Tax Preparation Help  
Instructions for Form 4684 2006 Tax Year

Specific Instructions

This is archived information that pertains only to the 2006 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 the loss from each separate casualty or theft is more than $100 and the total amount of all losses (as so reduced) during the year is more than 10% of adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 38, or Form 1040NR, line 36). However, these limits do not apply to losses that arose in the:

  • Hurricane Katrina disaster area after August 24, 2005,

  • Hurricane Rita disaster area after September 22, 2005, or

  • Hurricane Wilma disaster area after October 22, 2005,

and were caused by that particular hurricane.

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.

Line 2

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.

Line 3

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 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 fair market value 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.

Line 4

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.

Lines 5 and 6

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.

Line 11

If your loss arose in the:

  • Hurricane Katrina disaster area after August 24, 2005,

  • Hurricane Rita disaster area after September 22, 2005, or

  • Hurricane Wilma disaster area after October 22, 2005,

and was caused by that particular hurricane, you do not have to reduce your loss by $100. Enter zero on this line. Qualifying losses include losses from flooding or other casualty, and from theft, that arose in these hurricane disaster areas and were caused by these particular hurricanes.

The Hurricane Katrina disaster area includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Hurricane Rita disaster area includes the states of Louisiana and Texas. The Hurricane Wilma disaster area includes the state of Florida.

Line 15

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. Estates and trusts enter this amount on Schedule D (Form 1041), line 2.

  • 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. Estates and trusts enter this amount on Schedule D (Form 1041), line 7.

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.

Line 19

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 22 through 30, 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 22 through 30.

Use a separate Form 4684, Section B, Part I, 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 22 through 29. 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 Form 4684, line 30, the deductible loss from Form 8829, line 33, and “See Form 8829” above line 30. 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 30 and “See attached statement” above line 30.


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.

Section 179 Property of a Partnership or S corporation

Partnerships (other than electing large partnerships) and S corporations that have a casualty or theft involving property for which the section 179 expense deduction was previously claimed and passed through to the partners or shareholders must not use Form 4684 to report the transaction. Instead, see the Instructions for Form 4797 for details on how to report it. Partners and S corporation shareholders who receive a Schedule K-1 reporting such a transaction should see the Instructions for Form 4797 for details on how to figure the amount to enter on Form 4684, line 20.

Line 23

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.

Line 24

See the instructions for line 3.

Line 25

See the instructions for line 4.

Lines 26 and 27

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.

Line 31

If the amount on line 31 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 32 and 37 according to how long you held each property. Enter on line 32 all gains and losses on property held 1 year or less. Enter on line 37 all gains and losses on property held more than 1 year, except as provided in the instructions for line 36.

Part II, Column (a)

Use a separate line for each casualty or theft.

Part II, Column (b)(i)

Enter the part of line 31 from trade, business, rental, or royalty property (other than property you used in performing services as an employee).

Part II, Column (b)(ii)

Enter the part of line 31 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.

Line 34

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, enter “Form 4684.

Line 35

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 13d. Electing large partnerships, enter on Form 1065-B, Part II, line 11. S corporations, enter on Form 1120S, Schedule K, line 12d. Next to that line, enter “Form 4684.

Line 36

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 37.

Line 41a

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, enter “Form 4684.

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