In general, charitable contributions and donations are not allowed as a business expense on the Schedule C. However, if you made a payment to a charitable organization that was not for charity nor a gift, you may deduct the payment as an expense to the business. You may want to clarify or consider the terms of your donation. If your business received any benefit for the donation (ad space or marketing, for example) you may deduct the payment as an expense. Otherwise, your charitable gift/donation is not deductible under your business but may be deducted on the Schedule A if you itemize your deductions on your personal tax return.
You may want to review the IRS link below for clarification on this rule. There are examples that may help you determine if you can deduct the payments or not: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/ch11.html.
To enter personal charitable donations:
- Go to Federal Taxes > Deductions and
Credits >
- Scroll down to Charitable Donations and click Show More
- Select Start next to Donations to Charity in 2016
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Business expenses can only be entered using the Self-Employed version of TurboTax. In this version, to enter business expenses, go to:
- Federal Taxes
- Income & Expenses
- Self-Employment
- Answer Yes to 'Did you have
any Self-Employment Income or Expenses'
- Go through the business
screens
- Add any income
- Add expenses
