Charitable contribution has unacceptable value

[cal10]

Here's what I ended up doing - I had to go around the tool's calculation. It appears that checking for errors will replace whatever you have in there no matter what screens you work with.

Let it error out there, pull up the actual form and put in the amount. If you are taking standard deduction, it's either 300 or 600 or the less of what you contributed.  (please research that on your own if you're not sure of the number as I am not a tax advisor).

Once you put the correct number, don't run error check again if everything else is fine.  Just ensure the actual number you intend is on the 1040 form on line 12b that is sent by verifying the pdf before the transmit to the govt.

[fasteddo]

I'm having the same issue as described.

Looking forward to a proper fix from TurboTax.

[JamesG1]

Hope this helps.

In TurboTax Desktop version, follow these steps to enter the Federal 1040 line 12b Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act.

• Go to Forms mode and delete the incorrect entry for line 12b on the 1040 Worksheet.
• Return to Step-by-Step and click on Federal Taxes / Deductions & Credits / I'll Choose what I work on but do not enter the charitable donation.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Done with Deductions.
• You will see the screen The Standard Deduction is right for you!  Click Continue.
• At the screen titled Getting a tax break for donating cash to charity, make sure that the box contains the amount of the deduction for which you qualify.  Click Continue.
• At Other Tax Situations, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Done with Other.
• Continue through Federal Review and Smart Check.

Go to Forms to view the Federal 1040 line 12b for the charitable deduction.

[BK2000]

@JamesG1  and other TurboTax employees,

There are multiple threads on this exact topic and it is growing fast.

I would like to offer a simpler suggestion: Logic, common sense and path of least resistance suggests that shifting your efforts to your Dev team to fix the program sooner would be a much better approach rather than spending it here to offer workarounds that is not working for the growing number users for whatever reason.  Just a thought.  Thank you for your time.

[Camerbo]

The problem is its automatically putting a value in there even though we didn't in the actual step by step process. We tried everything in this thread to fix it and its BROKE.  

[KrisD15]

Please return to Deductions & Credits, scroll down to Charitable Contributions and delete any cash donations you entered there. 

The program will again ask for the "Above the line 300/600 Donation" in which case the 600 should be accepted. 

This question may not show up again until the END of the FINAL REVIEW, but it will show up if you are taking the Standard Deduction.  

[Oakley12]

The fix you suggested does not work in Premier

[auntbingo99]

Yeah, that doesn't work.  I never get the "getting a tax break for donating to charity" screen.  Never did this year. There is still a glitch that reverts everything back to $300 for charitable donations for married filing jointly.  Haven't tried to e-file yet to see if my manual override works.  Turbo Tax needs to fix it.

[PizzaGuy]

The workarounds do not work.  I keep getting this error when I e-file, no matter what.  Noticed you had the same problem last year as well.  Obviously you have not spent any time in the last year fixing the issue.  Since I have completed my Federal Taxes and this error is preventing me from filing, I do not think it unreasonable to expect for Intuit to pay me interest on my refund for the time its delayed while you fix the problem.  Im going to give it another week for you to fix this.  If it persists, I will expect a full refund, so I may purchase another program from one of your competitors that works.   

[cautery]

NOT SOLVED and it ALSO fracks up if you choose Itemized Deductions..... 

I can go with EITHER choice as long as it works right and lets me KEEP my donations listed IN the program properly AND is error free on check.

AGAIN, NOT SOLVED.... Far from it.  At BEST y'all have merely found kludgy work-arounds...

[mewicker3]

The steps listed above are not detailed enough to follow, or may be intended for the online version of TurboTax??  Please provide accurate steps, and identify which product(s) they are for.

This is still an issue in the desktop TurboTax for TY 2021.  One workaround suggested reducing charitable donations to $300 to force the warning off.  However, that would screw up my Minnesota state taxes, where additional charitable donation deduction for amount >$500 is available.

[BRuscio]

Has anyone figured out a fix for this? I see the same work-arounds repeated since 2021, but none of them worked for me. How is this still an issue a year later?

[BK2000]

---

@BRuscio wrote:

Has anyone figured out a fix for this? I see the same work-arounds repeated since 2021, but none of them worked for me. How is this still an issue a year later?

---

Yes, I figured out a fix [for me] by using the other tax product.  The tax history data will easily import perfectly from one to another.

And I agree with you that there was a similar issue with a workaround in last year's version as well and they have chosen to ignore it.  How unfortunate.

[chrisp68]

Here is the correct answer after being on the phone with Naomi for almost 30 minutes...

Got to Charitable contributions:

Since you are using the standard deduction, you need to delete all your Charitable contributions.  After that you will get a screen that states you get $300 for filing single (or $600 for Married fining jointly). 

Then go back through the rest of the screens for deductions  and back to final review.

This cleared up the issue and I was able to file.

Thanks Naomi!!!!

[fasteddo]

As mentioned in a different thread, the workarounds do not work in states where you are allowed to deduct more than the federal standard (like california, and others). 

In these cases, we need to have the full list of charitable deductions.  We can't just remove them all.

We need a proper fix from TurboTax here.