Charitable Donation tax credit

[izzysmom]

St. Mary's Food Bank in AZ is saying that if I donate $800 to them (they are a qualified Charity) that I will get all $800 back as a credit on my tax return.  Is this correct?  Where is it recorded on the tax return for 2020?

[DoninGA]

Sorry, no.  If you are not itemizing your deductions you can get a $300 Adjustment to Income on a federal tax return.  It is not a credit and it is only based on a cash donation to a Qualified Charitable Organization.

[DoninGA]

Reported on Form 1040 Line 10b

[VolvoGirl]

Or maybe it's a credit on the AZ state return?

[izzysmom]

What about on the AZ tax return?

[SteamTrain · Accepted solution]

Yes, there is a tax credit available on the AZ tax returns for "cash" donations to certain charities  $800 is only for MFJ,  $400 for other filers....but I don't expect the AZ tax returns to be fully functional until sometime after the first week in January...so it may not be available now....and even that could change with all the fooling around going on with the stimulus.

...and I don't know if you enter in the Federal section and it transfers to the AZ section, or if you have to enter it separately in the AZ interview...but I suspect it is a separate Question in the AZ interview. ....check back in mid-late January:

Contributions to QCOs and QFCOs | Arizona Department of Revenue (azdor.gov)

QCOs (azdor.gov)

[izzysmom]

• By "Cash donation" does that mean by check or direct deposit?  Or can it be by credit card?  Thanks for your help.

[SteamTrain]

Those are all considered cash, C.Card included.

.......what they don't allow to include are "items" that need a value assigned to them, like cars, clothes, land, stock, toys, appliances....etc.    Those item values tend to be fuzzy...cash is not fuzzy.