Homeowners who suffered losses from storms such as Hurricane Irene can potentially claim the losses on federal income tax return.
The general rule is that casualty losses for your home, household items and vehicles are deductible for federal income tax purposes. An individual must file a timely claim with their insurance company, and in essence only the unrecovered loss after insurance proceeds and salvage value is tax deductible. The amount of loss for personal (nonbusiness use) property is the lower of the adjusted basis of the property or the decrease in fair market value of the property