMV) of the property
as a result of the casualty or theft.
- From the smaller of the amounts you determined in (1) and
(2), subtract any insurance or other reimbursement you received or expect to
receive.
For personal-use property and property used in performing services
as an employee, apply the deduction limits, discussed later, to determine the
amount of your deductible loss.
If your reimbursement is more than your adjusted basis in the
property, you have a gain. This is true even if the decrease in the FMV of the
property is smaller than your adjusted basis. If you have a gain, you may have
to pay tax on it, or you may be able to postpone reporting the gain. See
Figuring a Gain, later.
If you have business or income-producing property, such as rental
property, and it is stolen or completely destroyed, the decrease in FMV is not
considered. Your loss is figured as follows:
| | Your adjusted basis in the property | |
| | MINUS | |
| | Any salvage value | |
| | MINUS | |
| | Any insurance or other reimbursement you
receive or expect to receive
| |
There are two ways you can deduct a casualty or theft loss of
inventory, including items you hold for sale to customers.
One way is to deduct the loss through the increase in the cost
of goods sold by properly reporting your opening and closing inventories. Do not
claim this loss again as a casualty or theft loss. If you take the loss through
the increase in the cost of goods sold, include any insurance or other
reimbursement you receive for the loss in gross income.
The other way is to deduct the loss separately. If you deduct
it separately, eliminate the affected inventory items from the cost of goods
sold by making a downward adjustment to opening inventory or purchases. Reduce
the loss by the reimbursement you received. Do not include the reimbursement in
gross income. If you do not receive the reimbursement by the end of the year,
you may not claim a loss to the extent you have a reasonable prospect of
recovery.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225233If you are liable for casualty damage to property you lease,
your loss is the amount you must pay to repair the property minus any insurance
or other reimbursement you receive or expect to receive.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225234Generally, if a single casualty or theft involves more than one
item of property, you must figure the loss on each item separately. Then combine
the losses to determine the total loss from that casualty or theft.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225235In figuring a casualty loss on personal-use real property, the
entire property (including any improvements, such as buildings, trees, and
shrubs) is treated as one item. Figure the loss using the smaller of the
following.
- The decrease in FMV of the entire property.
- The adjusted basis of the entire property.
Fair market value (FMV) is the price for which you could sell
your property to a willing buyer when neither of you has to sell or buy and both
of you know all the relevant facts.
The decrease in FMV used to figure the amount of a casualty or
theft loss is the difference between the property's fair market value
immediately before and immediately after the casualty or theft.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225238The FMV of property immediately after a theft is considered to
be zero since you no longer have the property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225239Several years ago, you purchased silver dollars at face value
for $150. This is your adjusted basis in the property. Your silver dollars were
stolen this year. The FMV of the coins was $1,000 just before they were stolen,
and insurance did not cover them. Your theft loss is $150.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225240Recovered stolen property is your property that was stolen and
later returned to you. If you recovered property after you had already taken a
theft loss deduction, you must refigure your loss using the smaller of the
property's adjusted basis (explained later) or the decrease in FMV from the time
just before it was stolen until the time it was recovered. Use this amount to
refigure your total loss for the year in which the loss was deducted.
If your refigured loss is less than the loss you deducted, you
generally have to report the difference as income in the recovery year. But
report the difference only up to the amount of the loss that reduced your tax.
For more information on the amount to report, see
Recoveries in Publication 525.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225241To figure the decrease in FMV because of a casualty or theft,
you generally need a competent appraisal. However, other measures also can be
used to establish certain decreases. See
Appraisal and
Cost of cleaning up or making repairs, next.
An appraisal to determine the difference between the FMV of the
property immediately before a casualty or theft and immediately afterwards
should be made by a competent appraiser. The appraiser must recognize the
effects of any general market decline that may occur along with the casualty.
This information is needed to limit any deduction to the actual loss resulting
from damage to the property.
Several factors are important in evaluating the accuracy of an
appraisal, including the following.
- The appraiser's familiarity with your property before and
after the casualty or theft.
- The appraiser's knowledge of sales of comparable property
in the area.
- The appraiser's knowledge of conditions in the area of the
casualty.
- The appraiser's method of appraisal.
 | You may be able to use an appraisal that you used to get
a federal loan (or a federal loan guarantee) as the result of a federally
declared disaster to establish the amount of your disaster loss. For more
information on disasters, see
Disaster Area Losses later.
|
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225247The cost of repairing damaged property is not part of a casualty
loss. Neither is the cost of cleaning up after a casualty. But you can use the
cost of cleaning up or of making repairs after a casualty as a measure of the
decrease in FMV if you meet all the following conditions.
- The repairs are actually made.
- The repairs are necessary to bring the property back to its
condition before the casualty.
- The amount spent for repairs is not excessive.
- The repairs take care of the damage only.
- The value of the property after the repairs is not, due to
the repairs, more than the value of the property before the casualty.
The cost of restoring landscaping to its original condition after
a casualty may indicate the decrease in FMV. You may be able to measure your
loss by what you spend on the following.
- Removing destroyed or damaged trees and shrubs, minus any
salvage you receive.
- Pruning and other measures taken to preserve damaged trees
and shrubs.
- Replanting necessary to restore the property to its approximate
value before the casualty.
Books issued by various automobile organizations that list your
car may be useful in figuring the value of your car. You can use the books'
retail values and modify them by factors such as the mileage and condition of
your car to figure its value. The prices are not official, but they may be
useful in determining value and suggesting relative prices for comparison with
current sales and offerings in your area. If your car is not listed in the
books, determine its value from other sources. A dealer's offer for your car as
a trade-in on a new car is not usually a measure of its true value.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225250You generally should not consider the following items when attempting
to establish the decrease in FMV of your property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225251The cost of protecting your property against a casualty or theft
is not part of a casualty or theft loss. The amount you spend on insurance or to
board up your house against a storm is not part of your loss. If the property is
business property, these expenses are deductible as business expenses.
If you make permanent improvements to your property to protect
it against a casualty or theft, add the cost of these improvements to your basis
in the property. An example would be the cost of a dike to prevent flooding.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225252You cannot increase your basis in the property by, or deduct
as a business expense, any expenditures you made with respect to qualified
disaster mitigation payments (discussed later under
Disaster Area Losses).
The incidental expenses due to a casualty or theft, such as expenses
for the treatment of personal injuries, for temporary housing, or for a rental
car, are not part of your casualty or theft loss. However, they may be
deductible as business expenses if the damaged or stolen property is business
property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225254The cost of replacing stolen or destroyed property is not part
of a casualty or theft loss.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225255You bought a new chair 4 years ago for $300. In April, a fire
destroyed the chair. You estimate that it would cost $500 to replace it. If you
had sold the chair before the fire, you estimate that you could have received
only $100 for it because it was 4 years old. The chair was not insured. Your
loss is $100, the FMV of the chair before the fire. It is not $500, the
replacement cost.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225256Do not consider sentimental value when determining your loss.
If a family portrait, heirloom, or keepsake is damaged, destroyed, or stolen,
you must base your loss on its FMV.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225257A decrease in the value of your property because it is in or
near an area that suffered a casualty, or that might again suffer a casualty, is
not to be taken into consideration. You have a loss only for actual casualty
damage to your property. However, if your home is in a federally declared
disaster area, see
Disaster Area Losses,
later.
Photographs taken after a casualty will be helpful in establishing
the condition and value of the property after it was damaged. Photographs
showing the condition of the property after it was repaired, restored, or
replaced may also be helpful.
Appraisals are used to figure the decrease in FMV because of
a casualty or theft. See
Appraisal, earlier, under
Figuring Decrease in FMV — Items To Consider, for information about appraisals.
The costs of photographs and appraisals used as evidence of the
value and condition of property damaged as a result of a casualty are not a part
of the loss. They are expenses in determining your tax liability. You can claim
these costs as a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the
2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit on Schedule A (Form 1040).
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225261The measure of your investment in the property you own is its
basis. For property you buy, your basis is usually its cost to you. For property
you acquire in some other way, such as inheriting it, receiving it as a gift, or
getting it in a nontaxable exchange, you must figure your basis in another way,
as explained in Publication 551. If you inherited the property from someone who
died in 2010, see Publication 4895, Tax Treatment of Property Acquired From a
Decedent Dying in 2010.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225262
While you own the property, various events may take place that change your
basis. Some events, such as additions or permanent improvements to the property,
increase basis. Others, such as earlier casualty losses and depreciation
deductions, decrease basis. When you add the increases to the basis and subtract
the decreases from the basis, the result is your adjusted basis. See Publication
551 for more information on figuring the basis of your property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225263If you receive an insurance or other type of reimbursement, you
must subtract the reimbursement when you figure your loss. You do not have a
casualty or theft loss to the extent you are reimbursed.
If you expect to be reimbursed for part or all of your loss,
you must subtract the expected reimbursement when you figure your loss. You must
reduce your loss even if you do not receive payment until a later tax year. See
Reimbursement Received After Deducting Loss, later.
If your property is covered by insurance, you must file a timely
insurance claim for reimbursement of your loss. Otherwise, you cannot deduct
this loss as a casualty or theft.
The portion of the loss usually not covered by insurance (for
example, a deductible) is not subject to this rule.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225266You have a car insurance policy with a $1,000 deductible. Because
your insurance did not cover the first $1,000 of an auto collision, the $1,000
would be deductible (subject to the $100 and 10% rules, discussed later). This
is true, even if you do not file an insurance claim, because your insurance
policy would never have reimbursed you for the deductible.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225267The most common type of reimbursement is an insurance payment
for your stolen or damaged property. Other types of reimbursements are discussed
next. Also see the Instructions for Form 4684.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225268If you receive money from your employer's emergency disaster
fund and you must use that money to rehabilitate or replace property on which
you are claiming a casualty loss deduction, you must take that money into
consideration in computing the casualty loss deduction. Take into consideration
only the amount you used to replace your destroyed or damaged property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225269Your home was extensively damaged by a tornado. Your loss after
reimbursement from your insurance company was $10,000. Your employer set up a
disaster relief fund for its employees. Employees receiving money from the fund
had to use it to rehabilitate or replace their damaged or destroyed property.
You received $4,000 from the fund and spent the entire amount on repairs to your
home. In figuring your casualty loss, you must reduce your unreimbursed loss
($10,000) by the $4,000 you received from your employer's fund. Your casualty
loss before applying the deduction limits (discussed later) is $6,000.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225270If you receive excludable cash gifts as a disaster victim and
there are no limits on how you can use the money, you do not reduce your
casualty loss by these excludable cash gifts. This applies even if you use the
money to pay for repairs to property damaged in the disaster.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225271Your home was damaged by a hurricane. Relatives and neighbors
made cash gifts to you that were excludable from your income. You used part of
the cash gifts to pay for repairs to your home. There were no limits or
restrictions on how you could use the cash gifts. It was an excludable gift, so
the money you received and used to pay for repairs to your home does not reduce
your casualty loss on the damaged home.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225272You do not reduce your casualty loss by insurance payments you
receive to cover living expenses in either of the following situations.
- You lose the use of your main home because of a casualty.
- Government authorities do not allow you access to your main
home because of a casualty or threat of one.
If these insurance payments are more than the temporary increase
in your living expenses, you must include the excess in your income. Report this
amount on Form 1040, line 21. However, if the casualty occurs in a federally
declared disaster area, none of the insurance payments are taxable. See
Qualified disaster relief payments, later, under
Disaster Area Losses.
A temporary increase in your living expenses is the difference
between the actual living expenses you and your family incurred during the
period you could not use your home and your normal living expenses for that
period. Actual living expenses are the reasonable and necessary expenses
incurred because of the loss of your main home. Generally, these expenses
include the amounts you pay for the following.
- Renting suitable housing.
- Transportation.
- Food.
- Utilities.
- Miscellaneous services.
Normal living expenses consist of these same expenses that you
would have incurred but did not because of the casualty or the threat of one.
As a result of a fire, you vacated your apartment for a month
and moved to a motel. You normally pay $525 a month for rent. None was charged
for the month the apartment was vacated. Your motel rent for this month was
$1,200. You normally pay $200 a month for food. Your food expenses for the month
you lived in the motel were $400. You received $1,100 from your insurance
company to cover your living expenses. You determine the payment you must
include in income as follows.
| 1) | Insurance payment for living expenses | $1,100 |
| 2) | Actual expenses during the month you are unable to use your
home because of the fire | $1,600 | |
| 3) | Normal living expenses | 725 | |
| 4) | Temporary increase in
living expenses: Subtract line 3
from line 2
| 875 |
| 5) | Amount of payment includible in income: Subtract line 4 from
line 1 | $ 225 |
You include the taxable part of the insurance payment in income
for the year you regain the use of your main home or, if later, for the year you
receive the taxable part of the insurance payment.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225278Your main home was destroyed by a tornado in August 2008. You
regained use of your home in November 2009. The insurance payments you received
in 2008 and 2009 were $1,500 more than the temporary increase in your living
expenses during those years. You include this amount in income on your 2009 Form
1040. If, in 2010, you receive further payments to cover the living expenses you
had in 2008 and 2009, you must include those payments in income on your 2010
Form 1040.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225279Food, medical supplies, and other forms of assistance you receive
do not reduce your casualty loss, unless they are replacements for lost or
destroyed property.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225280
Table 2.
Deduction Limit Rules for Personal-Use and Employee Property
| | | | $100 Rule
| 10% Rule* | 2% Rule |
| General Application | You must reduce each casualty or theft loss by $100 when
figuring your deduction. Apply this rule to personal-use property after you have
figured the amount of your loss.
| You must reduce your total casualty or theft loss by 10%
of your adjusted gross income. Apply this rule to personal-use property after
you reduce each loss by $100 (the $100 rule).
| You must reduce your total casualty or theft loss by 2%
of your adjusted gross income. Apply this rule to property you used in
performing services as an employee after you have figured the amount of your
loss and added it to your job expenses and most other miscellaneous itemized
deductions.
|
| Single Event | Apply this rule only once, even if many pieces of property
are affected. | Apply this rule only once, even if many pieces of property
are affected. | Apply this rule only once, even if many pieces of property
are affected. |
| More Than One Event | Apply to the loss from each event. | Apply to the total of all your losses from all events. | Apply to the total of all your losses from all events. |
More Than One Person—
With Loss From the
Same Event
(other than a married couple
filing jointly)
| Apply separately to each person. | Apply separately to each person. | Apply separately to each person. |
Married Couple—
With Loss From the
Same Event
| Filing
Joint
Return
| Apply as if you were one person. | Apply as if you were one person. | Apply as if you were one person. |
Filing
Separate
Return
| Apply separately to each spouse. | Apply separately to each spouse. | Apply separately to each spouse. |
More Than One Owner
(other than a married
couple filing jointly)
| Apply separately to each owner of jointly owned property. | Apply separately to each owner of jointly owned property. | Apply separately to each owner of jointly owned property. |
| *The 10% rule does not apply to a net disaster loss from
a disaster declared a federal disaster in tax years beginning after 2007 that
occurred before 2010.
|
| Qualified disaster relief payments you receive for expenses
you incurred as a result of a federally declared disaster, are not taxable
income to you. For more information, see
Qualified disaster relief payments under Disaster Area Losses, later. |
Disaster unemployment assistance payments are unemployment benefits
that are taxable.
Generally, disaster relief grants received under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act are not included in your
income. See
Federal disaster relief grants, later, under
Disaster Area Losses.If you figured your casualty or theft loss using the amount of
your expected reimbursement, you may have to adjust your tax return for the tax
year in which you get your actual reimbursement. This section explains the
adjustment you may have to make.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225286If you later receive less reimbursement than you expected, include
that difference as a loss with your other losses (if any) on your return for the
year in which you can reasonably expect no more reimbursement.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225287Your personal car had a FMV of $2,000 when it was destroyed in
a collision with another car in 2009. The accident was due to the negligence of
the other driver. At the end of 2009, there was a reasonable prospect that the
owner of the other car would reimburse you in full. You did not have a
deductible loss in 2009.
In January 2010, the court awards you a judgment of $2,000. However,
in July it becomes apparent that you will be unable to collect any amount from
the other driver. Since this is your only casualty or theft loss, you can deduct
the loss in 2010 that is figured by applying the deduction limits (discussed
later).
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225288If you later receive more reimbursement than you expected, after
you have claimed a deduction for the loss, you may have to include the extra
reimbursement in your income for the year you receive it. However, if any part
of the original deduction did not reduce your tax for the earlier year, do not
include that part of the reimbursement in your income. You do not refigure your
tax for the year you claimed the deduction. See
Recoveries
in Publication 525 to find out how much extra reimbursement to include in
income.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225289In 2009, a hurricane destroyed your motorboat. Your loss was
$3,000, and you estimated that your insurance would cover $2,500 of it. You did
not itemize deductions on your 2009 return, so you could not deduct the loss.
When the insurance company reimburses you for the loss, you do not report any of
the reimbursement as income. This is true even if it is for the full $3,000
because you did not deduct the loss on your 2009 return. The loss did not reduce
your tax.
 | If the total of all the reimbursements you receive is more
than your adjusted basis in the destroyed or stolen property, you will have a
gain on the casualty or theft. If you have already taken a deduction for a loss
and you receive the reimbursement in a later year, you may have to include the
gain in your income for the later year. Include the gain as ordinary income up
to the amount of your deduction that reduced your tax for the earlier year. You
may be able to postpone reporting any remaining gain as explained under
Postponement of Gain, later.
|
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225291If you receive exactly the reimbursement you expected to receive,
you do not have to include any of the reimbursement in your income and you
cannot deduct any additional loss.
taxmap/pubs/p547-004.htm#en_us_publink1000225292In December 2010, you had a collision while driving your personal
car. Repairs to the car cost $950. You had $100 deductible collision insurance.
Your insurance company agreed to reimburse you for the rest of the damage.
Because you expected a reimbursement from the insurance company, you did not
have a casualty loss deduction in 2010.
Due to the $100 rule, you cannot deduct the $100 you paid as
the deductible. When you receive the $850 from the insurance company in 2011, do
not report it as income.
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