​​On April 5, 2011, President Obama determined that certain counties in Wisconsin qualify as disaster areas due to a severe winter storm and snowstorm during the period of January 31 to February 3, 2011. The following counties are affected: Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Kenosha, Lafayette, Milwaukee, Racine, Walworth, and Washington.

As a result, persons who sustained a casualty loss in 2011 from the disaster can choose to deduct that loss on their original or an amended 2010 federal income tax return or on their 2011 return. For more information on deducting disaster losses, see federal Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts, which is available from the Internal Revenue Service website at: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p547.pdf.

The option to report the casualty loss on the 2010 return also applies for Wisconsin. Although Wisconsin does not allow a deduction for a casualty loss, casualty losses related to a federally-declared disaster and deducted on federal Schedule A as an itemized deduction can be used in the computation of the Wisconsin itemized deduction credit.

June 8, 2011