@ah94I just went back and entered my charitable contributions the same way. But I didn't delete my CA return. We'll see if that is enough.
After entering the charitable contributions as itemized entries in Federal, it DOES show up on the CA 540, Part II line 11. Note that Part II is for adjustments to federal itemized deductions. I am not itemizing. The box at the top of Part II is not checked which is correct. The amount shown does not impact my calculated tax liability since the standard deduction is taken and the AGI copied from my 1040 does not include the deduction. Itemizing the charitable contributions here does not modify the 1040 -- this is critical as mine has already been submitted and accepted.
I wonder if the Cares Act itemization for charity (1040 line 12b) needs to be explicitly declared on the 540, even though it will not impact the CA tax liability. This would make some sense. I'll soon find out.
To all those that are modifying your 1040, I would take caution with this approach. Best of luck, and will update with my success (or not).
