Pub. 547 And Casualty Loss

Feb 26, 2019 3 Replies

Hello,



Thanks for previous help. In my 80's now, and i guess I miss any of the nuances with this "stuff". Appreciate the help.



Regarding Pub 547 on Casualty losses: Read several times, really, but just don't understand it.



a. We had a lot of property type damage during a very big storn here in 2018. But, it was not declared as any kind of "Emergency" by either the Federal or state Gov't.



Several big trees came down: Very ornamental and large. Hard to estimate their "value". Probably a few thousand less if and when we sell the house due to their not being there anymore. Is this deductable ?



b. I had to hire a tree Service to cut them up and remove from lawn. Deductable ?



c. Two were leaning against house. Tree service again. Deductable ?



Other than the loss of the trees, the only meaningful damage was due to their falling on, besides hitting and leaning on the house (no damage though), some Fence damage. Had to have damaged sections replaced. Deductable as a Casualty loss ?



Thanks, Bob


Without a federally declared disaster, none of the losses that you asked about are deductible. The new tax law eliminates the deduction for casualty losses for 2018 through 2025, except for losses caused by a federally declared disaster.

Bob Sandler

Right, no deduction but the out of pocket costs to restore the property to its pre-casualty level is an increase to the cost basis.

California still deductible.

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