If I lost money due to a phone scam and filed a police report, can I deduct that?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 6, 2019
4 replies
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I was scammed by a person pretending to be a company I do business with. I filed a police report. Is this deductible?

TurboTax Deluxe Windows

Best answer by AmandaR1

Yes, that will qualify for an loss event under the itemized deductions. To enter, you can search "theft" in the top right search box and then select the first resulting link, Jump to theft in the results.

The software will ask you all applicable questions to assure you qualify. Also, this may or may not impact your return because this deduction is limited and only deducted as an itemized deduction.

Be sure to enter all deductions before evaluating if you qualify to itemize or not.

AmandaR1Answer

Employee

The software will ask you all applicable questions to assure you qualify. Also, this may or may not impact your return because this deduction is limited and only deducted as an itemized deduction.

Be sure to enter all deductions before evaluating if you qualify to itemize or not.

miral2

I was scammed for a huge amount of money, devastated I started to search for help. Someone refered an expert and private investigator, Optimus. I emailed him and as soon as I explained what had occurred he told me immediately that it was all a scam. He gathered my case together and within a few days we got a result and I got all of my money back! Optimus was amazing, professional and efficient, he guided me through the whole experience. I cannot thank him enough - I can now live again! His mail info is
[email address removed, possible spam--see terms of use]

songrichmond

I would very much appreciate if you would let me know the person's name at Optimus. I am a victim of a phone scam and lost a huge amount of money. Perhaps, I could receive some advice as to how to claim the loss on my income tax. The way it is, I have to pay a huge amount of income tax for not having withheld enough income tax for the money I lost that was drawn from my IRA account.

stoney091998

to you have to pay taxes on a gift to a friend or family member?

xmasbaby0

Employee

@stoney091998 Why did you post this completely unrelated question in this old thread?
But here is the answer:
Money that you receive as a gift is not taxable income to you, and you do not need to report it on your income tax return. Money that you gave as a gift to someone else is not deductible for your taxes.

Turbo Tax does not support the gift tax form 709, but here is a link:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f709.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f709.pdf</a>

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/estates/the-gift-tax-made-simple/L5tGWVC8N">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/estates/the-gift-tax-made-simple/L5tGWVC8N</a>

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2017/10/19/irs-announces-2018-estate-and-gift-tax-limits-11-2-million-per-couple/#3226e75d4a4b">https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2017/10/19/irs-announces-2018-estate-and-gift-tax-limits-11-2-million-per-couple/#3226e75d4a4b</a>

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Brian_08

That’s fu#king bullsh#t! The government has MORE than enough money to give to VICTIMS of scams! Besides it’s not even my fault. It’s the scammers fault! So this just sends me the message that our government doesn’t give a flying fu#k about VICTIMS in this country! And they don’t PUNISH criminals! I should be compensated for my losses!

Mike9241

the tax law change affecting you was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.

when I'm unhappy about tax law changes that affect me, I vote for the other party but that's after taking all the changes into a/c

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act_of_2017

xmasbaby0

Employee

@Brian_08 The tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond eliminated the deduction for theft and casualty losses. Even previous to the tax law change, the government did not just "compensate" you for a loss. You would only have been able to deduct part of your loss IF you had enough other itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction----and many people do not have enough itemized deductions to have any effect.

Seek compensation in civil court by filing a lawsuit against the scammer or thief who got your money.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4482873-which-federal-tax-deductions-have-been-suspended-by-tax-reform