Can I deduct unpaid rent/eviction fees on my taxes as a loss?

[CJ Witmer]

I did some searching and didn't find much so I wanted to pose the question here.  As the subject states, we bought a duplex and after it was all said and done, we had roughly $4,000 in unpaid rent and eviction fees that we were not paid.  I had reached out to my CPA and she said that, from her research, because it wasn't money we "paid", it was money we "didn't receive", that we can not count those losses on our taxes.

Does this sound right?  i specifically chose the CPA we use because our lawyer, who does rental properties recommended them, but I also feel like we're given the "newbie" CPAs because we're a very small business.  In the last two years, I've been handed back and forth to three different people and that is another issue I'm not excited about, but perhaps a different thread.  However, my main question is about her answer regarding our inability to NOT claim those losses.

Looking for feedback.  This is Pennsylvania.

Thanks,

[Stanley Bronstein]

@John Underwood is correct.  If you are a cash basis taxpayer (which most people are), you don't deduct money not received as a loss.  The fact you didn't receive it simply means you didn't have to take money as income.