Hello folks, I'm the OP from
THIS thread, where I describe how a pond builder took $8500 of my cash, all of my valuable trees, and left me with a big hole on my property but no pond. I'm just starting to prepare my 2021 tax return, and a relative of mine said they thought I could claim this loss on my tax return. Excitedly, I ran to the internet to see what I could find on the subject.
Per the link from the IRS website:
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515, it states:
Generally, you may deduct casualty and theft losses relating to your home, household items, and vehicles on your federal income tax return if the loss is caused by a federally declared disaster declared by the President. You may not deduct casualty and theft losses covered by insurance, unless you file a timely claim for reimbursement and you reduce the loss by the amount of any reimbursement or expected reimbursement.They define "Theft Loss" as:
A theft is the taking and removal of money or property with the intent to deprive the owner of it. The taking must be illegal under the law of the state where it occurred and must have been done with criminal intent. The amount of your theft loss is generally the adjusted basis of your property because the fair market value of your property immediately after the theft is considered to be zero.I'm just looking for some opinions and insight into this matter. Would I have a valid claim on anything related to my property and monetary losses? This is the first year of filing my taxes as a new homeowner, and I don't want to put a bunch of suspicious claims on my tax return and have the feds hunting me down.
Update:It appears that, as of 2018, the IRS no longer allows you to claim personal property theft or loss on your taxes, unless it was in a Presidentially-declared natural disaster. Argh!! Back to the drawing board...
