Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: Publication 547 is the IRS guide to casualty, disaster and theft losses, and the web edition is for 2025 returns. For personal-use property it says each loss is reduced by $100, and a loss from a federally declared disaster is also reduced by 10% of adjusted gross income. Losses are generally reported on Form 4684.
Quick reference
| Item | As the IRS publication states it |
|---|---|
| Reduction for each personal casualty or theft loss (Deduction Limits, $100 Rule) | $100 |
| Reduction of total federal casualty losses (Deduction Limits, 10% Rule) | 10% of your AGI |
| Reduction for qualified disaster losses (Deduction Limits) | $500 |
| Replacement period generally ends after the close of the first tax year of gain (Replacement Period) | 2 years |
| Same period for a main home in a federally declared disaster area (Replacement Period) | 4 years |
| Main home destroyed, gain you may exclude (Figuring a Gain) | $250,000 ($500,000 if married filing jointly) |
What the publication covers
The introduction says “A casualty occurs when your property is damaged as a result of a disaster such as a storm, fire, car accident, or similar event.” It adds “A theft occurs when someone steals your property.” The IRS page cover line reads “For use in preparing 2025 Returns”.
On forms, the introduction says “Generally, when you have a casualty or theft, you have to file Form 4684.”
Parts of the publication in plain words
- Casualty and theft: definitions, deductible and nondeductible losses, progressive deterioration, and Ponzi-type investment schemes and financial scams.
- Proof of loss, and Figuring a Loss, including the decrease in fair market value, adjusted basis, and the safe harbor methods.
- Insurance and Other Reimbursements, including a reimbursement received after deducting a loss.
- Deduction Limits: the $100 rule and the 10% rule, then Figuring the Deduction and Figuring a Gain.
- Postponement of Gain, Replacement Property and the Replacement Period.
- When To Report Gains and Losses, Disaster Area Losses, other disaster issues, and Postponed Tax Deadlines.
Tables and workbooks
- Table 2, Deduction Limit Rules for Personal-Use Property
- Table 3, When To Deduct a Casualty or Theft Loss
The publication points to two workbooks: “Pub. 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook (Personal-Use Property), is available to help you make a list of your stolen or damaged personal-use property and figure your loss.”
On this site, see Form 4684 and casualty losses after the 2017 law change.
The figures that matter
On the limit for personal losses, the publication says “For tax years beginning after 2017, personal casualty and theft losses of an individual are deductible only to the extent they’re attributable to a federally declared disaster.” It then gives one exception: “An exception to the rule above limiting the personal casualty and theft loss deduction to losses attributable to a federally declared disaster applies if you have personal casualty gains for the tax year.” In that case, “you may deduct personal casualty losses that aren’t attributable to a federally declared disaster to the extent they don’t exceed your personal casualty gains.”
On the first reduction, it says “After you have figured your casualty or theft loss on personal-use property, as discussed earlier, you must reduce that loss by $100.”
On the second, it says “You must reduce your total federal casualty losses by 10% of your AGI.”
For qualified disaster losses, the source says “Qualified disaster losses must be reduced by $500.” It adds “The 10% rule doesn’t apply to qualified disaster losses.”
On postponing a gain, the replacement period rule reads “The replacement period generally ends 2 years after the close of the first tax year in which any part of your gain is realized.”
For a main home in a disaster area, the source says “the replacement period generally ends 4 years after the close of the first tax year in which any part of your gain is realized.”
On the election to use a disaster loss in the prior year, the publication says “You must make the election to take your casualty loss for the disaster in the preceding year 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.”
The What’s New section says “Additionally, the automatic 60-day extension for certain federal tax deadlines is increased to 120 days for both federally declared disasters and qualified state-declared disasters after July 24, 2025.”
Where it points elsewhere
For condemned property, the introduction says “For information on condemnations of property, see Involuntary Conversions in chapter 1 of Pub. 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets.” For reporting on a return, see Schedule A line 15 and Form 1040-X for an amended return.
Where this comes from
The IRS page About Publication 547 opens with “This publication explains the tax treatment of casualties, thefts, and losses on deposits.” It links the PDF and eBook editions and the earlier revisions of the publication.
This page describes the web edition of Publication 547 (2025), Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts, as served on irs.gov on October 21, 2026. The IRS can revise a publication after we read it, and the IRS page controls. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every personal loss is deductible. The publication limits personal losses to those attributable to a federally declared disaster for tax years beginning after 2017, with one exception: a loss not attributable to a federally declared disaster can still be deducted up to the amount of your personal casualty gains for the year.
- Applying the 10% rule to a qualified disaster loss. The publication says “The 10% rule doesn’t apply to qualified disaster losses.”
- Deducting in the wrong year. Table 3 gives “year the loss occurred.” for a casualty and, for a federally declared disaster area, “disaster year or the year immediately before the disaster year.”
- Looking here for condemnations. The introduction sends readers to Publication 544 for those.
Related: IRS publications by number, Form 4684, Casualty losses after the 2017 law change, Schedule A line 15, casualty and theft losses, Form 4684 Section A, personal-use property, Form 4684 Section B, business property, and Form 1040-X.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about disaster loss taxes
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with casualty loss deductions
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- IRS, Publication 547 (2025), Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p547
- IRS, About Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-547
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 21, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS publication and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.