@rwom1217 wrote:
Thanks, this was helpful in me beginning to figure it out. Some more specifics so I can do this correctly (using estimates to make it less confusing)...
- Home damaged/claim made in October 2022
- First check received and deposited in November '22 for $10,800.
- Home repaired in December '22
- Paid roofer $13,200 for repair in December '22 ($500 of this was for additional repairs at my expense).
- Second check received in December '22 for $2500 (the total amount received was reduced by my $1000 deductible)
~ (Everything below now in 2023)
- Window screens repaired in January 2023
- Paid screens company $1,700 ($800 of this was for additional work at my expense) in '23.
- $2500 check deposited in '23.
After reduced by my deductible ($1000), the total amount I received was $13,300. When all was said and done, I paid out $14,900. How much would I enter for '22 vs '23? (I am unsure because of things crossing over into the new year.)
The need for this level of detail is a bit puzzling to me. Your housing allowance must be declared by the church in advance and in writing. You can't change it on the fly based on expenses. The only reason you would need to be able to allocate your $1600 out of pocket expense is if your housing allowance typically exceeds your actual housing expenses, so that you normally declare part of your allowance to be taxable after adding up all your expenses. This is probably legally ok, but the housing allowance can't be more than the "fair market value" of your housing. If the church is setting your allowance too high, or allowing you to change the allowance retroactively, the church may be in jeopardy with the IRS.
That being said, you have $1600 out of pocket expenses (or maybe $2600 out of pocket, because I can't follow your explanation of the deductible). It appears you made the majority of repairs in 2022, since your net expenses for 2023 were negative $700 (based on the timing of the insurance checks). So you could probably claim all $1600 in 2022.
Alternatively, since you paid $800 for window screens in 2023 that was for additional work not covered by insurance, you could arguably apply $800 of the cost toward 2023 and the remaining $800 (or $1800) toward 2022. Given the manner in which expenses straddle a tax year, I think you just need a reasonable argument as to how you allocated the expenses.
