IRS Revenue Ruling
2000-15

 Code Sec. 165

<<FULL TEXT>>

26 CFR 1.165-11: Election in respect of losses attributable to a disaster.

Election in respect of losses attributable to a disaster. This ruling
lists the areas declared by the President to qualify as major disaster or
emergency areas during 1999 under the Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act.


REV. RUL. 2000-15

Under section 165(i) of the Internal Revenue Code, if a taxpayer
suffers a loss attributable to a disaster occurring in an area
subsequently determined by the President of the United States to warrant
assistance by the Federal Government under the Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. sections 5121-5204c (1988 & Supp. V
1993) (the Act), the taxpayer may elect to claim a deduction for that loss
on the taxpayer's federal income tax return for the taxable year
immediately preceding the taxable year in which the disaster occurred. For
purposes of section 165(i), a disaster includes an event declared a major
disaster or an emergency under the Act.

Section 1.165-11(e) of the Income Tax Regulations provides that the
election to deduct a disaster loss for the preceding year must be made by
filing a return, an amended return, or a claim for refund on or before the
later of (1) the due date of the taxpayer's income tax return (determined
without regard to any extension of time to file the return) for the
taxable year in which the disaster actually occurred, or (2) the due date
of the taxpayer's income tax return (determined with regard to any
extension of time to file the return) for the taxable year immediately
preceding the taxable year in which the disaster actually occurred.

The provisions of section 165(i) apply only to losses that are
otherwise deductible under section 165(a). An individual taxpayer may
deduct losses if they are incurred in a trade or business, if they are
incurred in a transaction entered into for profit, or if they are casualty
losses under section 165(c)(3).

The President has determined that during 1999 the areas listed below
have been adversely affected by disasters of sufficient severity and
magnitude to warrant assistance by the Federal Government under the Act.


DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue ruling is Timothy Sheppard of the
Office of Assistant Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting). For further
information regarding this revenue ruling, contact Robert M. Casey on
(202) 622-4960 (not a toll-free call).

Date
Disaster Areas in 1999 Type of Disaster of Disaster
---------------------- ---------------- -----------
ARIZONA
County of Maricopa Severe storms, flooding, September 14-23
and high winds
ARKANSAS
Counties of Bradley, Chicot, Severe storms, tornadoes, January 21-31
Clay, Columbia, Drew, and high winds
Faulkner, Grant, Greene,
Hempstead, Independence,
Jackson, Jefferson,
Lafayette, Lonoke, Miller,
Monroe, Poinsett, Pulaski,
Randolph, St. Francis,
Saline, and White; and
City of Beebe in White
County

CALIFORNIA
Counties of Butte, Humboldt, Severe fires August 24-
Napa, Plumas, San November 29
Bernardino, Shasta,
Tehama, Trinity, Tuolome,
and Yuba

COLORADO
Counties of Bent, Crowley, Severe storms, April 29-May 19
Custer, Elbert, El Paso, flooding, landslides,
Fremont, Kiowa, Latimer, and mudslides
Las Animas, Otero, Pueblo,
and Weld

CONNECTICUT
Counties of Fairfield, High winds, September 16-21
Litchfield, and Hartford heavy rain and flooding
associated with
Tropical Storm Floyd

DELAWARE
County of New Castle Hurricane Floyd September 15-17

FLORIDA
Counties of Alachua, Baker, Fire hazards April 15-May 25
Bay, Bradford, Brevard,
Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte,
Clay, Collier, Columbia,
Dade, De Soto, Duval,
Franklin, Gadsden,
Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf,
Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry,
Highlands, Hillsbrough,
Holms, Indian River,
Jackson, Jefferson, Lee,
Leon, Levy, Liberty,
Manatee, Marion, Martin,
Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee
Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach
Pinellas, Polk, Putnam,
Sarasota, Seminole, St.
Lucie, Swannee, Union,
Wakulla, Walton, and
Washington

Counties of Brevard, Duval, Hurricane Floyd September 13-25
Flagler, Glades, Highlands,
Indian River, Martin,
Nassau, Palm Beach, St.
Johns, St. Lucie, and
Volusia.

Counties of Broward and Dade Hurricane Floyd September 14-16

Counties of Brevard, Hurricane Irene October 14-24
Broward, Collier, Dade,
Flagler, Glades, Hendry,
Highlands, Indian River,
Martin, Monroe, Okeechobee,
Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach,
Polk, St. Lucie, Seminole,
and Volusia

Counties of Charlotte, De Hurricane Irene October 14-24
Soto, Hardee, Hillsborough,
Lake, Lee, Manatee, Pasco,
Pinellas, and Sarasota

GEORGIA
Counties of Candler and Severe storms and April 15
Dooly tornadoes

Counties of Bryan, Camden, Hurricane Floyd September 14-17
Chatham, Glynn, Liberty,
and McIntosh

ILLINOIS
Counties of Adams, Brown, Record/near January 1-15
Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, record snow
Champaign, Christian, Cook,
DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage,
Ford, Fulton, Greene,
Grundy, Hancock, Henderson,
Henry, Iroquois, Kane,
Kankakee, Kendall, Knox,
Lake, La Salle, Livingston,
Logan, Macon, Marshall,
Mason, McDonough, McHenry,
McLean, Mercer, Menard,
Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria,
Piatt, Pike, Putnam,
Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott,
Shelby, Stark, Tazewell,
Vermillion, Warren, Will,
and Woodford

County of Jo Daviess Severe storms and May 16-17
flash flooding

INDIANA
Counties of Adams, Allen, Record/near record January 1-15
Benton, Blackford, Boone, snow
Carroll, Cass, Clay,
Clinton, DeKalb, Delaware,
Elkhart, Fayette, Fountain,
Fulton, Grant, Hamilton,
Hancock, Hendricks, Henry,
Howard, Huntington, Jasper,
Jay, Johnson, Kosciusko,
Lake, Lagrange, LaPorte,
Madison, Marion, Marshall,
Miami, Montgomery, Morgan,
Newton, Noble, Parke,
Porter, Pulaski, Putnam,
Randolph, Rush, St. Joseph,
Shelby, Starke, Steuben,
Tipton, Tippecanoe,
Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash,
Warren, Wayne, Wells,
White, and Whitley

IOWA
Counties of Black Hawk, Severe storms, May 16-29
Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, flooding and tornadoes
Chickasaw, Clayton, Clinton,
Crawford, Delaware, Dubuque,
Fayette, Harrison, Jones,
Linn, Montgomery, and Scott

Counties of Black Hawk, Severe storms and July 2-August
Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, flooding 10
Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw,
Clayton, Crawford, Fayette,
Floyd, Harrison, Howard,
Jones, Linn, Mills,
Mitchell, Montgomery,
Pottawattamie, Story,
Woodbury, and Worth

KANSAS
Counties of Reno, Sedgwick, Severe storms and May 3-6
Sumner tornadoes

LOUISIANA
Parishes of Bossier, Caddo, Severe storms, tornadoes, April 3-7
Claiborne, De Soto, and and flooding
Webster

MAINE
Counties of Androscoggin, Hurricane Floyd September 16-19
Cumberland, Kennebec,
Oxford, and Somerset

MARYLAND
Counties of Anne Arundel, Hurricane Floyd September 16-20
Calvert, Caroline, Cecil,
Charles, Harford, Kent,
Queen Anne's, Somerset, St.
Mary's, and Talbot

MASSACHUSETTS
County of Worcester Fire December 3-13

MICHIGAN
Counties of Alcona, Allegan, Near record snow January 2-15
Arenac, Barry, Berrien,
Cass, Crawford, Ionia,
Iosco, Jackson, Kalamazoo,
Kent, Lawrence, Lenawee,
Macomb, Marquette, Mecosta,
Monroe, Montmorency,
Muskegeon, Newaygo, Oakland,
Oceana, Ogemaw, Osceola,
Oscoda, Otsego, Ottawa, St.
Joseph, Van Buren,
Washtenaw, and Wayne

MINNESOTA
Counties of Kittston, Severe ice storms, March 1-May 30
Marshall, Pennington, Polk, flooding and
Red Lake, and Roseau heavy rains

Counties of Aitkin, Severe storms, winds, July 4-August 2
Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Cook, and flooding
Hubbard, Itasca, Lake, and
St. Louis

MISSOURI
Counties of Andrew, Cole, Severe storms and April 3-14
Iron, Macon, Madison, and flooding
Osage

NEBRASKA
Counties of Burt, Douglas, Severe storms and August 6-9
and Washington flooding

NEVADA
County of Clark Severe storms and July 8-16
flash flooding

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Counties of Belknap, Tropical Storm Floyd September 16-18
Cheshire, and Grafton

NEW JERSEY
Counties of Atlantic, Hurricane Floyd September 16-18
Bergen, Burlington, Camden,
Cape May, Cumberland, Essex,
Glouscester, Hudson,
Hunterdon, Mercer,
Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris,
Ocean, Passaic, Salem,
Somerset, Sussex, Union,
and Warren

NEW MEXICO
Counties of Dona Ana, Luna, Severe storms and July 16-August
Mora, Rio Arriba, San Juan, flooding 7
Sandoval, and Sierra; and
the Mescalero Apache
Reservation

NEW YORK
Counties of Cattaraugus, Near record snow January 1-15
Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee,
Jefferson, Lewis, Niagara,
Orleans, St. Lawrence, and
Wyoming

Counties of Livingston, Near record snow March 3-6
Monroe, Ontario, Orleans,
Wayne, and Wyoming

Counties of Albany, Hurricane Floyd September 16-18
Dutchess, Essex, Greene,
Nassau, Orange, Putnam,
Rensselaer, Rockland,
Schenectady, Schoharie,
Suffolk, Ulster, Warren,
and Westchester

NORTH CAROLINA
Counties of Beaufort, Hurricane Dennis August 29-
Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, September 11
Currituck, Dare, Hyde, New
Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico,
and Pender

Counties of Alamance, Anson, Hurricane Floyd September 15-
Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, November 2
Brunswick, Camden, Carteret,
Caswell, Chatham, Chowan,
Columbus, Craven,
Cumberland, Currituck, Dare,
Davidson, Duplin, Durham,
Edgecombe, Forsyth,
Franklin, Gates, Granville,
Greene, Guilford, Halifax,
Harnett, Hertford, Hoke,
Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee,
Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery,
Moore, Nash, New Hanover,
Northampton, Onslow, Orange,
Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender,
Perquimans, Person, Pitt,
Randolph, Richmond, Robeson,
Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson,
Scotland, Stanly, Stokes,
Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake,
Warren, Washington, Wayne,
and Wilson

NORTH DAKOTA
Counties of Barnes, Benson, Severe storms, March 1-July 19
Bottineau, Burke, Burleigh, flooding, snow and ice,
Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, ground saturation,
Divide, Eddy, Emmons, landslides, mudslides,
Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, and tornadoes
Kidder, LaMoure, Logan,
McHenry, McIntosh, McLean,
Mercer, Morton, Mountrail,
Nelson, Pembina, Pierce,
Ramsey, Ransom, Renville,
Richland, Rolette, Sargent,
Sheridan, Sioux, Steele,
Stutsman, Towner, Traill,
Walsh, Ward, Wells, and
Williams; and the Indian
Reservations of the Spirit
Lake Sioux Tribe, Standing
Rock Soiux (that portion of
the reservation that lies
within the State of North
Dakota), Three Affiliated
Tribes, and Turtle Mountain
Band of Chippewa

OKLAHOMA
Counties of Caddo, Canadian, Tornadoes and severe May 3-5
Cleveland, Craig, Creek, storms
Grady, Kingfisher, Latimer,
Le Flore, Lincoln, Logan,
McClain, Noble, Oklahoma,
Okmulgee, Ottawa, Payne
Pottawatomie, and Tulsa

PENNSYLVANIA
Counties of Juniata and Severe storms August 20-21
McKean and flooding

Counties of Dauphin, Severe flash flooding September 6-7
Lycoming, Northumberland, associated with
Snyder, and Union Tropical Depression
Dennis

Counties of Berks, Bucks, Hurricane Floyd September 16-29
Chester, Delaware,
Lancaster, Montgomery,
Philadelphia, and York

PUERTO RICO
All 78 municipalities Hurrican Lenny November 17-20

SOUTH CAROLINA
Counties Allendale, Bamberg, Hurricane Floyd September 14-30
Barnwell, Beaufort,
Berkeley, Calhoun,
Charleston, Chesterfield,
Clarendon, Colleton,
Darlington, Dillon,
Dorchester, Florence,
Georgetown, Hampton, Horry,
Jasper, Kershaw, Lee,
Lexington, Marion, Marlboro,
Orangeburg, Richland,
Sumter, and Williamsburg

SOUTH DAKOTA
County of Shannon and the Severe storms, June 4-18
Pine Ridge Indian tornadoes, and
Reservation flooding

TENNESSEE
Counties of Benton, Carroll, Severe storms, January 17-
Crockett, Decatur, Dickson, tornadoes, and February 1
Fayette, Franklin, Giles, high winds
Hardeman, Haywood,
Henderson, Houston,
Humphreys, Jackson,
Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis,
Madison, Maury, Montgomery,
Perry, Stewart, Warren, and
Wayne

Counties of Cheatham, Severe storms, May 5-19
Chester, Davidson, Decatur, tornadoes, and
Dickson, Hardernan, Hardin, flooding
Henderson, Hickman, Houston,
Humphreys, Lawrence,
McNairy, Perry, Stewart,
Sumner, White, and
Williamson

TEXAS
Counties of Bowie, Gregg, Severe storms May 4
Red River, and Titus and tornadoes

Counties of Anderson, Extreme fire August 1-
Andrews, Angelina, Archer, hazards December 10
Armstrong, Austin, Bailey,
Bandera, Bastrop, Baylor,
Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden,
Bosque, Bowie, Brazoria,
Brazos, Brewster, Briscoe,
Brown, Burleson, Burnet,
Caldwell, Calhoun, Callahan,
Camp, Carson, Cass, Castro,
Chambers, Cherokee,
Childress, Clay, Cochran,
Coke, Coleman, Collin,
Collingsworth, Colorado,
Comal, Comanche, Concho,
Cooke, Coryell, Cottle,
Crane, Crockett, Crosby,
Culberson, Dallam, Dallas,
Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta,
Denton, DeWitt, Dickens,
Donley, Eastland, Ector,
Edwards, El Paso, Ellis,
Erath, Falls, Fannin,
Fayette, Fisher, Floyd,
Foard, Fort Bend, Franklin,
Freestone, Gaines,
Galveston, Garza, Gillespie,
Glasscock, Gonzales, Gray,
Grayson, Gregg, Grimes,
Guadalupe, Hale, Hall,
Hamilton, Hansford,
Hardeman, Hardin, Harris,
Harrison, Hartley, Haskell,
Hays, Hemphill, Henderson,
Hill, Hockley, Hood,
Hopkins, Houston, Howard,
Hudspeth, Hunt, Hutchinson,
Irion, Jack, Jackson,
Jasper, Jeff Davis,
Jefferson, Johnson, Jones,
Kaufman, Kendall, Kent,
Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney,
Knox, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas,
Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty,
Limestone, Lipscomb, Llano,
Loving, Lubbock, Lynn,
Madison, Marion, Martin,
Mason, Matagorda, McCulloch,
McLennan, Medina, Menard,
Midland, Milam, Mills,
Mitchell, Montague,
Montgomery, Moore, Morris,
Motley, Nacogdoches,
Navarro, Newton, Nolan,
Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange,
Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker,
Parmer, Pecos, Polk, Potter,
Presidio, Rains, Randall,
Reagan, Real, Red River,
Reeves, Roberts, Robertson,
Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk,
Sabine, San Augustine, San
Jacinto, San Saba,
Schleicher, Scurry,
Shackelford, Shelby,
Sherman, Smith, Somerveil,
Stephens, Sterling,
Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher,
Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell,
Terry, Throckmorton, Titus,
Tom Green, Travis, Trinity,
Tyler, Upshur, Upton,
Uvalde, Val Verde, Van
Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
Waller, Ward, Washington,
Wharton, Wheeler, Wichita,
Wilbarger, Williamson,
Wilson, Winkler, Wise, Wood,
Yoakum, and Young

Counties of Aransas, Brooks, Severe storms August 21-26
Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, and flooding caused
Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, by Hurricane Bret
Kleberg, Nueces, San
Patricio, Webb, and Willacy

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
The U.S. Virgin Islands Hurricane Lenny November 16-20

UTAH
County of Salt Lake Tornado, severe August 11
thunderstorms,
and hail

VERMONT
Counties of Bennington, Severe storms September 16-21
Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, and flooding
Orange, Orleans, Rutland, associated with
Washington, Windham, and Hurricane Floyd
Windsor

VIRGINIA
City of Hampton Tropical Storm August 27-
Dennis September 13

Counties of Accomack, Hurricane Floyd September 13-26
Brunswick, Caroline,
Charles City, Chesterfield,
Dinwiddie, Essex, Fairfax,
Gloucester, Greenville,
Halifax, Hanover, Henrico,
Isle of Wight, James City,
King and Queen, King George,
King William, Lancaster,
Lunenberg, Mathews,
Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New
Kent, Northampton,
Northumberland, Prince
George, Richmond,
Southampton, Surry, Sussex,
Westmoreland, and York, and
Cities of Chesapeake City,
Colonial Heights, Emporia,
Franklin, Hampton, Hopewell,
Newport News, Norfolk,
Petersburg, Poquoson,
Portsmouth, Richmond,
Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and
Williamsburg

WISCONSIN
Counties of Ashland, Severe storms, straight- July 4-31
Bayfield, Douglas, Florence, line winds, and flooding
Iron, Oneida, Price, Rusk,
Sawyer, and Vilas

<<END RULING>>
 

TO CONTACT
DON FITCH CPA

Phone Don Fitch CPA Toll Free at (877)CPA-Help or (877)272-4357 or on our Direct Line at (760)674-1722.