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“fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty, or from theft.”
Personal casualty or theft losses are deductible only to the
extent that the loss exceeds personal casualty gains and $100
and, additionally, 10 percent of adjusted gross income. Sec.
165(h)(1) and (2). Casualty losses are deductible in the year
the loss is sustained. Sec. 165(a); sec. 1.165-7(a)(1), Income
Tax Regs. A casualty loss is treated as sustained during the
taxable year in which the loss occurs as evidenced by “closed and
completed transactions and as fixed by identifiable events
occurring in such taxable year.” Sec. 1.165-1(d)(1), Income Tax
Regs.
The term “other casualty” in section 165(c)(3) is not
expressly defined in either the statute or the regulations. This
Court construes the term “other casualty” in section 165(c)(3) by
applying the rule of ejusdem generis. Maher v. Commissioner, 76
T.C. 593, 596 (1981), affd. 680 F.2d 91 (11th Cir. 1982); Dodge
v. Commissioner, 25 T.C. 1022, 1024 (1956). Under this rule of
statutory construction, general words that follow the enumeration
of specific classes are construed as applying to things of the
same general class as those enumerated. Thus, in order for the
loss to be deductible, the taxpayer must prove that the
destructive event or happening was similar in nature to a fire,
storm, or shipwreck. Accordingly, “other casualty” denotes “‘an
undesigned, sudden and unexpected event’”, Durden v.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011