Need guidance on IRS Form 4684 for hurricane damage - Casualties and Thefts form delay

The confusion here is understandable! Form 4684 (Casualties and Thefts) can span multiple tax years depending on when you recognize the losses and whether you're in a federally declared disaster area. For hurricane damage in 2018, there are a few possible reasons it might still be relevant to your 2024 return. If you had insurance claims that weren't fully settled until recently, or if you discovered additional damage later, you might have some lingering deductions. Also, there are special provisions for federally declared disasters that allow you to spread certain losses across different tax years. The IRS does sometimes delay finalizing certain forms, especially if there are recent tax law changes affecting those areas. For Form 4684, there have been several modifications to disaster tax relief provisions in recent years. As for whether to wait or change your answer - it depends on your specific situation. If you truly did have casualty losses from that 2018 hurricane that are legitimately reportable on your 2024 return, removing them just to file faster could potentially leave money on the table or create inconsistencies if you're ever audited.

After struggling with a similar Form 4684 situation last year, I found a really helpful resource. I was confused about how to handle some property damage from a declared disaster area, and the tax software I was using kept giving me conflicting information. I found this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that saved me hours of frustration. It analyzed my specific scenario with the hurricane damage timing and helped me understand exactly which tax year I should be claiming what losses. The tool actually showed me examples of completed forms and explained why certain losses could be claimed across different tax years. It was super helpful because it showed me that I was technically eligible to amend a previous year's return to claim some additional losses I hadn't originally included. Definitely worth checking out if you're stuck with Form 4684 questions.

Update: I tried the taxr.ai site mentioned above for my Form 4684 question, and it was surprisingly helpful! I uploaded my previous year's return where I'd claimed some disaster losses and explained my current situation with the TurboTax delay message. The tool quickly identified that my specific disaster claim (2019 wildfire) wasn't affected by the current form delays, which apparently only impact certain 2023-2024 disasters. It showed me exactly which sections of Form 4684 I needed to complete and explained why TurboTax was giving me that warning message even though it didn't apply to my situation. I was able to override that warning in TurboTax and file my return without any issues. Definitely saved me from unnecessarily waiting around for form updates that weren't even relevant to my situation!

I dealt with this exact same problem last month! After Hurricane Ian damaged my rental property, I spent HOURS trying to reach someone at the IRS to clarify if I needed to file Form 4684 for this year too, even though the damage was from a previous year. After calling for three days straight and never getting through, I tried https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent explained that if I already claimed all losses related to the hurricane in the year it occurred (or elected to claim them in the prior year, which is an option for federally declared disasters), I didn't need to mark "yes" for the disaster question this year unless I had additional related expenses that carried over. Saved me from waiting weeks for a form I didn't even need!

I need to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment yesterday, I was so desperate about my Form 4684 question that I decided to try it anyway. I got connected to an IRS tax specialist in about 35 minutes (way faster than I expected). The agent actually looked up my specific situation with the disaster claim and confirmed I didn't need to wait for the new form since my case fell under the previous year's guidelines. They even explained that I could file an amended return for the disaster year if I discovered additional losses later, rather than trying to claim them on this year's return. Would have saved me weeks of stress if I'd known this sooner! Just filed my return yesterday instead of waiting for form updates I didn't even need.

Quick info that might help: I'm a volunteer tax preparer, and we've been seeing a lot of confusion about Form 4684 this year. Here's what's happening: The delay specifically affects the 2024 version of Form 4684 which has some new provisions for certain 2023-2024 disasters. If your hurricane damage was from 2018 and you already claimed those losses on your 2018 return (or your 2017 return if you elected for early relief), you generally don't need to include anything about that disaster on your 2024 return. The software is asking everyone the question, but it only really matters if you have NEW casualty losses to report this year OR if you have carry-forward losses from previous disasters that you're still deducting portions of. Try going back in your tax software and changing your answer to "No" for the disaster question. If you don't actually have any 2024 casualty losses to report, this should resolve the filing delay without affecting your return's accuracy.

Has anyone actually looked at the Form 4684 instructions? On page 4 it talks about losses in federally declared disaster areas and says there are special rules for them. Maybe thats why turbotax is asking about disasters from previous years?? idk the whole thing is confusing af

Based on what you've described, it sounds like you can safely change your answer to "No" for the disaster question. Since you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and have no new disaster-related expenses for 2024, there's no reason to involve Form 4684 on this year's return. The software is being overly cautious by asking about disasters from previous years, but that question is really meant to catch people who have ongoing casualty losses or carry-forward situations. If everything was settled in 2018, you're done with that disaster for tax purposes. I'd recommend going back in TurboTax, changing your answer to "No" on the disaster question, and filing your return. You won't be missing any deductions since you already took them in the correct year, and you'll avoid the unnecessary delay waiting for form updates that don't even apply to your situation.

I had a very similar issue with my 2024 return! TurboTax kept blocking me from filing because of the Form 4684 delay, even though my hurricane damage was from 2017. I spent way too much time researching this before realizing the software was just being overly broad with its questions. The key thing to understand is that the current Form 4684 delays only affect specific disaster provisions that were updated for recent disasters (mainly 2023-2024). If you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and have no new casualty losses for 2024, you can safely answer "No" to the disaster question. I changed my answer and filed without any problems. The IRS isn't going to flag you for not reporting a disaster that was already fully handled on a previous year's return. Sometimes tax software errs on the side of asking too many questions rather than missing something, but in this case it's just creating unnecessary confusion for people whose disasters were properly reported years ago.

I went through this exact same frustration last year! The Form 4684 delay message in TurboTax can be really misleading when it applies to older disasters that were already properly reported. From what you've described, since you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and there are no ongoing insurance settlements or newly discovered damage, you should be able to change your answer to "No" on the disaster question without any issues. The current Form 4684 delays are specifically related to updates for certain 2023-2024 disasters, not older ones like Hurricane Florence from 2018. Tax software sometimes casts a wide net with these screening questions, but if your disaster was fully resolved years ago, there's no need to involve Form 4684 on your current return. I'd recommend going back in TurboTax, changing that disaster answer to "No," and filing your return. You won't miss any deductions since you already took them in the correct year, and you'll avoid unnecessary delays waiting for form updates that don't even apply to your situation.