If I get an insurance payout from a fire do I claim it as income?

If it to pay for things you lost in the fire, no...you are just beinfg restored to the same place. If it is paying you for loss of income or such, that would be. Most importantly, if you already have taken a tax loss (casualty loss) for anything being paid now, that woould then be taxable, because you took the loss - that you actually didn't have, because you now recovered from Insurance. (And of course, in your next return you cannot take a casualty loss for the fire for those items that you got paid for...again no loss....but if you had more loss than recovery...that should qualify for casualty loss).