Publication 547
taxmap/pubs/p547-007.htm#en_us_publink1000225399taxmap/pubs/p547-007.htm#en_us_publink1000225400If you receive an insurance or other reimbursement that is more
than your adjusted basis in the destroyed or stolen property, you have a gain
from the casualty or theft. You must include this gain in your income in the
year you receive the reimbursement, unless you choose to postpone reporting the
gain as explained earlier.
taxmap/pubs/p547-007.htm#en_us_publink1000225401Generally, you can deduct a casualty loss that is not reimbursable
only in the tax year in which the casualty occurred. This is true even if you do
not repair or replace the damaged property until a later year. (However, see
Disaster Area Losses, later, for an exception.)
You can deduct theft losses that are not reimbursable only in
the year you discover your property was stolen.
If you are not sure whether part of your casualty or theft loss
will be reimbursed, do not deduct that part until the tax year when you become
reasonably certain that it will not be reimbursed. See the Form 4684
instructions if you are deducting a loss of personal use property from a
disaster declared a federal disaster in tax years beginning after 2007 that
occurred before 2010.
taxmap/pubs/p547-007.htm#en_us_publink1000225403If your loss is a loss on deposits at an insolvent or bankrupt
financial institution, see
Loss on Deposits, earlier.
taxmap/pubs/p547-007.htm#en_us_publink1000225405If you lease property from someone else, you can deduct a loss
on the property in the year your liability for the loss is fixed. This is true
even if the loss occurred or the liability was paid in a different year. You are
not entitled to a deduction until your liability under the lease can be
determined with reasonable accuracy. Your liability can be determined when a
claim for recovery is settled, adjudicated, or abandoned.