There is not a specific area within the business
income and expenses portion of your return to enter business related cash theft
on your Schedule C, but there is a place
to put it.
Before you deduct the cash theft, there are a few things to note:
You can only deduct it in
the year that the loss was discovered.
It is also not deductible if you have a claim for reimbursement and a reasonable
expectation for recovery.
If it has not yet been
determined whether you can expect to recover the loss, then you should not
deduct it on the return you are currently filing. If later it is determined that it will not be
recovered, then you can file an amended return to claim the loss.
Also, there are some documentation
requirements that you must meet in order to claim the loss. Keep this documentation with your
records. It should include the
following:
When the loss was
discovered
Information that the
property (cash) was indeed stolen
That you are the owner of
the stolen property
Whether a claim for
reimbursement exists with a reasonable expectation of recovery
To enter the information about the cash theft into your Schedule C
within TurboTax, use these steps (using the Home & Business version of
TurboTax):
- Go to Business > Business Income and Expenses > Profit or Loss from Business
- Click Update or Edit beside Profit or
Loss from Business
- On the summary
page listing the business(es), click Edit
beside the business that had the theft
- Scroll to the Business Expenses section, click Update or Edit beside Other
Common Business Expenses
- Scroll to the
bottom of the screen and click Update
or Edit beside Other Miscellaneous Expenses
- This will allow
you to enter a short description and
an amount for the cash theft you incurred
- Click Continue and the total amount will
be included on Schedule C line 48 as an itemized list and then it will
also transfer to Schedule C line 27a
