Covid19 lost wages

[scftx57]

My business (pilates studio) had to shut down during the Covid-19 quarantine period.  Can I claim the lost wages during that time as a deduction on Schedule C?

[SundayInSalem]

Unfortunately not. The IRS says "you generally can't take a bad debt deduction for unpaid salaries, wages, rents, fees, interests, dividends, and similar items." In might sound unfair but the IRS thinks you can't take a deduction for money you might have earned had their been no quarantine since there's no guarantee you would have earned that money.