Can i report theft on schedule c?

[yessica-vazquez]

I found out that my bookkeeper made several checks to herself without my consent,  can I deduct that as a theft? and where de I report it? Business expense schedule C or there is another form?

[SweetieJean]

Did you file a police report?  Make an insurance claim?

[yessica-vazquez]

no none

[SweetieJean]

Was the bookkeeper an employee of yours, an independent contractor, or someone that you compensated for these services? Have you tried to stop payments on those checks?

[yessica-vazquez]

yes, I wsa paying her to help me with payroll and quarter reports.  all checks have been cashed.  I was going over the copies of the checks and noticed She made several checks in 2015

[DoninGA]

Casualty and Theft losses are reported on IRS Form 4684 for both personal and business.  See IRS tax topic - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515.html">https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515.html</a>
However, claiming a theft loss without filing any type of police report or insurance claim for proof of loss would more than likely be denied by the IRS if ever questioned about the loss.

[SweetieJean]

Also notify your bank.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Casualty and Theft losses are reported on IRS Form 4684 for both personal and business.  See IRS tax topic -https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515.html
However, claiming a theft loss without filing any type of police report or insurance claim for proof of loss would more than likely be denied by the IRS if ever questioned about the loss.

To enter business income and expenses (Schedule C) you will need to upgrade to Home and Business using the online editions.

To report a Casualty or Theft -

• Click on Federal Taxes (Personal Using Home and Business)
• Click on Deductions and Credits
• Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
• Scroll down to Other Deductions and Credits
• On Casualties and Thefts, click the start or update button

[cdgiesler]

IT seems I have been mislead by a tax person which caused me to ask the above question,

My real question is is there anyway to reduce or eliminate a total of $8,941.00 of 1099c's that I received from banks when they negotiated that I would pay X dollars for each account and then they sent me a 1099c for the portion I did not pay and zeroed what I owed them. It was suggested I use a form 4684 and tread it as an ID Theft of credit cards. But when I start to fill out the form I get to line 9 and all that is left is zero.

All this debt that I worked with a Debt reduction company was from a couple of scams I got involved in where all the money I charged to my credit cards was lost.

A guy I work with suggested I talk to someone that is a  "Enrolled Agent" and have them do a OIC, Offer in Compromiseas that is what he did that a few years ago when he owed IRS $85,000.00 and they got it all wiped out.

Clifford Giesler

[RobertG · Accepted solution]

An offer in compromise is not an option in your situation. 

The $8,941 in cancelled debt will not generate enough tax for the IRS to consider an OIC.

You should consider filing a Form 982 (Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness) if you qualify for any of the exceptions to paying tax on cancelled debt.

Canceled, forgiven, and discharged debt is considered taxable income, unless it qualifies for an exclusion or an exception, defined below.

Normally the debt is reported on Form 1099-C. Make sure to enter your 1099-C in TurboTax so we can figure out it qualifies for an exclusion or an exception.

Tip: If a creditor is still trying to collect on your debt, it's not considered canceled, forgiven, or discharged, which in turn means there's nothing to report – even if the creditor sent you a 1099-C.

Exclusions

• Debt canceled in a Title 11 bankruptcy
• Debt canceled during insolvency (the amount exceeding your assets)
• Cancelation of qualified farm or real property indebtedness
• Cancelation of qualified principal residence indebtedness, better known as mortgage debt relief

If your debt qualifies for any of these exclusions, TurboTax will complete Form 982 and include it with your return.  To prepare a form 982 you should use the CD/download version of TurboTax.

In order to the switch from online to CD/download. please see the following link: https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901476-how-do-i-switch-from-turbotax-online-to-the-turbotax-softw...

Once you have done the above you can access the forms mode of your desktop program.

@cdgiesler