@ jpinfant wrote:
I made over $300 in cash charitable contributions in 2020, I have entered all the information on turbo tax, however when I get to the end after reviewing prior to filing, turbotax is not adding the $300 to the standard deduction, is there anything else I need to do, I have not filed yet, trying to fix the issue.
*****NOTE: Revised 4/02/2021 at 3:15 AM Pacific to include additional navigation information.*****
Are you using Online TurboTax or desktop software?
Did you go all the way through the end of the deductions section and choose the button "wrap up tax breaks" (if Online TurboTax) ? There will be some more questions and as you keep going, finally a screen will say "Based on what you just told us, the Standard Deduction is best for you." The next screen after that will ask you about the Charitable Cash Contributions under the Care Act and has a box showing your amount. When you continue on past that screen, that figure then flows to the Form 1040 Worksheet and the allowed amount will be on Line 10b.
Do you have a figure on your Form 1040, Line 10b? We can tell you how to look. If you don't have a figure on the Form 1040, Line 10b, then you likely didn't finish the deduction section exactly as I described above.
The $300 is not added to the standard deduction. If you take the standard deduction, the (up to) $300 in charitable contributions is reported on the Form 1040, Line 10b as an "adjustment to income" as part of the calculation of 2020 AGI (Line 11), which is prior to the standard deduction (Line 12.) i.e., it lowers the amount of income included in the AGI. The end result is the same; you still get the benefit of $300 less in taxable income.
I can tell you how to look at the Form 1040, Line 10b to see if your $300 is showing up and reducing your total income and reflected in the AGI. But the method depends on whether you are using desktop software or Online TurboTax, which you haven't yet said.
