[gruez]

>insurance money

That's fraud because the insurance policy specifically says it won't pay out if you intentionally set it on fire. If you actually did set it on fire, then claimed that you didn't then that's the deception.

>No, you are not entitled to claim it as a write-off.

Can you point to the relevant tax law that prevents this?

[bhpm]

“ Nondeductible losses. A casualty loss isn’t deductible, even to the extent the loss doesn’t exceed your personal casualty gains, if the damage or destruction is caused by the following. Accidentally breaking articles such as glassware or china under normal conditions. A family pet (explained below).

A fire if you willfully set it, or pay someone else to set it.

A car accident if your willful negligence or willful act caused it. The same is true if the willful act or willful negligence of someone acting for you caused the accident. Progressive deterioration (explained below). However, see Special Procedure for Damage From Corrosive Drywall, later.”

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p547#en_US_2023_publink1000...

[gruez]

The linked document looks like it's for personal taxes, not corporate taxes. Business taxes is different from personal taxes in many ways, including how deductions are handled. For instance if you buy office 365 personally that can't be deducted, but if you bought it as a business it can.

[lisper]

Sure. Qualified business expenses are deductible. Personal expenses are not deductible, and neither are losses suffered because you willfully destroyed your own property. That is true for businesses as well as individuals.

[gruez]

Right, and the studio is deducting all the resources it spent making the movie. If you decide to invest in a bunch of money into developing a product, and then not commercialize it, all the r&d money that went into it is still deductible. It gets tricky when amortization and accruals are involved, but in the end it's approximately the same principle.

[lisper]

> It gets tricky when amortization and accruals are involved

That's right. But when all the dust settles, writing off an asset that had market value when you intentionally destroyed it will not pass an audit.

[lisper]

There is no law that specifically prevents it, just as there is no law the specifically prevents you from deducting, say, money that you pay to buy groceries. What there is is a very long list of things you can deduct, and grocery money, and losses that you suffer from willful destruction of your own property, are not on that list.

[gruez]

> What there is is a very long list of things you can deduct, and grocery money, and losses that you suffer from willful destruction of your own property, are not on that list.

Actually if you read the sibling comment[1], such list of "things you can't deduct" does exist, albeit it's seemingly for personal taxes.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39339672

[lisper]

That list is advisory. It is not part of the law. I can't point you to a law that says, "You cannot deduct destroyed movies" just as I cannot point you to a law that says, "You cannot deduct grocery expenses."