Yes. There is a problem with the Contributions section of the Itemized deductions and also the above the line $300.00 deduction. Because of the many changes due to the CARES Act, IRS is still developing the forms and publications on this issue. Last update was January 13th where everything is still in draft. Once IRS finalizes the forms, we will be able to update TurboTax to accurately reflect your Contributions deduction.
Cynthia, is there a time line when the IRS must have this completed? How will you (or I) be notified when the changes are made? Thanks for your help.
Larry S1
At this time, there is no timeline when the IRS will release the final update.
Will Turbo Tax advise when this has been resolved? What is the best way to determine when everything is updated and ready? Thanks.
Larry S1
No. We do not have an estimated date but check back occasionally to see if the update have been made.
There is a problem with the Contributions section of the Itemized deductions and also the above the line $300.00 deduction. Because of the many changes due to the CARES Act, IRS is still developing the forms and publications on this issue. Last update was January 13th where everything is still in draft. Once IRS finalizes the forms, we will be able to update TurboTax to accurately reflect your Contributions deduction.
Just checking back to see if the updates have been received/entered. Thanks for your help!
Larry S1
Yes. There continues to be an issue with the contributions deduction and TurboTax is working to fix it. We do not have an estimated date of correction, at this time. I suggest you check back often to see if the correction has been made.
- Contribution is not fixed yet. Normally, you would be notified by email when there is an update that can correct your return. I will be notified internally when there is a fix.
There are quite a few updates and new tax law to implement but, I did notice that they are knocking them out daily. Please continue to be a little patient while we take care of these issues.
Just a quick check to see if the IRS has completed/sent the Charitable Donations update. Please see messages below. Thanks for your help.
Larry S1
There's no specific update regarding the charitable contributions. The CARES Act changed 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.
To get around the problem in TurboTax, you have to
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.
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.
Please try the following workaround:
- Delete the $300 in the error check.
- Then go back to Deductions & Credits and enter the contribution there, in the Donations to Charity topic.
- 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 should appear on Form 1040 line 10b.
Renee, please refer to my original request and Cynthia's reply. Your response is in regard to the $300 credit which is available if using the standard deduction--which we are not doing. The $300 has not come up as an option in Turbo tax when I have entered my Charitable Donations. We still have the question about why the total amount being claimed as a Charitable Donation is not being fully applied. On a preview copy of the completed forms, on Schedule A, Line 14 the word "limited" is printed. The total amount claimed on Lines 11 and 12 do not add up to what shows up on Line 14. The total amount of Charitable Donations being claimed is roughly 1/3rd of AGI. The primary donation was a stock transfer to a Charitable Foundation. We did a similar transfer in 2019 and the complete amount was applied to Schedule A. Please advise if the IRS is still working on updates for 2020 as Cynthia described above. Thanks.
Larry S1
The Charitable Contributions deduction is still under construction. Basically, Turbotax is waiting for finalized forms from the IRS in order to accurately program in Turbotax. Sorry about the delay, however, this has been a YEAR! Thank you for your patience.
I believe my return which had a contribution of appreciated stock was rejected by IRS due to an erroneous calculation of the allowable donation amount.
It appears this is a known problem with TurboTax. I find it difficult to understand why it has not been flagged for users in that situation.
When will the program be updated with the correction? I have a large refund due and am less than pleased I am having to wait to receive it!
Dean
There is a known issue in the software due to the CARES Act allowing non-itemizers to get a $300 credit for charitable donations in 2020. 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.
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.
If you are itemizing, the workaround is to make the software stop treating you as an itemizer, which it must in order to get this $300 credit for you. Here's what to do:
- 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.
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.
Renee,
My issue is not with the $300 contribution matter, but with how TurboTax is calculating the current deduction of donated stock that has an appreciated value.
It appears the number calculated is not correct as the IRS has rejected my filing noting the reason was "Schedule A - Charitable Deduction Limits Hold Rule".
The "Fix it" feature gives me no direction as to what needs to be "fixed" in Schedule A, and the above donation is the only item that would trigger a limit on the amount to be deducted.
Can you provide other issues that can be a problem if my assumption about the cause for the rejection is wrong?
I see from messages from Cynthia66 that TurboTax is waiting for directives from the IRS on this issue of the limit calculation. Please let me know when that happens.
Thanks.
Renee, I agree with Flips 1934. The $300 deduction has never come up once I started entering "itemized" deductions. When I print a "preview" copy of my returns, Line 10B is blank. Error messages never show up.
Have you and Cynthia discussed my previous messages?? Her explanation and yours are quite different. Please advise. Thanks.
LarryS1
“The new "up to $300 above the line cash charity donation" is available for tax year 2020. This allows a Taxpayer to claim up to a $300 credit which is subtracted from income on the 1040 line 10c if the Taxpayer is claiming the Standard Deduction. (If you Itemize Deductions, all your donations will be listed on Schedule A.) “
TurboTax ONLINE
Click Tax Tools on the left side bar
Click Tools from the drop-down
Click the "Topic Search" box on the screen
Type or scroll down to standard deduction and exemptions
Click GO
The next screen gives you an option to change your selection from Standard to Itemized and back. You do not need to change your selection
Scroll down to the bottom of that screen and click CONTINUE
The next screen is the Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act screen
IF YOU ARE CLAIMING STANDARD DEDUCTION enter the amount of cash contributions you made, up to 300
IF YOU ARE ITEMIZING DEDUCTIONS enter 0
Scroll down and click Continue
Click Continue on the next screen
DESKTOP
Go to Step-By-Step input
Click Federal
Click Deductions & Credits along the top
Click “I’ll choose what I work on”
Edit or Update Donations to Charity in 2020 if needed,
Then click “Done with Charitable Donations”
Scroll down the “Your 2020 Deductions & Credits” screen and click “Done with Deductions”
Click Continue on the “Let’s Check Your Deductions and Credits” screen
Continue through the following interview questions until you get to the “Here Are Your 2020 Deductions & Credits” screen
Click Continue
If the next screen says “The Standard deduction is Right for You!” click Continue
ON THE NEXT SCREEN enter the cash contribution made in 2020 up to 300 and click Continue
if the screen reports that you are Itemizing, enter 0
Your 1040 should update
Kris, see all of the previous messages and the responses Cynthia has provided. You and Renee evidently are not on the same page as her. This is not about the $300 deduction. It is about---not getting the full amount of charitable deductions being claimed. Cynthia is saying the IRS is still in the process of updating the 2020 guidelines so Turbo Tax can update your program. Is this something you and Renee agree with??
LarryS1
Kris--I should have added---we are itemizing deductions--not claiming the standard deduction. Again--see previous messages. Thanks.
LarryS1
No, everything is working fine within Turbo Tax. I did a test scenario in my program by entering a stock donation and I was able to claim 100% of the donation. Several things may cause the discrepancy.
- Perhaps you had other itemized deductions that zeroed out your entire AGI. If so, there may be a carryover or your itemized deductions for next year..
- You can check this on line 14 of Schedule A. if it says limited, it means you are not able to claim the entire deduction this year but will carryover into next year.
- If this is the case, you will also have a Charity Limits worksheet in your list of forms underneath your donation. Line 28 of that form will show what is being carried over into next year.
- Perhaps your charity was not a qualified 100% charity. Please review this IRS link for more information.
You may deduct a charitable contribution made to, or for the use of, any of the following organizations that otherwise are qualified under section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code:
- A state or United States possession (or political subdivision thereof), or the United States or the District of Columbia, if made exclusively for public purposes;
- A community chest, corporation, trust, fund, or foundation, organized or created in the United States or its possessions, or under the laws of the United States, any state, the District of Columbia or any possession of the United States, and organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, or literary purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals;
- A church, synagogue, or other religious organization;
- A war veterans' organization or its post, auxiliary, trust, or foundation organized in the United States or its possessions;
- A nonprofit volunteer fire company;
- A civil defense organization created under federal, state, or local law (this includes unreimbursed expenses of civil defense volunteers that are directly connected with and solely attributable to their volunteer services);
- A domestic fraternal society, operating under the lodge system, but only if the contribution is to be used exclusively for charitable purposes;
- A nonprofit cemetery company if the funds are irrevocably dedicated to the perpetual care of the cemetery as a whole and not a particular lot or mausoleum crypt.
[Edited 03-7-2021|11:17 AM PST]
Dave, the itemized donations are less than 1/3rd of AGI. The word "limited" does appear on Line 14 of Schedule A. I am not sure of the Charity Limits Worksheet. I did not see it in my preview copies but can honestly say I was not looking for it. Our stock donation is to the Great Green Bay Charitable Foundation so it is a qualified fund as noted in #2 below. We did the same thing last year and 100% was applied to our 2019 Taxes. All income and deductions for 2020 were nearly identical to 2019. So---not sure why 2020 is acting so different. I'm out of town for the next week and won't be able to access my tax info until next Tuesday. Let me know if there is more on your end. Can you explain Cynthia's responses? Thanks.
LarryS1
I checked and there were no known issues at this time. I noticed Cynthia's response was dated March 1. i know we had issues in the past but as I mentioned, I did not have an issue when I entered into my test program. Also, if you have Turbo tax software installed on a computer at home, it may update when you arrive from vacation.
If you continue to have issues, please contact tech live support at 1-800-446-8848. They will have the ability to look at your screen and your return to pinpoint any specific issues you are having.
Dave, I logged into TT again and it did update. There were no changes to the Charitable Donation questions I've noted in previous messages. I called the 800 # you provided and couldn't get out of the automated call. It did ask for an ID # that perhaps would have put me through or have made a conversation easier to follow. Can you provide a support ID #?
Thanks.
LarryS1
If Line 14 says ''Limited'', you are going to need to find the Charity Limitation worksheet to see how the donation was limited. I know you said it was a third of your AGI, but did you have a lot of other itemized deductions? As noted above by Dave, a couple of things may cause the discrepancy -
- Perhaps you had other itemized deductions that zeroed out your entire AGI. If so, there may be a carryover or your itemized deductions for next year..
If you are sure that is not the case, find the Charity Limit worksheet in the Forms list to see how and why your donation is being limited. Each charity will have its own numbered limit worksheet. Did you get the following screen when you entered the donation?
Notice on Line 28 - I have a carryover to future years.
Dawn, the AGI limits have not been the issue. Total Itemized Deductions--including Charitable Donations--are about 40# of AGI. Charitable Donations about 30% of AGI. Your response included some information/questions I did not get when I first entered the stock transfer to a Charitable Foundation. So--- I decided to start over. I deleted the stock transfer and reentered all of the information for this donation. As soon as I completed the entry, the amount of Federal Tax owed dropped. The entire amount of Charitable Donations was applied. I first started my 2020 Taxes on Feb 9. Did Turbo Tax make a change as to how this type of donation is entered? I'm referencing the information in the very first response from Cynthia. Anyway---I should be good for now!!!!
LarryS1