You can claim your loss as a casualty loss under Schedule A. You will need the FMV of your belongings before and after the fire. After the fire, it is probably $0. You can use various websites to determine the FMV of used belongings. Keep your FMV findings for your records.
In TurboTax, jump to the entry area for casualty loss:
- Enter casualty
loss in the TurboTax search box and press the Enter key.
- Click on Jump to
- On the Stolen or Damaged
Items screen, click Yes.
- Answer the interview
questions describing your event.
- When finished at
the Property Summary screen,
Enter any additional property losses by clicking the Add a
Property button
You must be able to itemize on Schedule A to take this
deduction:
What is Schedule A?
The IRS lets you take either the standard
deduction or the itemized deduction. If
you itemize (about 1/3 of all taxpayers do), we'll automatically fill
out Schedule A, Itemized Deductions and switch you over to the 1040
long form.
Schedule A lets you report certain deductible expenses like:
- Medical and dental costs
above and beyond 10% of your AGI
- State, local, real estate,
and personal property taxes
- Home mortgage interest and
PMI
- Charitable donations and
gifts
- Casualty or theft losses
- Unreimbursed employee
expenses above and beyond 2% of your AGI
