Unfortunately, the claim must be caused by a federally declared disaster.
For tax years 2018 through 2025, you can no longer claim casualty and theft losses on personal property as itemized deductions, unless your claim is caused by a federally declared disaster. You will still use Form 4684 to figure your losses and report them on Form 1040, Schedule A.
Instructions for IRS Form 4684 states:
Definitions Three types of casualty losses are described in these instructions.
- Federal Casualty Losses.
- Disaster Losses.
- Qualified Disaster Losses.
All three types of losses refer to federally declared disasters, but the requirements for each loss vary.
A federally declared disaster is a disaster determined by the President of the United States to warrant assistance by the federal government under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act).
A disaster loss is a loss that is attributable to a federally declared disaster and that occurs in an area eligible for assistance
pursuant to the Presidential declaration.
A qualified disaster loss is an individual’s casualty or theft loss of personal-use property that is attributable to a major federal disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Stafford Act in 2016, as well as from Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, or from the California wildfires in 2017 and January 2018.
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