Charitable contributions deduction up to 100% of AGI for 2020

[thomaswreese]

TT2020 is still limiting charitable contributions to 60% of AGI instead of the 100% allowed for the 2020 tax year. How can I correct this on my 2020 tax form?

[Kat]

I have reported your post to TurboTax Moderators.  May I ask if you're using TurboTax Online or the Desktop (CD/Download) Edition?  And, if you don't mind, would you please post a screenshot (without any personal info)?

Thank you in advance.

[Bsch4477]

The 100% limit is for cash donations. Is the donor including non-cash donations?

[Kat]

Deleted.

[Kat]

@thomaswreese Please see the post by Champ @Bsch4477 .  Is this possibly the issue you're reporting?  The 100% refers only to cash donations.

[thomaswreese]

Yes I have a lot of cash donations to main charities, not to a donor advised fund. But TT2020 is capping them at 60% of AGI. Is this a software error? I need a way to remove this block.

[thomaswreese]

I am using TurboTax Deluxe 2020 download for Mac. I have stock donation to donor advised fund which is properly capped at 30% of AGI, then cash donations direct to main charities (not donor advised fund) of more than 60% AGI. But TT shows Charity Contrib form with all the cash contributions in the 60% limit column (b), with none in the 100% limit column (d). As a result, TT is not allowing all my cash contributions to be deductible. The 2020 CARES act allows deducting cash contributions not to a donor-advised fund up to 100% of AGI, less the 30% stock donations which are to a donor-advised fund.

[ReneeM7122]

This is a known software issue.  The workaround is to delete the $300 in the error check. Then go back to Deductions & Credits and enter the contribution there, in the Donations to Charity topic. 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.

[rjs]

@thomaswreese 

Did you enter your contributions in the interview or in forms mode?

Please go back to the "Donations to Charity" topic in the Step-by-Step interview, not in forms mode. On the "Review All Your Charities" screen click Continue. Then proceed through the questions in sequence. It will ask you to specify the type of charity for each charity that you entered. If you have gone through this part of the interview before, you may find that it does not remember your previous answers. Please make sure that the correct type is selected for each charity. In particular, make sure that 100%/50% is selected for each of the "main charities" that you donated cash to. When you get back to the summary screen "Your 2020 Deductions & Credits" see if the contributions are now allocated properly.

[thomaswreese]

In TT Deluxe 2020 Mac download, I click the Deductions & Credits tab, then click to Update the Donations to Charity 2020 line under Charitable Donations. It lists each charity; when I click to Edit TT only asks me to change the amount of the donation but the amounts are already correct. After checking the amount for each of the charities, TT asks one question: "Were any of your donations to a fraternal . . . or other 30% charity?" The answer to this is No, so I click on the "No" button. Then TT dumps me right back out to the "Your 2020 Deductions & Credits" page again. There is no way that I can see to tell TT that each of these charities I have donated cash to is in the "100% limit" qualification. There is no interview or question for this coming up. What do I do to fix this?

[thomaswreese]

I do not understand this answer. Delete what "$300 in the error check"? I have entered each cash contribution in the Donations to Charity topic. But there is no question for any of the charities to tell that it is qualified for the 100% limit. Are you telling me to delete all these donations that I have put in, and start over? But how would that help?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

@thomaswreese  Answer Yes to the question "Were any of your donations to a fraternal . . . or other 30% charity?"

Ignore the answer about $300 in the error check. It has nothing to do with your question.

[thomaswreese]

Wow that did the trick – thank you! That is one poorly worded question, since none of my contribution were to 30% limit charities. Thus I always answered No to it. It is quite an obscure way to get into the dialog for designating all these charities to be under the 100% limit instead of only 60%. I hope they can fix the TT software to remove this obscure workaround that is needed now.

[thomaswreese]

After clicking Continue, there is only one question: Whether any of these charities are subject to 30% limit which is uncommon. The trick is that you have to answer Yes to this question, even when none of the charities are subject to the 30% limit. Only then does TT2020 (Deluxe download for Mac) allow you to state that each of these charities is subject to the 100% limit rather than the 60% default. This is a defect in the TT software. I would not have found this obscure workaround if it had not been pointed out by someone else.

[NorthCarolinaSL7]

1. Go to Forms View.
2. Open the Charitable Organization form.
3. Scroll to the very last line and check the box for (c ) 50% charity/100% donation.

You can individually select which donations to Charitable Organizations are still subject to the 60% of AGI limit and which are eligible for the 100% of AGI.  I have not tested this but this may be necessary if you still have charitable donations you cannot use in 2020 and want to carryover to next year.