Enter casualty losses for disaster victims
Taxpayers generally deduct a casualty loss in the year it happens. If a taxpayer has a qualifying disaster loss, they can opt to deduct that loss in the current year or on a prior-year's tax return. Enter a qualifying disaster loss with the following procedure.
- To report a personal loss, go to theItemizedfolder, then the4684Pscreen.
- Enter anOccurrence description, and complete theUnit,Form,T,S,J, andStatefields.
- Complete theCasualty/Theft,Number,Date of casualty or theft, andAttributable to a federally declared disasterfields.
- Enter a description of each property qualifying for a loss. Add multiple units to this input screen if you're reporting more than 4 properties. To add a unit, right-click anywhere and selectAdd Unit.
- Complete theType of property,Date acquired,Cost or basis,Total net reimbursement,FMV before loss, andFMV after lossfields.
- If the property was replaced, enter the information in the next section.
In accordance with the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017, one of the following will happen:
- If the taxpayer is itemizing deductions, the amount of the net qualified disaster loss from Form 4684, line 18 is reported on Schedule A - Itemized Deductions, line 15 (or Form 1040NR, page 3, line 14) with the description “Net Qualified Disaster Loss." This amount is combined with any other miscellaneous deductions on line 16.
- If the taxpayer doesn’t meet the threshold to itemize deductions, the standard deduction increases by the amount of the net qualified disaster loss. Both amounts are reported on Schedule A - Standard Ded w/Qual Disaster Loss, line 16, and the combined total reports on Form 1040, line 8. If the standard deduction increases by a net qualified disaster loss, the Standard Deduction Worksheet (Wrk 6) reflects the total on line 6 with supporting text.
