I also get a similar message "1040/1040SR Wks: Cash Charitable Contribution is too large" and I am entering $300 since I take the standard deduction.
it depends. If you listed charitable donations in the federal>deductions and credits section, remove any donations in this section to see if this will clear the error message.
I also received this error and got in a loop. I tried all the tricks listed here without success. In my case, I had a charitable contribution that showed up on my W-2. I originally added it to the income section (there is a place for contributions made directly from your paycheck). I finally removed it from the income section and added it to the Deductions and Credits section instead. This worked for me.
If you are taking the Standard Deduction, the "up to 300 above the line contribution" needs to be entered as a separate line item:
TurboTax ONLINE
Click Tax Tools on the left side bar
Click Tools from the drop-down
Click the "Topic Search" box on the screen
Type or scroll down to standard deduction and exemptions
Click GO
The next screen gives you an option to change your selection from Standard to Itemized and back. You do not need to change your selection
Scroll down to the bottom of that screen and click CONTINUE
The next screen is the Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act screen
IF YOU ARE CLAIMING STANDARD DEDUCTION enter the amount of cash contributions you made, up to 300
IF YOU ARE ITEMIZING DEDUCTIONS enter 0
Scroll down and click Continue
Click Continue on the next screen
DESKTOP
Go to Step-By-Step input (top right corner of screen)
Click Federal
Click Deductions & Credits along the top
Click “I’ll choose what I work on”
Edit or Update Donations to Charity in 2020 if needed, then click “Done with Charitable Donations”
Scroll down the “Your 2020 Deductions & Credits” screen and click “Done with Deductions”
Click Continue on the “Let’s Check Your Deductions and Credits” screen
Continue through the following interview questions until you get to the “Here Are Your 2020 Deductions & Credits” screen
Click Continue
If the next screen says “The Standard deduction is Right for You!” click Continue
ON THE NEXT SCREEN enter the cash contribution made in 2020 up to 300 and click Continue
Your 1040 should update
“The new "up to $300 above the line cash charity donation" is available for tax year 2020. This allows a Taxpayer to claim up to a $300 credit which is subtracted from income on the 1040 line 10c if the Taxpayer is claiming the Standard Deduction. (If you Itemize Deductions, all your donations will be listed on Schedule A.) “
I'm still hitting this error message, even though I'm taking the standard deduction, have no contribution listed, have no donations showing on my w-2s. I've tried putting a zero in the field, leaving it blank, etc. It's not allowing me to e-file. Please assist ASAP.
Cant complete my refund because of this glitch...I made no contributions and just want to put "0"....
but if I need help I need to PAY AN EXTRA $60?!?
this is absolute garbage and because I've paid I can't clear my form, WHAT IS GOING ON Intuit?!?
its ridiculous - it's clearly a glitch and now bc of this error, i need to try to reverse the credit card charge and use H&R block online...
INTUIT - FIX YOUR GLITCH!
If this section does not apply, do not enter 0. Leave the field blank.
Force TurboTax to re-calculate the Deductions & Credits section and keep clicking Wrap up Tax Breaks until you advance in the program to the Review. If there is a value in the Cares Act area that you entered previously, delete it. It must be entered in the regular Charitable Donations area first.
To resolve Check this Entry, try deleting any charitable contribution related forms, if any, by following these steps:
To qualify for the Cares Act above-the-line deduction up to $300 for all taxpayers except married filing separate, who would each have a maximum of $150, for standard deduction filers, the IRS clarifies that the contribution must be:
These answers from last year are not helpful and this is still a big problem.
Federal 1040 line 12b Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act can be entered at either:
However, always pass all the way through both sections Deductions & Credits and Other Tax Situations.
At Deductions & Credits, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Wrap up tax breaks.
At Other Tax Situations, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Let’s keep going.
Remove the entry at Donations to Charity in 2021 by deleting the entry.
Remove the entry at the screen Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act by entering a $0.
This worked for me, and allowed me to finalize my e-file. Thank you!
If you are married filing jointly, change the 300 in the box to a 600, per the instructions on the page. This is an error, by TurboTax to enter 300 automatically. I think maybe for 2020 the number was 300, and now it's 600. In any case, it's also weird that TT caught its own error.
This worked for me. 2020 it was 300.00 now it's 600.00. Turbotax has a bug that's putting in 300.00. As the instructions say you should enter 600.00 for tax year 2021. When the final check is run it catches the 300.00 as being wrong and asks you to change it. Just type in 600.00 if filing jointly and it will fix it.
To properly allocate the $300/$600 charitable deduction while using the Standard Deduction, you can follow these steps.
In the Desktop version:
Go to Deductions and Credits
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Select Done with Deductions
Let's check your Deductions .. Continue
Here are your 2021 Deductions ... Continue
The Standard deduction is right for you ... Continue
GET A TAX BREAK FOR DONATING CASH TO CHARITY
Enter your amount
Online version
Go to Deductions & Credits
Scroll to the very bottom
Select Wrap up Tax Breaks (Online)
Continue through the interview to
Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act
Enter your donation.
It keeps on telling me to fix this part of charitable contribution, how do I fix it
Please return to the Deductions & Credits section, scroll down to "Charitable Donations" and DELETE any cash entries you made there.
Go back through the review. The program will ask you for that number again although it may not be until the END of the FINAL REVIEW. (After the "Tax Summary for 2021" screen)
Enter the amount up to 600 Married Filing Joint.