I claimed the income for the car rental in 2015.  2016 was the lawyers and dealing with the settlement. An entire year of time without car.

I had to hire a lawyer and we settled for an amount that after lawyer fees, I ended up with a $8k check that I handed over to the repair shop. It is currently being worked on and I will owe another $5k for the repairs to get my classic car back to the state it was before the production company got a hold of it. In my mind this is a loss. But I want to be sure that the IRS does not consider the $8k income nor consider the $5k I am adding to it, excessive and a personal choice. See, the whole point of getting a lawyer was the insurance for the production company wanted to take a show car and put it through a standard collision center repair like Maaco for cheap. They had no distinction between a daily driver and a show car and the skill involved in restoration and cost of finding parts. So I reserve room for the possibility that the IRS could do the same and deem the $5k I am putting into the car, not a loss, when in fact it is ( to me ). It is a requirement to get the car back to its original state.

Thank you for your time.