1040/1040SR Wks" Charitable contributions: Charitable contributions has an unacceptable value Continues in 2022

[normang]

This appears to be an ***Ongoing Problem****

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1040/1040SR Wks" Charitable contributions: Charitable contributions has an unacceptable value, and it has a defined input of 300.  and no other entry seems to make any difference.

I have read a number of "solutions" going back a year at least and my version is TurboTax Deluxe 2022 (Mac), and while I do not recall running into this issue last year, I cannot get the app, even with an update installed today, to complete a smart check under Review.  The error has been noted in multiple threads, I felt reluctant to start another, but many of the replies or solutions did not seem applicable to the 2022 version and some just seemed wrong, even if they seemed to work.

I entered the deductions I do have, but of course with the higher standard deduction, you wind up taking a standard deduction when asked, and I don't  think you would just exclude the deductions you do have just because your taking the standard deduction,

So what is the solution for this version of the product to eliminate this error???

[AmyC]

Once you have gone through the federal review, the error clears up. Go all the way through the federal review, then take a look at your forms and all should be well. You should be able to file.

[normang]

Hello Amy

I went through and started at Let's make sure your taxes are correct, and continue, then it says analyzing my return and gives me the summary, continue, Smart Check has found some errors, lets fix them, click fix errors, get the unacceptable value error, if I click continue, I get run Smart check again and if I click "done" then, it goes to audit risk and Audit Defense then the guarantee and seems to continue into the ready to file Your Taxes stage.

However, I really didn't get the error fixed, if the solution to the issue is to ignore the error, thats not really a solution,  

Now if the data is correct and there is something in Smart Check that is confirmed broken, I guess people can deal with the problem by ignoring the error.  However that doesn't give one a warm fuzzy that they are filing an accurate tax return,  Thanks

[DawnC]

 Couple a questions - What state return(s) are you filing?  What is your filing status and what amount is on 12b of Form 1040?     

If you have charitable donations entered into that section that are over allowable amount with standard deduction ($300 or $600) - it will cause confusion until you confirm your deduction option (standard or itemized) and answer the CARES ACT CASH DONATIONS questions.   These questions will show up after you finish the Deductions and Credits section, but before the Federal Review.   If you go through this part, you should not get the error in the review.   To get back there:  

1. Click on Personal Income at the top of the desktop software.   
2. Then choose Deductions and Credits.   
3. Pick I'll Choose What I Work On.
4. Scroll all the way down and click on Done with Deductions. 

[normang]

Hello Dawn

I am filing a Minnesota state return.   And on 12b  have 300. which I noted is what the prompt tells me on EasyStep when I get the error on Smart Check.  The 1040/1040SE Wks has a red ! next to it in forms as well..

Now I am confused, I am doing nothing different this year than I have in previous years, I have charitable contributions for my church which came over from last year and many years prior and of course my annual  donation for my church exceeds $300 and $600.  the deductions page also shows me what I had in 2020 for donations to charity.  In other years, there were other items, such as clothing managed by ItsDeducible which is not in play here this year.

You say if I have "charitable donations entered into that section", over the allowable amount, I got lost. which section of the EasyStep are you looking at? "Donations to Charity", which is where my church deduction has always been entered?  Are you saying I need to remove that from my return and just accept the 300?

I think I saw something about the Care Act, where does that pop up? I did what you said and finished the done with deductions, and got to State, clicked done with state as I had completed that, and still got the error during the review, so I must be missing some step to which you are referring or something is broke.

thanks

I want to add, that I went back and  tried at the final review stage before File, that I entered 600, and ran the check and it continued, I looked at the form, said 600. However did not trust this result and went back and ran through some steps again to the final review and the smart check failed again, and it had 300 back in the field..  So something is still off...

[normang]

Well, After a flurry of responses, now there is quiet..  Is there a bug in the software, if I get it to ignore this error, are my taxes correct?  

Which is the correct response for this field 300 or 600? Or how do you determine which is the correct response to this field, as I do not populate it, it seems to get auto-populated perhaps based on some thing entered, and its not clear what that is either.    Any other feedback on this issue would he helpful..  along with this previous reply in this thread..  

Thanks.

[AnnetteB6]

For the tax year 2021, an individual using the standard deduction may deduct up to $300 as a charitable contribution.  A married couple filing jointly may deduct up to $600 while still using the standard deduction.

There is a workaround provided by Expert JotikaT2 that will allow you to continue with your return without encountering the error. 

Use the following steps to revisit the Charitable Contributions section of your return:

1. Click on the Federal Taxes tab.
2. Select the Deductions & Credits tab.
3. On the screen titled How do you want to enter your deductions and credits?, select I'll choose what I work on.
4. Scroll down to Charitable Donations.
5. Select Update to the right of Donations to Charity in 2021.
6. You will see a screen titled Review All Your Charities.
7. To the right of any deductions entered, select Delete to remove any input.
8. You will then select Done with Charitable Donations.
9. On the next page (Deductions), scroll down to the bottom and click on Done with Deductions.
10. Proceed through the following screens until you pass the screen letting you know you are getting the Standard Deduction.  
11. The next screen titled Charitable Cash Contributions under the Care Act will allow you to enter your charitable contributions for 2021.  Enter your total cash contributions on this screen and select Continue.

@normang

[Expresso1]

Married filing jointly. Had 699 in cash contributions and took standard deduction. Correct amount of 600 on 1040, line 12b until I ran the final analysis of the entire return. Once ran, it changed it to 300 and said I had an unacceptable amount on 12b and brought up the form. I changed line 12b back to 600 and ran smart check again and now all ok and it let me move on. This is a bug that TT really needs to address. I called TT to report and the person I talked to sounded like they were at home, and they were completely clueless with regard to what I was talking about. I finally gave up, hung up, realizing I was on my own. Good product, incompetent support.  

[normang]

Hello Annette

The process you noted in your reply does work, HOWEVER, your step 11 does not prompt you to re-enter the charitable deductions that you deleted, and if you go back and re-add those deductions, WHICH does impact the state tax refund or amount due, the smart check fails again...   And it seems to default to 300, which is the wrong number I assume, which is an error on the programs part for seemingly forgetting at this point that I am married filing jointly.  

To be clear, it can fail depending on the users input process perhaps, it will fail the smart check before you get to State Taxes, or it can fail the Smart Check AFTER the state taxes, it seems to lose the value at some point and reverts to 300, which means its sort of working but something alters this value.

Now at this point, it does seem that you can input the proper number if your married filing jointly of 600 and then it seems to pass the smart check.   HOWEVER. while one can ASSUME that your return is correct at this point, I find it speculative since the program is OBVIOUSLY failing to properly deal with charitable deductions that I enter and whatever the Care Act input and calcuation is trying to do for you..

Get the programmers to fix this problem so that one can have a little more confidence that their taxes are correct in this situation.

[normang]

The community is asking whether my problem is solved, technically its not..  There are lame work arounds that don't work as described that may get you a functional tax return, but the problem is not solved,

If Intuit/Turbo Tax really cares about the quality of their software, they'll fix the issue in the software so that this field is not failing a smart check, ever again..

Even the response from Annette while it sort of gets there, the answer is not correct, removing your deductions and going through the motions to get the care act response, does not get you to a place where you can re-add your deductions, and f you go back and re-add them, you wind up getting the smart check error again and if you then enter the appropriate response (300 or 600 depending on filing status), you can get it to pass the smart check. this is not a fix, its not even really a great workaround. 

Fix the software, then the questions will stop.  I think when I searched for this issue before starting this thread, there were quite a few related threads all with different responses. perhaps because the situation was different or a different tax year.. Who knows...  

In any event, there is no right answer here.. the only right answer is that a software update comes out to fix the problem.

[adundercoffer]

When is this issue going to be fixed?

[adundercoffer]

When is Turbo Tax going to fix this issue?

[KrisD15]

Please return to the Deductions & Credits section, scroll down to "Charitable Donations" and DELETE any cash entries you made there. 

(NOTE: Some states allow you to Itemize Deductions when taking the Standard Deduction on the Federal Return. To include charitable donations as an Itemized Deduction on your STATE return, you can enter the donations as "Items" select "I'll value them, select "Other intangible property" enter the description as cash if it was and the amount as the value.)

Go back through the review. The program will ask you for your charity donation again although it may not be until after the state return is finished and at the END of the FINAL REVIEW.  (After the "Tax Summary for 2021" screen)

 Enter the amount up to 600 Married Filing Joint.

The Tax law allows a Taxpayer to claim Charity Donations on their Schedule A or, if using the Standard Deduction, on their 1040 line 12b as an addition to their Standard Deduction amount. 

This amount can be up to 600 for Married Filing Joint, or 300 for all others.

[TheRealTax2]

Changing value back to 600 at the error window and then skipping 2nd check worked. I was able to e-file while maintaining the 600 value on the fed 1040. I would advise that you read your state tax form instructions to be sure you're not required to adjust for the 600 deduction if you take this route. My state didn't mention it, unlike last year where the 300 contribution had to be added back on state return. Good luck guys. 

[normang]

Hello @KrisD15, 

There was a new update prior to looking into what you said...  Course with every iteration of this smart check error, it becomes more confusing and unclear as to what is correct was to go.

As I looked through the state, there is something that I am relatively sure was not that prominent or there before under "Tell Us About Other Income Adjustments" on the Minnesota state return.  I had not deleted charitable donations from the Fed part of the return and there was an entry checked called "had charitable contributions" checked that I do not specially recall being checked before,  Might have been there and I overlooked it.  In any event, it was already populated with the value of the charitable contributions I have under the Fed.    

So it seems like, why would I remove the charitable contributions entries from the Fed if they are already populating the state?  Plus, I had always entered charitable contributions in the past on the Fed, which had less impact since the higher standard deductions started a couple years ago.   Which leads back to why the error in the first place?  This just seems like another work around to prevent the smart check error, which it indeed may do, but what is the impact of leaving charitable contributions off the Fed which I've had there for years??

I think I need more explanation since this alters my tax prep as I have not been removing charitable contributions from the Fed.