Yes, you may claim a theft loss if the theft is illegal under the law of the state where it occurred and must have been done with criminal intent.
For tax years 2018 through 2025, if you are an individual, casualty or theft losses of personal-use property are deductible only if the loss is attributable to a federally declared disaster. The problem is how this loss is interpreted because it happened after the disaster and not during the disaster. There is a legal interpretation that only an attorney may be able to provide.
If you report this, the money is the description of the property. The fair market value of the money before the theft is $23,000 and the value of the money after the theft is "0".
IRS Theft and Casualties
Causality and Theft Losses
[Edited 02/05/24|4:15 pm PST]
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