I made monthly cash contributions to my church that varied in amounts but total by the end of the year to over $25,800. Turbo Tax only allowed $1,757. Why?

[bob-graber]

In the past I was able to file a schedule A that was more advantageous to the standard deduction. Is Turbo tax doing something wrong or has the tax law changed?

[VolvoGirl]

You can only deduct the amount of unreimbursed Medical Expenses and Insurance you actually paid over 7.5% of your AGI.  And then all your itemized deductions have to be more than the standard deduction to get any benefit (so you would only be getting the benefit of the amount that puts you over the standard deduction).  And since the Standard Deduction is increased more people will not need to Itemize.

For 2025 the standard deduction amounts are:

Single 15,750 + 2,000 for 65 and over or blind (17,750)

HOH 23,625 + 2,000 for 65 and over or blind

Joint 31,500 +  1,600 for each 65 and over or blind (both 34,700)

Married filing Separate 15,750+ 1,600 for 65 and over or blind

[Opus 17]

I'm not sure what you mean.  Do you have any other itemized deductions?  Like mortgage interest or property taxes?

If gifts to charity are your only deductible item, and you are (for example), head of household under age 65, then your standard deduction would be $23,625, so the extra benefit of itemizing would only be $2,175.

Or, you can claim a $1000 deduction on top of the standard deduction, if that makes more sense for you, but that only applies to money donations and not other types (items, etc.)

You also can't deduct more than 60% of your adjusted gross income, with the rest carried forward to next year.  If you have very low income, or you have not entered all your income, you will see a limitation being calculated, but it will be recalculated when you add your actual income.  

[Opus 17]

Oh, and you are not allowed to deduct cash donations unless you got a receipt or statement from the church acknowledging it.  

[VolvoGirl]

Oh I’m sorry.  I got confused and posted about the 7.5% is for the Medical deduction.

[rjs]

Cash contributions to an ordinary charity such as a church are limited to 60% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Is that the problem? Is your AGI, Form 1040 line 11a, $2,928?

The tax law regarding charitable donations has not changed for 2025. (The deduction for $1,000 of charitable donations if you take the standard deduction is effective starting in 2026, not 2025.)

It's not at all clear what you are doing, and what you are looking at. The tag below your question says you are using TurboTax Online. If that's true, you have to be working on a 2025 tax return, but you cannot have entered charitable donations in TurboTax Online because the charitable donations section isn't ready yet.

Are you using TurboTax Online or the TurboTax Desktop software?

What version are you using (Deluxe, Premium, etc.)?

Are you working on a 2025 tax return or an earlier year?

Print the tax return (create a PDF) and look at Schedule A. What are the exact amounts on lines 11, 14, and 17? Does line 14 have the word "Limited" to the left of the amount? What are the exact amounts on Form 1040 (or 1040-SR) lines 11a and 12e? If none of these lines is $1,757, where do you see that amount - what form and line? Look at the actual tax forms, not a summary screen in TurboTax.