I continued to pay for losses in 2017 from Hurricane Matthew that occurred in 2016. Can I claim these expense on my 2017 taxes since they were paid for in 2017?

[DanielV01]

It depends.  It is possible that you may be able to get an additional adjustment on your tax return because of the special rules related to this disaster, but likely you will need to claim these on either your 2016 or your 2015 return.

For most taxable events, you typically account for such by either when you received the money or when you made the payment.  Casualties, however, are different.  The amount of a deduction you receive is based on the amount of loss in value you suffered at the time of the casualty (in this case, the hurricane).  Please note the two examples at the following link:  Casualty loss calculation on real property.  (Click on link)

The fact that you continued to pay for losses in 2017 is an indicator that you possibly did not get credit for the full amount of casualty loss when you filed the return that included the loss.  You may wish to speak with an appraiser to reassess what was originally calculated as the loss in fair market value on your home, (including fair market value just before Matthew, and just after Matthew).  Then, because this casualty was a Federal disaster, you can claim this loss (TurboTax can walk you through it) on either your 2016 or your 2015 (prior year to Matthew) return.  You can use the year which gives you the best overall result.

If this is the case, you will need to do an amended return.  Here is how you may do so in TurboTax,

For 2016:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5114064

For 2015:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5589810