How do I fix my charitable contributions? It says I have an unacceptable value.

Zero seems to be an unacceptable amount ... either enter an amount or leave the input box blank. 

I have the same problem, entering zero, a random number, or leaving it blank has not solved the problem.

There are a few work arounds for when this happens.  This was a known error and now has been corrected.  But sometimes the first set of steps still does not work.

1. Click Deductions and Credits
2. Select Review/Edit
3. Click Edit to the right of Standard Deduction
   ​​Click OK, Sounds Good
4. Click Wrap Up Tax Breaks
5. Click Continue
6. Make sure that $300 is filled in and then click Continue
7. Click Lets Keep Going

If there is still an error, then go through the next work around.

Here is the second work around for claiming the $300 Charity Deduction:

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 $300 will appear on Line 10B and in the Charitable Contributions screen

Why would I put I donated $300 to charity when I didn't donate anything to charity?  I shouldn't have to mail in my tax returns, I PAID for it, for a reason.  FIX YOUR SOFTWARE.

There is a known issue that produces the message, Charitable contributions has an unacceptable value."  Our team is working to fix the software.  In the meantime, here are some workaround steps that you can try right now: 

1. Click Deductions and Credits
2. Select Review/Edit
3. Click Edit to the right of Standard Deduction
   ​​Click OK, Sounds Good
4. Click Wrap Up Tax Breaks
5. Click Continue
6. Make sure that $300 is filled in and then click Continue
7. Click Lets Keep Going

If the error persists, then go through the next work around.

Here is the second work around for claiming the Charity Deduction:

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.

I too have this problem. I did donate rather more than $300, but was planning on entering just $300. However, no matter what value  I enter in the box, the software returns an error: "unacceptable value". I have followed the two 'work-around' procedures listed here in this forum entry, and neither one has fixed the problem. Please fix the software!! (or, provide a working work-around....

Same problem! I need this fixed!

This is a known software issue.  Please try the following workaround: 

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. 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.

Having the same issue and I've tried all the recommendations in the comments. Nothing is working, it still says the value is an unacceptable value every time. 

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.

Here are some of the changes due to the CARES ACT

The new legislation allows tax deductions on two types of charitable gifts. First, it allows up to $300 given to a qualified charity to be claimed as an above-the-line deduction. After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which went into effect in 2018, increased the standard deduction, many taxpayers had less incentive to donate to charities. Instead, they took the standard deduction and stopped itemizing.

For taxpayers who will itemize deductions, the CARES Act effectively suspends the limit on deductions for cash contributions to public charities for 2020.  “That allows individuals to completely wipe out their AGI, and their tax liability, with a charitable contribution.

So, I'm assuming this is still an issue as I'm stuck in the "loop of death" and none of the "fixes" actually fixes anything.   Will we all get an email saying when the bug will be fixed?

Also having this problem still. Repeatedly telling us to just fill out $300 (whether or not we did donate that much) does not fix the problem and I am very frustrated that this is still an ongoing issue. Is there any other resolution to this problem yet?

Wait, so I'm supposed to enter $300 even though I didn't contribute nearly that much? All I donated was a case of food, worth maybe $25, that has nothing to do with CARES, so why do I have to jump through all these hoops?

OK, sorry, this isn't going to be the best instruction, but since I fixed it, now it doesn't seem to let me go replicate the steps, so I'm doing it from memory and paraphrasing a bit, but this might help:

I went back to Deductions & Credits, and when it says the standard is best for you, I clicked the "itemize anyway," then I went to the charitable donations and edited that.  It had some incorrect information already filled in, so I deleted a few charities that I did not donate to, ensured that I had the correct amount to the charities I did donate to, saved that ("continue" or whatever it is), and then it worked out.  Again, sorry this isn't precise, but it won't let me do it again, and, honestly, I'm scared to try too hard in the event that I'll be knocked back into the death loop again somehow...

Hope that helps!  If so, maybe TurboTax can give me a free filing this year... 🙂

Thank you!! Please give Chris178 an upvote, an award, and 5 years of TurboTax deluxe! Going back and saying "itemize anyway" got me out of the loop of death!

how did u get to the itemize anyway message prompt?

okay so I had this issue as well. I had donated maybe 50-100$ so it really wouldnt affect my return anyway. I went back to the deductions, clicked the charitable contributions, then "itemize anyway'. there was a few boxes it looked like from last year's ta returnn totalling like 4$. I put 4 into the box and it seemed to fix the error. Hope this helps 

 @  Mylesperhr

Sorry, it won't let me go back to retrace the steps, so I can't give precise instructions.  Basically, I went to the Deductions & Credits tab, filled all that out like normal, then when I clicked the continue (or whatever it says) button at the bottom, it analyzes my deductions and, for me, said the standard was the best, but gave me an option at the bottom to itemize anyway.  I clicked the itemize anyway button, then went to the Charitable donations and that's where I saw that it had some donations that I had not entered.  So I deleted those and ensured that any entries that were there were correct (deleted and re-entered).  That was the only method that worked for me. 

If you can't find it, you might try just clicking through all of the Deductions & Credits like you did the first time--that will eventually get you to that analysis page where you are offered the "itemize anyway" button.

Sorry that I can't provide better instructions. 

TurboTax, you have to fix this bug asap, few of my friends just switched to TaxAct, and I am considering the same! Why we pay money for the program that you already admitted there is a known bug?!

So I was also in the loop of death for a while, and after going back and following what other people mentioned (inputting the itemized deductions/adding the charity donations line-by-line in the "Federal" section), it kept bringing me back to the same error page whenever I'd try to submit my taxes. 

SO I made sure that the amount on the itemized deductions page MATCHED the amount I put in on that error page, and it worked! I'm not sure if it'll work for everyone, but maybe as long as the amounts match, it'll work? Just wanted to put that out there in case it helps anyone else!

Had the same issue. Entering $0 in the charitable contributions box kept bringing me back to the form for a review. I don't know if it's because the bug has been finally fixed or I just got lucky but I clicked on FEDERAL in the left menu within TurboTax and clicked on CREDITS AND TAX BREAKS again. I went through the questions without changing any information I had already filled and kept to the standard deduction option. (Just make sure to select the appropriate numbers in the list that finally leads you to the standard deduction option). Once everything was filled, I kept hitting the CONTINUE button even when it asked me to review and finally gave me the E-CHECK sign. I hope this helps.

There is a known issue that produces the message, Charitable contributions has an unacceptable value."  Try these steps:

First, clear your cache.

Your browser stores recently visited webpages as temporary files in a cache, which enables the pages to load more quickly when revisited.

However, a full or corrupted cache can cause problems in TurboTax, so sometimes you need to clear your cache (that is, remove these temporary files).

Here are the official instructions for the most popular browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 (use the drop-down on the upper right corner of that page for earlier versions)
• Microsoft Edge

Apple's official support site doesn't appear to contain instructions for clearing the cache in Safari. Your best bet is to search the Internet for clear Safari cache or similar search terms.

If your cache isn't the issue, it might be best to delete it and start again.

Next, sign back into TurboTax and try the following:

1. Go to the Deductions and Credits tab
2. Select Review/Edit
3. To the right of Standard Deduction, click Edit
4. ​​Click OK, Sounds Good when you see it.
5. Click Wrap Up Tax Breaks
6. Click Continue

The Charitable Donations question should either not appear at all, or the amount should be zero.  

If this didn't work, and you still experience the same error, try deleting a charitable donation form floating in the background:

1. Go to Tax Tools on the left panel of the screen
2. Click on Tools 
3. Click on Delete a form
4. If you see a form with a charitable donation on it, delete it and take steps 1-5 again. 

@regularGuy_3

Your work around still do not work as 

This error is happening because of the special CARES Act provision where a charitable deduction can be taken by those using the standard deduction 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.  Since the previous suggestion didn't work, please try this instead:

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 should 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.

@Kwelt200