@mv_holland wrote:
The daycare went into a new building. Up front money was needed for collateral on loan from the landlord (not me) to cover initial buildout costs in the new building. Up front money was also needed to cover equipment (cribs, mats, rugs, kitchen appliances, etc.). Per the lease, the landlord keeps all equipment (rookie mistake on our part) so those are nonrecoverable as well.
My personal loan was to daughter's business (she was a sole owner LLC) did have fair market interest rate. I had it set up to start repayment after one year but the business lasted just short of a full year so nothing was ever paid back.
You can certainly report the non-business bad debt loss. If audited, you would need to be able to show this was a legitimate business debt and that you made diligent efforts to collect from your daughter before you declared the debt unrecoverable.
Also, your daughter should know that money loaned to her that she never repays, becomes taxable income to her, even if it was lost in a bad investment. You claiming a bad debt loss may trigger the IRS to look for corresponding income on her tax return.
