March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Taxpayers can file for storm loss this year

AUGUSTA — The Internal Revenue Service reminds victims of the ice storm they may be eligible to get an immediate tax refund, due to unreimbursed casualty loss.

Normally, an unreimbursed loss is deducted on the tax return for the year the casualty occurred — or 1998 for ice storm victims. However, when Maine was declared a federal disaster area by President Clinton, the IRS was allowed to offer a special tax rule allowing taxpayers to deduct their loss from their 1997 return.

Taxpayers should attach Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts, to their federal tax return to show how they figured the loss. To expedite the tax return, taxpayers should print at the top of their 1040 form in red ink “MAINE ICE STORM DISASTER LOSS.”

The IRS asks that taxpayers visit an IRS office for assistance and bring with them any available before-and-after photos of property, written estimates of repairs, property appraisals, and any other documentation that helps establish the value of the property and the amount of damage it sustained.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like