As Hurricane Milton is a federally declared major disaster, you can claim the damage not covered by insurance (your deductible) as a disaster loss. You can elect to claim the loss in the year the disaster occurred, or in the preceding tax year. You do not need to itemize your deductions to claim the loss.
Personal casualty and theft losses attributable to a federally declared disaster are subject to the deduction of $500 per casualty (but not the 10% of your AGI threshold).
Please read this IRS document for more information.
Please also read this TurboTax blog for more information.
To enter your loss on your tax return, please follow the instructions in this TurboTax Help article.
Not sure what to put for: EM disaster decl number..since I did not use my insurance or FEMA
The FEMA disaster code for Hurricane Milton is DR-4834-FL. You can find more information about Hurricane Milton recovery at FEMA.gov/disaster/4834. If you are claiming a casualty loss, you will need to reference the FEMA disaster code that pertains to the event. It is just lets the IRS know what disaster caused the loss.
If the loss is caused by a federally declared disaster, you may deduct personal casualty losses relating to your home, household items, and vehicles on your federal income tax return. For tax years 2018 through 2025, personal casualty losses are otherwise not deductible. So, to claim a deduction for costs not reimbursed by insurance or FEMA, you need to reference which disaster caused the loss.
IRS Topic 515
Thanks! The next part… it asks the FMV after event? Not sure what to put.
You have to estimate a fair market value of your property after the hurricane. Any reasonable estimate would be acceptable.
Does that mean I can use Zillow to see how much my house is worth and subtract what I paid a roof company for the damages?
You report the amount of the loss as the difference in the fair market value immediately before and after the casualty. This can be established using the cost of returning the property to the condition it was in before the disaster (i.e., if part of the roof was damaged, you couldn't claim the cost of replacing and upgrading the entire roof). Or, you could get a real estate professional to estimate the value of your property immediately prior to and after the disaster.
Please see this help article for more information on deductible casualty losses from Federally declared disasters.
So you are essentially telling him what he initially asked. Get the estimated value of the home and subtract the amount of repairs?
There can be more to valuing the property after a natural disaster than just subtracting the amount of repairs from the subtracting the repairs. Many factors can determine the property value such as market fluctuations, community recovery, and the insurance and repairs. When determining the property value you will need to look at all factors to come up with the value. Many also look at comparable home values in the area as well. The main thing is that the property assessment estimate is reasonable for the area that was affected.