A casualty or theft loss must first be reduced by $100, then the total of all casualty losses must be further reduced by 10% of your AGI (Exception for hurricane and disaster victims) . If there is anything left after that it would be an itemized deduction and would have no benefit to you unless the total of all of your other itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction.
For 2017 the standard deductions are:
Single or filing Married Filing Separately - $6,350
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er) - $12,700
Head of Household - $9,350
(If over 65 or blind add $1,250 - $1,550 if filing single or HOH)
See IRS Publication 547 which can give you all the details of claiming a casualty or theft loss.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p547/index.html
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
