2021 Hurricane IDA losses

[shamroc67]

I reside in NY and suffered significant losses related to Hurricane IDA.

Regarding contents, I lost approximately $60k worth. My flood insurance policy did not have a contents coverage and my homeowner's company denied my claim. Is there anyway to claim my losses on my federal and state tax returns?

Related to my structure damage, the insurance company low balled me.  As such, I had to pay about $50k out of my own pocket (HVAC, water heater, construction of 3 rooms).  Is there anyway to write off my out-of-pocket expenses?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[ErnieS0]

The federal government declared parts of New York a disaster area due to remnants of Hurricane Ida so you are eligible to claim a casualty loss. See New York Remnants of Hurricane Ida for more info.

If you fall within the zone, you can claim a non-business casualty loss in TurboTax.

To claim a casualty loss in TurboTax:

1. Type "casualty loss" in Search in the upper right
2. Select "Jump to casualty loss"
3. Follow the screens and enter your information

Generally, you may deduct casualty and theft losses relating to your home, household items, and vehicles on your federal income tax return if the loss is caused by a federally declared disaster or a significant fire. 

Topic No. 515 Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Losses

[shamroc67]

Ernie,

Thank you for your prompt response.

For contents lost, do you have to list each item lost separately or can you group together such as:

- media (tv, media console unit, turntable stand, speakers, speaker stands)

- furniture (theater chairs, pub table, side table)

- luggage (garment, carryon, duffel, 10 large pieces)

- women's clothing (winter boats)

- garage equipment (power washer)

Unfortunately, three rooms got destroyed and my crawl space was a storage area.

Thanks again for the assistance.

[ErnieS0]

You can group things together @shamroc67 or even use one category for all household items. Keep a record in case you get audited so the category totals you report on your return match up with your documentation.

Some taxpayers have used a FEMA statement , e.g. Hurricane damage: See FEMA stmt. 

[shamroc67]

Thank you Ernie!

I lost about $60k in contents.  I may break it up into the 3 rooms and the garage which were affected.

I just had my man cave completed and it was totally destroyed - very demoralizing.

[AmyC]

Each incident has a deductible. Since all of it came from one hurricane, I recommend you put it all together. House and contents damaged or like Ernie said above, Hurricane Damage. Keep good records in case of an audit. Pictures are fabulous, before and after. The before pictures may be from a birthday party, etc. Most people don't walk around just taking pictures of the house but events capture things forgotten.

[shamroc67]

Thanks Amy - I have photos and videos of the incident which I will retain. 

As suggested, I will make it one incident and list all the contents lost and the structure amount which was not reimbursed.

[AmyC]

Great, remember to keep it simple when reporting. I am sorry for your loss!

[shamroc67]

Getting ready to finalize my return. Using turbo tax premier under Casualties and Thefts:

For description of property, I put:

Residential House (lower level consisting of three rooms, HVAC system, water heater, a crawl space and garage plus contents were destroyed).

I listed cost basis as $129k (this is for the reconstruction and contents lost).

Insurance reimbursement was $61,464 ($44,464 from insurance company and $17k from FEMA).

Question about Fair Market Value is for the entire value of the home correct?

As such, I put FMV before loss at $700k and $595k after loss. 

Does this appear to be sufficient?

Greatly appreciate the help!

[RobertB4444]

@shamroc67  The descriptions and numbers you have entered look to be just fine.  That results in a significant loss - it will be reduced by a portion of your income before you are allowed to deduct it.  Hope that it works out to be a good refund.

[shamroc67]

Robert,

Thank you for the quick reply.

I appreciate all the assistance from the Turbo Tax experts!