You cannot in the Free edition that does not support the 1040 and itemized deductions.
A casualty or theft loss must first be reduced by $100, then the total of all casualty losses must be further reduced by 10% of your AGI. If there is anything left after that it would be an itemized deduction and would have no benefit to you unless the total of all of your other itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction.
For 2016 the standard deductions are:
Single or filing Married Filing Separately - $6,300
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er) - $12,600
Head of Household - $9,300
(If over 65 or blind add $1,250 - $1,550 if filing single or HOH)
So unless the amount of the loss was very large and you itemize anyway, as a practical matter it does not matter if it is deductible or not.
For example: If your AGI is $50,000 then 10% of that is $5,000. All of your casualty losses would have to exceed $5,100 before there is any deduction at all, then if you are Married Filing Jointly, that deduction and all other itemized deductions must exceed $12,600 before you would have any tax benefit.
See IRS Publication 547 which can give you all the details of claiming a casualty or theft loss.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p547/index.html
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
