A recent Tax Court case dealt with a familiar topic: Theft losses. I.R.C. section 165 has historically allowed taxpayers to deduct three types of losses: those incurred in a trade or business, those incurred in a transaction entered into for profit, or losses arising from other causes, such as theft. (Note, however, that due to certain changes pursuant to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017, individuals may be prevented from taking certain theft losses.)
A theft for these purposes is defined broadly, and encompasses various criminal conduct, including larceny, embezzlement, and robbery. Treas Regs. Sec. 1.165-8 (d). A taxpayer must prove that the theft occurred under the law of the jurisdiction where the alleged loss occurred, See Monteleone v. Commissioner, 34 T.C. 688 , 692 (1960), the amount of loss, and the date that the loss was discovered. Taxpayers who can establish these element may be entitled to deduct a theft loss. (Again, the TCJA may limit a taxpayer’s ability to deduct a theft loss.
Below is a summary of the Tax Court’s recent decision:
Recent Comments