I was involved in a car accident in September, 2016 that was not my fault. I had a deductible of $500 which I paid out of pocket against the repair. My insurance company attempted to recover this amount through subrogation from the party at fault (including turning over the recovery to a collection firm). My insurance company failed (the other party refused to respond to any contact) and contacted me in 2017 to say they were ceasing to make any further attempts to collect. Can I claim a loss for 2017 for the entire $500 or any portion thereof?
No.
CASUALTY LOSS
It is difficult to claim a casualty loss because you have to meet a tough threshhold. Only the amount of a casualty loss that is OVER 10% of your adjusted gross income can be counted toward your itemized deductions, and even then you must subtract $100 from that amount. If your loss was covered by insurance, it is very unlikely that the amount of your deductible would be enough to count as a deduction. If you want to enter your casualty loss, go to the Federal>Deductions and Credits> Other Deductions and Credits>Casualties and Thefts.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901178-casualty-and-theft-losses
No.
CASUALTY LOSS
It is difficult to claim a casualty loss because you have to meet a tough threshhold. Only the amount of a casualty loss that is OVER 10% of your adjusted gross income can be counted toward your itemized deductions, and even then you must subtract $100 from that amount. If your loss was covered by insurance, it is very unlikely that the amount of your deductible would be enough to count as a deduction. If you want to enter your casualty loss, go to the Federal>Deductions and Credits> Other Deductions and Credits>Casualties and Thefts.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901178-casualty-and-theft-losses