Lost my home to fire in 2015 and I started construction in 2016. Can I claim expenses for home construction, for example loan fees and permit fees?

Permit fees are not deductible. What type of loan fees did you pay?

You may have a casualty loss in 2015 for the fair market value of the house at the time of fire.

Reconstruction costs are treated the same as any home purchase. Most expenses at closing on the purchase or refinance of a home, second home, vacation home, timeshare, etc. are not deducted but added to the cost of a new home. There are a few exceptions - the following would be deductible:

• interest paid at the time of purchase (the charge at closing would normally be done for interest up to the date of first payment.),
• real estate taxes charged to you,
• points (sometimes called origination fees and expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed.)  On a refinance they need to be amortized over the life of the loan or 84 months, whichever is less, unless the points were used to improve your main home, and
• private mortgage insurance costs but, if prepaid, only the amount allocable to this year based on an 84 month amortization.

Title fees, real estate commissions, appraisal costs, home inspections, documentary stamps, credit report costs, costs of an abstract, escrow fees, transfer taxes, flood certificate, attorney fees, etc. are not deductible, but are added to the cost of the property.