topic Problems getting the full deduction in TT for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor advised fund. in Deductions & credits

Problems getting the full deduction in TT for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor advised fund.

jww5 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 05:24:56 GMT

Hi All:

Anyone else having problems getting the full deduction amount for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor advised fund? This is my first year of using the DAF, and I am having problems.

First, Fidelity Charitable says they will take care of all the paperwork. But that is not true. Their website shows your cost basis at the time of contribution, but that information is lost. So when TT asks you for the cost basis and date of purchase for your stocks, you have to go back to your statements to figure that out.

Second, my understanding is that the FULL amount should be deductible if you have held it for a year. So if I bought the stock in 4/20 and made the contribution to the Fidelity Charitable fund in 8/21, the entire fair market value should be deductible no matter what my cost basis is. TT says if you have made multiple purchases over a year ago, you can put down "various" as the date of purchase.

But that is not the case at least with what I am doing. I am probably not doing it right because I am only getting a partial deduction for the contributions. Should I put down a cost basis of "0" to get the full deduction? Could someone clue me in? Thanks.

Re: Problems getting the full deduction in TT for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor ad...

ColeenD3 — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:48:00 GMT

Please see this thread to see if it answers any of your questions. Are you trying to enter this in the Investment section or as a Schedule A deduction?

Re: Problems getting the full deduction in TT for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor advised fund.

SteamTrain — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 14:02:40 GMT

1) No, don't use $0 cost, that doesn't help. Use your actual cost.

2) What was the total value of the donation vs. your AGI? If it was over 30% of your AGI, then the donation that can be used this year is limited to that 30% of AGI value, and the excess is carried over to be used next year. And if it is limited due to the 30% limit, and you haven't entered all your income yet, then the amount used will change as you add more income.

Re: Problems getting the full deduction in TT for contributions to a Fidelity Charitable donor advised fund.

jww5 — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 05:25:57 GMT

Hi Everyone:

Thank you for reading this question and trying to help. I called up Turbotax and several agents. I was finally transferred to a tax attorney who explained that because the standard deduction was raised this year, only a portion of my charitable donations exceeded the standard deduction and reduced my federal tax liability. That is why the federal tax refund did not change much when I entered those donations, but the state tax refund went up by more. I am putting this followup in so others who are new to the world of charitable contributions (and tax deductions) might find this helpful.