Instructions for Form 4684 |
2003 Tax Year |
Specific Instructions
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Which Sections To Complete
Use Section A to figure casualty or theft gains and losses for property that is not used in a trade or business or for income-producing
purposes.
Nonbusiness casualty or theft losses are deductible only to the extent that the amount of each separate casualty loss is more than $100
and the total amount of all losses during the year is more than 10% of adjusted gross income (line 35 of Form 1040).
Use Section B to figure casualty or theft gains and losses for property that is used in a trade or business or for income-producing
purposes.
If property is used partly in a trade or business and partly for personal purposes, such as a personal home with a rental
unit, figure the personal
part in Section A and the business part in Section B.
Section A—Personal Use Property
Use a separate column for lines 1 through 9 to show each item lost or damaged from a single casualty or theft. If more than
four items were lost or
damaged, use additional sheets following the format of lines 1 through 9.
Use a separate Form 4684 through line 12 for each casualty or theft involving property not used in a trade or business or
for income-producing
purposes.
Do not include any loss previously deducted on an estate tax return.
If you are liable for casualty or theft losses to property you lease from someone else, see Pub. 547.
Cost or other basis usually means original cost plus improvements. Subtract any postponed gain from the sale of a previous
main home. Special rules
apply to property received as a gift or inheritance. See Pub. 551, Basis of Assets, for details.
Enter on this line the amount of insurance or other reimbursement you received or expect to receive for each property. Include
your insurance
coverage whether or not you are filing a claim for reimbursement. For example, your car worth $2,000 is totally destroyed
in a collision. You are
insured with a $500 deductible, but decide not to report it to your insurance company because you are afraid the insurance
company will cancel your
policy. In this case, enter $1,500 on this line.
If you expect to be reimbursed but have not yet received payment, you must still enter the expected reimbursement from the
loss. If, in a later tax
year, you determine with reasonable certainty that you will not be reimbursed for all or part of the loss, you can deduct
for that year the amount of
the loss that is not reimbursed.
Types of reimbursements.
Insurance is the most common way to be reimbursed for a casualty or theft loss, but if:
- Part of a Federal disaster loan under the Disaster Relief Act is forgiven, the part you do not have to pay back is considered
a
reimbursement.
- The person who leases your property must make repairs or must repay you for any part of a loss, the repayment and the cost
of the repairs
are considered reimbursements.
- A court awards you damages for a casualty or theft loss, the amount you are able to collect, minus lawyers' fees and other
necessary
expenses, is a reimbursement.
- You accept repairs, restoration, or cleanup services provided by relief agencies, it is considered a reimbursement.
- A bonding company pays you for a theft loss, the payment is also considered a reimbursement.
Lump-sum reimbursement.
If you have a casualty or theft loss of several assets at the same time and you receive a lump-sum reimbursement,
you must divide the amount you
receive among the assets according to the FMV of each asset at the time of the loss.
Grants, gifts, and other payments.
Grants and other payments you receive to help you after a casualty are considered reimbursements only if they must
be used specifically to repair
or replace your property. Such payments will reduce your casualty loss deduction. If there are no conditions on how you have
to use the money you
receive, it is not a reimbursement.
Use and occupancy insurance.
If insurance reimburses you for your loss of business income, it does not reduce your casualty or theft loss. The
reimbursement is income, and is
taxed in the same manner as your business income.
If you are entitled to an insurance payment or other reimbursement for any part of a casualty or theft loss but you choose
not to file a claim for
the loss, you cannot realize a gain from that payment or reimbursement. Therefore, figure the gain on line 4 by subtracting
your cost or other basis
in the property (line 2) only from the amount of reimbursement you actually received. Enter the result on line 4, but do not enter less
than zero.
If you filed a claim for reimbursement but did not receive it until after the year of the casualty or theft, include the gain
in your income in the
year you received the reimbursement.
Fair market value (FMV) is the price at which the property would be sold between a willing buyer and a willing seller, each
having knowledge of the
relevant facts. The difference between the FMV immediately before the casualty or theft and the FMV immediately after represents
the decrease in FMV
because of the casualty or theft.
The FMV of property after a theft is zero if the property is not recovered.
FMV is generally determined by a competent appraisal. The appraiser's knowledge of sales of comparable property about the
same time as the casualty
or theft, knowledge of your property before and after the occurrence, and the methods of determining FMV are important elements
in proving your loss.
The appraised value of property immediately after the casualty must be adjusted (increased) for the effects of any general
market decline that may
occur at the same time as the casualty or theft. For example, the value of all nearby property may become depressed because
it is in an area where
such occurrences are commonplace. This general decline in market value is not part of the property's decrease in FMV as a
result of the casualty or
theft.
Replacement cost or the cost of repairs is not necessarily FMV. However, you may be able to use the cost of repairs to the
damaged property as
evidence of loss in value if:
- The repairs are necessary to restore the property to the condition it was in immediately before the casualty;
- The amount spent for repairs is not excessive;
- The repairs only correct the damage caused by the casualty; and
- The value of the property after the repairs is not, as a result of the repairs, more than the value of the property immediately
before the
casualty.
To figure a casualty loss to real estate not used in a trade, business, or for income-producing purposes, measure the decrease
in value of the
property as a whole. All improvements, such as buildings, trees, and shrubs, are considered together as one item. Figure the
loss separately for other
items. For example, figure the loss separately for each piece of furniture.
If line 14 is more than line 13:
- Combine your short-term gains with your short-term losses and enter the net short-term gain or (loss) on Schedule D (Form
1040), line 4,
column (f). Also enter the amount, if any, of net short-term post-May 5 gain or (loss) on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 4,
column (g). Estates and
trusts enter these amounts on Schedule D (Form 1041), line 2, columns (f) and (g), respectively.
- Combine your long-term gains with your long-term losses and enter the net long-term gain or (loss) on Schedule D (Form 1040),
line 11,
column (f). Also enter the amount, if any, of net long-term post-May 5 gain or (loss) on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 11,
column (g). Estates and
trusts enter these amounts on Schedule D (Form 1041), line 7, columns (f) and (g), respectively.
The holding period for long-term gains and losses is more than 1 year. For short-term gains and losses, it is 1 year or less.
To figure the
holding period, begin counting on the day after you received the property and include the day the casualty or theft occurred.
See Schedule D for the definition of post-May 5 gain or (loss).
Estates and trusts figure adjusted gross income in the same way as individuals, except that the costs of administration are
allowed in figuring
adjusted gross income.
Section B—Business and Income-Producing Property
Use a separate column of Part I, lines 19 through 27, to show each item lost or damaged from a single casualty or theft. If
more than four items
were lost or damaged, use additional sheets following the format of Part I, lines 19 through 27.
Use a separate Section B, Part I, of Form 4684 for each casualty or theft involving property used in a trade or business or
for income-producing
purposes. Use one Section B, Part II, to combine all Sections B, Part I.
For details on the treatment of casualties or thefts to business or income-producing property, including rules on the loss
of inventory through
casualty or theft, see Pub. 547.
If you had a casualty or theft loss involving a home you used for business or rented out, your deductible loss may be limited.
First, complete Form
4684, Section B, lines 19 through 26. If the loss involved a home used for a business for which you are filing Schedule C (Form 1040),
Profit or Loss From Business, figure your deductible casualty or theft loss on Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home. Enter on
line 27 of Form 4684 the deductible loss from line 33 of Form 8829, and write “See Form 8829” above line 27. For a home you rented out or used
for a business for which you are not filing Schedule C (Form 1040), see section 280A(c)(5) to figure your deductible loss.
Attach a statement showing
your computation of the deductible loss, enter that amount on line 27, and write “See attached statement” above line 27.
Note:
A gain or loss from a casualty or theft of property used in a passive activity is not taken into account in determining the
loss from a passive
activity unless losses similar in cause and severity recur regularly in the activity. See Form 8582, Passive Activity Loss Limitations, and
its instructions for details.
Cost or adjusted basis usually means original cost plus improvements, minus depreciation allowed or allowable (including any
section 179 expense
deduction), amortization, depletion, etc. Special rules apply to property received as a gift or inheritance. See Pub. 551
for details.
See the instructions for line 3.
See the instructions for line 4.
See the instructions for lines 5 and 6 for details on determining FMV.
Loss on each item figured separately.
Unlike a casualty loss to personal use real estate, in which all improvements are considered one item, a casualty
loss to business or
income-producing property must be figured separately for each item. For example, if casualty damage occurs to both a building
and to trees on the same
piece of real estate, measure the loss separately for the building and for the trees.
If the amount on line 28 includes losses on property held 1 year or less, and losses on property held for more than 1 year,
you must allocate the
amount between lines 29 and 34 according to how long you held each property. Enter on line 29 all gains and losses on property
held 1 year or less.
Enter on line 34 all gains and losses on property held more than 1 year, except as provided in the instructions for line 33.
Use a separate line for each casualty or theft.
Enter the part of line 28 from trade, business, rental, or royalty property (other than property you used in performing services
as an employee).
Enter the part of line 28 from income-producing property and from property you used in performing services as an employee.
Income-producing
property is property held for investment, such as stocks, notes, bonds, gold, silver, vacant lots, and works of art.
If Form 4797, Sales of Business Property, is not otherwise required, enter the amount from this line on page 1 of your tax return, on
the line identified as from Form 4797. Next to that line, write “Form 4684.”
Estates and trusts, enter on the “Other deductions” line of your tax return. Partnerships (except electing large partnerships), enter on Form
1065, Schedule K, line 11. Electing large partnerships, enter on Form 1065-B, Part II, line 11. S corporations, enter on Form
1120S, Schedule K, line
10. Next to that line, write “Form 4684.”
If you had a casualty or theft gain from certain trade, business, or income-producing property held more than 1 year, you
may have to recapture
part or all of the gain as ordinary income. See the instructions for Form 4797, Part III, for more information on the types
of property subject to
recapture. If recapture applies, complete Form 4797, Part III, and this line, instead of Form 4684, line 34.
Taxpayers, other than partnerships and S corporations, if Form 4797 is not otherwise required, enter the amount from this
line on page 1 of your
tax return, on the line identified as from Form 4797. Next to that line, write “Form 4684.”
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