# Write off collision repair?



## Null (Oct 6, 2015)

I did an insurance repair with $500 deductible for a vicious attack by a city steel concrete cap VS my rocker panel. My tire kicked it up and it mangled the rocker pretty good.

I know the standard mileage rate includes "repairs" but does it also include these sorts of incidental repairs that are not normal or usual?


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## UTX1 (Dec 7, 2015)

Someone who knows their way around the tax code AND doesn't have a professional license
to defend is hard to find these days. However, if you were to find such a party, he or she
might tell you that, depending on the way you characterize the loss, it could be deemed
a causality loss (form 4684) that falls outside the conventional context of "repairs",
as defined by IRC. Now, downside is this usually goes on a Sch. A, which won't help
a bit, unless you are itemizing deductions for that tax year. This is assuming you're
going to file 1040, but if your business is a corp of any kind, you're not a 1040 anyway.

The property (car) is used in a trade or business. Even though it's you're personal vehicle.
The term "depreciation allowed or allowable" comes to mind and computation of
recapture amounts could become an issue when you dispose of the vehicle.
There are other considerations to be had, both now and later depending on
how and what you report/claim on a tax return in this or any other given tax year.

Soooo, what to do ? Well, no tax professional is going to TELL you to employ a broad use
and interpretation of IRS rules, unless you have good authority for doing so and probably not even then, 
but if you rolled the dice and did such a thing, you might still self justify taking such a deduction..
You're probably on a Schedule C and there are multiple ways to "fit it in somewhere".
It would be wrong to tell you where, because we shouldn't encourage each other to misbehave.

You'd maybe want to have some previously decided cases from tax court, with opinions,
where the amount of tax in controversy was specifically attributable to the issue your
deduction relates to, in order to back up your decision to take a deduction, if it seemed questionable.
This is so that if, at some later date, the validity of said deduction is called into question, you would
at least have a reasonable excuse for why you did so (took the deduction) and not be perceived
as having perpetrated a fraud, to which there is no time limitation for review and exposed to penalty.

Again, this is for what ? a $500 deduction that might change your tax liability, say maybe $200
one way or the other ? A tax professional would have told you less than I just did and charge you $250. 

Read your Publication 17 and save a few bucks, but do the right thing. Before the year is out, for sure
you'll have a number of other deductions that may bring similar questions/concerns. Read. Learn.
GL

(don't cheat) 

**** it, do whatever you can get away with


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## Null (Oct 6, 2015)

Pub 547 seems to spell it out. It's an xchange lease car.

"Leased property. If you are liable for casualty damage to property you lease, your loss is the amount you must pay to repair the propertyminus any insurance or other reimbursement you receive or expect to receive."

Seems that the deduction treatment is exponentially more complex if you actually own the property that had a loss.


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## UTX1 (Dec 7, 2015)

oh, it's a lease ? 'ya that's different. 
disregard all that other dribble I posted....


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