Casualty loss on rental property

[Michael Bertsch]

Several months ago we had a bad storm come through and the roof was damaged on my rental property. The total cost was about $4k to replace. My insurance claim covered part of the cost. I paid $2800 out of pocket. So, can I deduct the whole $2800 this year with a casualty loss? If so, does my basis stay the same or does it need to be reduced a certain amount?

[David Dachtera]

@Michael Bertsch,

Well, if you have time to stay current on your accounting education while doing your deals, good for you. Personally, I'd trust it to a financial professional who knows more about it than I do. My plate is full enough as it is.

I have some associates here in my investing group who went through an audit. Their Tax Accountant / Tax Attorney spent 5 years training IRS agents on how to properly interpret their own tax code.