Cash Contributions To Charities: Schedule A vs Recovery Act/ACA (new for 2020)

[Poolmon]

In the Desktop 2020 Premier software using the Interview Method I skipped Schedule A (including Charity Donations) since I was taking the Standard Deduction. I was later presented with the Affordable Cares Act/Recovery Rebate Credit option to deduct up to $300 cash. I estimated an amount and entered it. When I later went back to try to change it I could not find any link or reference to that ACA/Recovery Contribution Deduction.

I tried going to the Forms to see what the Data Source was for it so that I could find it that way but the Data Source option was grayed out. I tried to jump back into the Interview Method blindly to find it and when I located the first ACA/Recovery question it automatically reset all my actual data that I had entered on my rebates to a default value.

There has to be a better way to access this ACA/Recovery info and each of its sub-components directly as well as coordinate it with Schedule A where it showed that I had no Charity entry (since I had not even started that Schedule).

1. How to we get back to the ACA Charity value we entered and change it without redoing all the other related ACA/Recoveryinfo? and

2. Why is there no reference link in TT  to the AC/Recovery section for direct access?
Thank You 

[ReneeM7122]

If you are skipping schedule A and taking the standard deduction, access your Charity deduction by following these steps:

1. In TurboTax select Federal in the panel on the left
2. Select Deductions & Credits at the top of the page
3. Under Your Tax Breaks - Charitable Donations 
4. Click START to the right of Donations to Charity in 2020
5. Click YES
6. Click ADD next to Money
7. Type in the name of the charity that you donated to
8. Type the amount of the donation
9. Select Done with Donation
10. Select Done

Now the deduction should appear on Line 10B and in the Charitable Contributions screen.

How the CARES act changes deducting charitable contributions made in 2020

Previously, charitable contributions could only be deducted if taxpayers itemized their deductions.

However, taxpayers who don't itemize deductions may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualifying organizations. For the purposes of this deduction, qualifying organizations are those that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary in purpose. The law changed in this area due to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Keep in mind, it is very important to keep records of your charitable contributions.  If the IRS asks about them later, they will be denied if you don't have a record, receipt, letter, etc.

@Poolmon

[Poolmon]

OK here is the problem.

The first time through I entered a $75 amount in the ACA deduction area (no Schedule A) now I cannot get back to it. I went to Schedule A as you recommended and entered $95 but it will not update the ACA $75 amount and I get no error check because the total is under $300. How do I get back to the ACA Data Source to eliminate it so the Schedule A Data populates that ACA field?

[ReneeM7122]

This error  is due to a new provision in the CARES Act.   Previously, charitable contributions could only be deducted if taxpayers itemized their deductions. However, taxpayers who don't itemize deductions may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualifying organizations. For the purposes of this deduction, qualifying organizations are those that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary in purpose. The law changed in this area due to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

 Here's what to do:

1. Delete the $300 in the error check.
2. Then go back to Deductions & Credits and enter the contribution there, in the Donations to Charity topic.
3. Then click Done with Donations and proceed through the screens until you get to the screen that tells you that TurboTax has added in the contribution.

 The contribution will be back on Form 1040 line 10b, but it won't be flagged as an error. It only gets flagged if you enter it when prompted after you finish Deductions & Credits and the software tells you that you are getting the standard deduction. It will not get flagged if you enter it in Donations to Charity.

@Poolmon

[Poolmon]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I can't delete it in Error Check because my return shows no errors.

I do understand how the new Charitable deduction works with the Standard Deduction vs the older Schedule A with Itemized Deductions, but what I cannot do is get to my previous entry I made in the Cares Act Charity question. How do I access an error that is not showing?

I completed Schedule A but its Data does not populate the Cares Act Line and when I go to the worksheets I can see the Cares Act entry but both its Data Source and Override options are disabled. So How do I eliminate that  Cares Act Charity entry without an error showing keeping in mind that neither Charity entry when added exceeds $300 . .  thus apparently no error.