If it was all in good shape and you can prove it, I would claim the repairs as the cost basis.
Where: You need to go to the Casualty loss as described above. Enter the hurricane and date. Select personal property. Select Major Disaster, enter the disaster code, click continue. Description of property: Yard damage, continue filling in address, date acquired.
Why:
Cost basis: what you paid plus improvements. If you put up the fence, you have the entire price, easy to locate. The tree came with the house. A tree is critical for saving land in some areas. You may have had some plants blown away. Think in terms of an audit now. If you get audited, do you have pictures of the yard before the storm? A party outdoors, something that shows what was. Any pictures after the storm to show what happened? If you can prove what you had and lost, then repair expenses to bring it back to where it was, make a good story line. You have receipts to show the work done. You may actually have lost a little more than the receipts show. A beautiful tree losing a branch is not replaceable. A half dead limb lost, would not be worth anything.
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