Your Money : SPOTLIGHT ON TAXES : FACTS ABOUT CASUALTY LOSSES

THE RULES: You get a tax deduction for unreimbursed losses from sudden, unusual and unexpected events, such as fires, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes.

THE LIMITATIONS: The deductible portion of the loss is the amount that exceeds 10% of your adjusted gross income plus $100 per casualty. In other words, if you earn $50,000, you must subtract $5,100 from your unreimbursed loss. You can deduct the result.

THE TRICKS: To determine your total loss you must either get appraisals of the property’s value, or you must establish the cost of repairing the damage. If the decline in value or the cost of repair exceeds the amount you paid for the property, you can deduct the lesser of the two.

THE CAVEATS: Casualty losses are widely believed to be audit triggers, singling out your return for special scrutiny by the IRS. This shouldn’t discourage you from claiming a legitimate loss. But you should be sure to maintain particularly clear and detailed tax records in any year that you claim a casualty loss.