Home damaged by Hurricane Ian

[Rob Rayne]

We purchased a mobile home in Fort Myers Beach in April 2022 and put thousands into it.  The hurricane DR-4673, flooded our home.  We have spent $30,000 so far to repair it.  I am trying to determine what FMV is before and after the hurricane.  The purchase price in April is a good FMV, I believe.  The FMV after the hurricane was $1000.  But since I repaired it, we have no way to determine the current FMV.  Can't we just subtract our expenses to repair it from the purchase price and that would be the current FMV?

Also, I want to deduct the loss from my 2021 tax return.  I called the IRS and they said it CAN.  Just ammend the 2021 return.  TuboTax is saying an error since I purchased the home in April 2022.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Carl]

Also, I want to deduct the loss from my 2021 tax return.

You clearly stated you purchased the home in 2022. You can't claim anything what-so-ever concerning the home on your 2021 tax return, since you did not own the home in 2021.

I called the IRS and they said it CAN

The bottom line is, you were given incorrect information.

[Vanessa A]

You cannot deduct a loss in a year you did not own the property. The information you were given was only partially complete.  If you would have owned the home, you could have then deducted the loss from a federally declared disaster area in the preceding year by amending your return.  However, since you did not own the home in 2021, you cannot take a loss for it in that year. 

[Rob Rayne]

Thanks for the input, makes perfect sense, she probably didn't hear me say we bought it in 2022.  The loss doesn't do anything for this years return, since I had a bad year last year anyway.  Can the loss be claimed in 2023, since I still have expenses to incure to make it whole?

[Rob Rayne]

Thanks...What about deducting it in 2023?

[SantinoD]

You can only claim the loss in the year of the disaster or amend a preceding year to claim the loss.

Here is some more info: I live in a federally declared disaster area, what does that mean for my taxes?

@Rob Rayne