What do I do with charitable donations and medical expenses if I know they are going to be less than the standard deduction this year?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
January 21, 2020
1 reply
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We have quite a number of charitable donations about which we're being asked "do these still apply?" Many of them do, but because of the doubling of the standard deduction (in 2018?) and the fact that a significant amount of our medical spending was through our HSA this year, which it hadn't been previously, I don't think we'll have enough of those + medical expenses to itemize. Am I supposed to mark them all as "no," even though in another year or two I might need them again and would like them all to stay with our information? I really, really don't want to take the time to add them all up, especially because I wasn't as meticulous as usual in keeping records, thinking I wouldn't need them for the reasons listed above. Please help. What about medical expenses that weren't paid for via our HSA but also won't be enough to itemize?

TurboTax Deluxe Online

xmasbaby0

Level 15

If you want to skip entering your itemized deductions you can do that. Many people will not have enough itemized deductions this year to itemize, and will just be getting their new higher standard deduction. The thing is, though, that some of those deductions could make a difference on a state return even if they do not affect your federal return. Information flows from your federal return to your state return, so it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and enter them anyhow. It cannot hurt you.

The following states allow you to itemize deductions on just the state return: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin,

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**