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Appliances and carpeting are worth much less after 7 years than
after 1 year.
For a few items that had lost value before the earthquake,
petitioner deducted cost rather than the fair market value. She
did not consider depreciation in estimating the precasualty fair
market value of her clothes that were damaged.
Petitioner had some items repaired that had been damaged by
the earthquake, such as the buffet server and the dining room
table and chairs. If a taxpayer has repaired property damaged by
a casualty, the cost of repairs may be a better measure of the
loss than an appraisal. Clapp v. Commissioner, 321 F.2d 12 (9th
Cir. 1963), affg. 36 T.C. 905 (1961); Pfalzgraf v. Commissioner,
67 T.C. at 791; Keith v. Commissioner, 52 T.C. 41, 49 (1969).
Petitioner incorrectly used a diminution in value method rather
than the actual repair cost to measure her loss for these items.
Petitioner claims that things fell on and scratched her
refrigerator and stove. She also claims that heavy things fell
on and bent and scratched her knives and forks. We think
petitioner overestimated the extent of damage to these items.
We are not convinced that the earthquake extensively damaged her
refrigerator, oven, blender, electric iron, kitchen sink, ladder,
utensils, telephone, rack, and all clocks, or that it destroyed
napkins, tablecloths, towels, and a bath mat. We are not
convinced that she lost $520 of canned goods, $4,000 of plumbing
fixtures, 400 pieces of china, and 122 pieces of stemware.
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