topic Re: Deductions in Deductions & credits

Deductions

heidismokey — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 17:46:55 GMT

We sold my mother's house after she passed away, prior to her passing we emptied out her house and donated almost everything. Even cutting donations short by not recording all items we are still at almost $4,000.00, what will this do for her tax return? Usually donations are at or around $500.00 per year for her.

Thanks,

Kim

Re: Deductions

HelenC12 — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 18:54:05 GMT

I'm so sorry for your loss.

In order for the $4,000 worth of donations to have any effect on her tax return, she'd have to itemize her deductions.

For additional information, see Can I deduct donations to charity?

For this year, even if you don’t itemize, you may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualified organizations.

Re: Deductions

heidismokey — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 18:57:33 GMT

I did itemize, but left lots out as I couldn't find the items and didn't want to enter so many items. I was just concerned about the amount and if that would cause problems. It's all legit and I have receipts.

Thanks

Re: Deductions

AnnetteB6 — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 15:54:36 GMT

If you are claiming charitable donations for which you have documentation and a receipt, do not worry about the amount seeming to be too high. The possible issue will be that the donations alone will not be enough to exceed the standard deduction for your mother's return. You must also be entering other items that will add to the itemized deduction amount such as property taxes, mortgage interest, or medical expenses to name a few.

Take a look at the following TurboTax article for information about the standard deduction amounts for 2020 based on the filing status that will be used, plus your mother's age. If the standard deduction is higher than the total donations plus the other possible itemized deductions, then do not worry about entering all of the donations and just move forward with the standard deduction.

What's my standard deduction for 2020?

My condolences for your loss.

@heidismokey