Question

Can $7500 loaned in a real estate purchase and never repaid be claimed as a ponzi loss or any other kind of loss? And how do I go about doing this in Turbo Tax?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 5, 2019
1 reply
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Money was considered a loan to be repaid 2 months after loan was given. Any attempts to obtain repayment have been unsuccessful. A Civil Complaint has been filed against the persons involved and a hearing is scheduled for April 2019. Judgement should be in my favor as the contract was not fulfilled and defendants have no defense for not fulfilling the contract. The money was loaned in good faith and I was taken for a ride.

TurboTax Home & Biz Windows

A

Anita01

Employee

You an claim an unpaid loan as a short[-term loss. You should have a loan document signed by both parties, specifying repayment terms and interest. It's best if the loan document is recorded. and you documented attempts to obtain the repayment, in order to convince the IRS that it was a real loan and not a gift.

Enter it under Federal Taxes, Wages and Income, Investment Income, stocks and bonds. For type of investment, choose nonbusiness bad debt. You re essentially declaring the debt uncollectible, same as selling ii for nothing.

Hal_Al

Employee

What you describe would most likely be considered a bad debt, rather that a casualty loss from fraud.
Tax wise, that's a good thing, as causality losses (other than in federal disaster areas) are no longer deductible, starting in 2018.