Basis in Personal Property Casualty Loss

[TXEA]

Facts:

Taxpayers home destroyed by fire

Insurance proceeds great than adjusted basis of the home - gain.

Spent well more than insurance proceeds to replace home - no gain recognized.

Received $100,000 insurance proceeds for personal property.

Has anyone ever come up with a good way to determine basis of all the personal property in the taxpayer's home? I have dealt with personal property before, but not the whole house. Further, like kind rules for personal property seem to imply that personal property must be scheduled which makes sense for a few items, but the whole house?

[TXEA]

Ok, just curious - has anyone ever scheduled an entire house of personal property destroyed on Form 4684 and how did the taxpayer determine the basis?

Guess, estimate, at least insurance value?

Did you file a Disclosure Form, if so?

[taxea]

did he have replacement insurance? When they rebuilt did they make improvements? Could that be where the additional cost came in?
Cost of improvement over replacing like items would not be part of any loss.

[TXEA]

Thanks for responding.....The taxpayer did not incur loss since the insurance proceeds on the house exceeded the adjusted basis in the home. So, there is a gain. The taxpayer fully expended the insurance proceeds plus some. Thus no taxable gain. And, no casualty loss.

I am just in a quagmire over what to do about the personal property insurance proceeds of $100,000. Should I have the clients fill out the workbook (Publication 584) to document the cost basis in each item as required? And, really who has cost basis on the entire house.

I have had casualty loss on a few items with the return, but never an entire house. So, before I give them this exercise to do, I want to make certain no one has a different idea.