Tax Write Off???

[Lisa4kids]

I had a family I ended up taking to small claims court during the summer. I won the amount that was owed, plus court costs, etc. The day that I was filing for a wage garnishment, the husband and wife's home was busted for meth. Needless to say, I will never see the money as they are in jail, with many charges against them and will probably be in prison. My question is, can I write off this money as a loss on my taxes? Any help would be appreciated!

[daycare]

I had a family I ended up taking to small claims court during the summer. I won the amount that was owed, plus court costs, etc. The day that I was filing for a wage garnishment, the husband and wife's home was busted for meth. Needless to say, I will never see the money as they are in jail, with many charges against them and will probably be in prison. My question is, can I write off this money as a loss on my taxes? Any help would be appreciated!

wow that sounds crazy

I am no expert, hopefully tom will chime in..

from what I know, you are taking a loss by not claiming it.

[TomCopeland]

Loss?

I had a family I ended up taking to small claims court during the summer. I won the amount that was owed, plus court costs, etc. The day that I was filing for a wage garnishment, the husband and wife's home was busted for meth. Needless to say, I will never see the money as they are in jail, with many charges against them and will probably be in prison. My question is, can I write off this money as a loss on my taxes? Any help would be appreciated!

Yikes! Kiss the money goodbye

You can't deduct this as a business loss. Instead, you will report less income on your 2012 tax return because you didn't collect them money. See my article on this:http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2011/...care-bill.html

Join me for a webinar “2012 Tax Changes: How to Avoid Mistakes on Your Tax Return” Tuesday, February 12th at 8:30-10:00pm Eastern Time. The cost is $25 (100% tax deductible!). To register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.co...&llr=yatrx4cab