! sonal casualty and theft losses of an in

CAUTION dividual are deductible only to the ex-

tent they’re attributable to a federally declared disaster. An exception to the rule limiting the de- duction for personal casualty and theft losses to federal casualty losses applies where you have personal casualty gains to the extent the losses don’t exceed your gains.

A list of the areas warranting public or

TIP individual assistance (or both) under

the Stafford Act is available at the Fed- eral Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) web site at FEMA.gov/Disaster.

Qualified disaster losses. A qualified disaster loss includes an individual’s casualty or theft loss of personal-use property that is attributable to:

• A major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Stafford Act in 2016;

• Hurricane Harvey;

• Tropical Storm Harvey;

• Hurricane Irma;

• Hurricane Maria;

• The California wildfires in 2017 and January 2018;

• A major disaster that was declared by the President under section 401 of the Stafford Act and that occurred in 2018 and before December 21, 2019, and continued until no later than January 19, 2020 (except those attributable to the California wildfires in January 2018 that received prior relief); and

• A major disaster that was declared by the President during the period between January 1, 2020, and September 2, 2025. Also, this disaster must have an incident period that began on or after December 28, 2019, and on or before July 4, 2025, and must have ended no later than August 3, 2025.

See IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief for date-specific declarations associated with these disasters and for more information.

Casualty and theft losses of personal-use property may be claimed as a qualified disaster loss on your Form 4684 for the year in which the loss was sustained. This deduction will be entered on Schedule A (Form 1040) as an itemized deduction but you can increase your standard deduction by qualified disaster losses if you elect not to itemize your deductions. See In- creased standard deduction reporting, later.

Moreover, your net casualty loss from these disasters does not need to exceed 10% of your AGI to qualify for the deduction, but the $100 limit per casualty is increased to $500.

Disaster year. The disaster year is the tax year in which you sustained the loss attributable to a federally declared disaster. Generally, a disaster loss is sustained in the year the disaster occurred. A disaster loss may also be sustained in a year after the disaster occurred. For example, if a claim for reimbursement exists for which there is a reasonable prospect of recovery, no part of the loss for which reimbursement may be received is sustained until it can be ascertained with reasonable certainty whether you will be reimbursed.

When to deduct the loss. You must generally deduct a casualty loss in the disaster year. However, if you have a deductible loss from a disaster that occurred in an area warranting public or individual assistance (or both), you can choose to deduct that loss on your return or amended return for the tax year immediately preceding the disaster year. If you make this choice, the loss is treated as having occurred in the preceding year.

Claiming a qualifying disaster loss on

TIP the previous year’s return may result in

a lower tax for that year, often produc- ing or increasing a cash refund.

You must make an election to deduct a 2025 disaster loss on your 2024 return on or before the date that is 6 months after the regular due date for filing your original return (without extensions) for the disaster year. For calendar year individual taxpayers, the deadline for electing to take a 2025 disaster loss on your 2024 tax return is October 15, 2026.

If you claimed a deduction for a disaster loss in the disaster year and you wish to deduct the loss in the preceding year, you must file an amended return to remove the previously deducted loss on or before you file the return or amended return for the preceding year that includes the disaster loss deduction. For more information, see Pub. 547.

Increased standard deduction reporting. If you have a net qualified disaster loss on Form 4684, line 15, and you aren’t itemizing your deductions, you can claim an increased standard deduction using Schedule A (Form 1040) by doing the following.

1. Enter the amount from Form 4684, line 15, on the dotted line next to line 16 on Schedule A and the description “Net Qualified Disaster Loss.”

2. Enter on the dotted line next to line 16 your standard deduction amount and the description “Standard Deduction Claimed With Qualified Disaster Loss.”

3. Combine these two amounts and enter on line 16 of Schedule A and Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.

The AMT adjustment for the standard