How do you enter a recurring charitable contribution and what documentation is required?

[anonymouse1]

My husband set up a recurring "payment" from our bank to his church.  It was made by bank check written (mailed?) either the 1st day or last day of a month (not sure why, but the dates on the cancelled check images are 4/1/25, 5/1/25, 5/30/25, 7/1/25, 8/1/25, 8/29/25, 10/1/25, 10/31/25, 12/1/25 and 12/31/25 and they posted 4/9/25, 5/7/25, 6/12/25, 7/11/25, 8/6/25, 9/10/25, 10/15/25, 11/6/25, 12/10/25 and 1/15/26).  He also wrote a check from our checkbook at Christmas that was posted 12/30/25.  How do I enter the recurring automatic payments vs the check?  Do I have to put in the amount he sent each month (and how, because I'm only seeing a total to enter)?  Also, the last payment was scheduled for December 31 (I don't know why he didn't cancel that one when he wrote the large check at Christmas), but that bank check (?) didn't come out of our account until mid-January.  Can I deduct it for 2025 or is that for 2026 (when we have a 0.5% floor on charitable deductions, so it means we won't be able to use it because we're itemizing for 2026)?

[DavidD66]

You enter the total amount for the year.  If you have a letter from the church, use the amount on the letter.  Otherwise use the amount that was actually deducted from your bank account during the year (the December 31 draft would not qualify).

According to the IRS, to deduct a cash contribution, regardless of the amount, you must have (and keep) one of the following:

1. Bank record that shows the name of the qualified organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. Bank records may include: 

a.  A canceled check. 

b.  A bank or credit union statement. 

c.  A credit card statement. 

d.  An electronic fund transfer receipt. 

e. A scanned image of both sides of a canceled check obtained from a bank or credit union website.

2. A receipt (or a letter or other written communication such as an email) from the qualified organization showing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. 

3. The payroll deduction records (when applicable).

You can claim a deduction for a contribution of $250 or more only if you have a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of your contribution from the qualified organization.

If you made more than one contribution of $250 or more, you must have either a separate acknowledgment for each or one acknowledgment that lists each contribution and the date of each contribution and shows your total contributions. 

Amount of contribution. In figuring whether your contribution is $250 or more, don't combine separate contributions. For example, if you gave your church $25 each week, your weekly payments don't have to be combined. Each payment is a separate contribution.

For more information see IRS Publication 526

[anonymouse1]

OK, so the $100 each month doesn't need anything other than a canceled (bank) check and the one written (mailed?) December 31 doesn't count for 2025.  But all Turbotax is asking for is the total, how do I put that it was $100/mo for 9 months?

[CatinaT1 · Accepted solution]

Correct, a cancelled check is your record. Dec 31 does count for 2025. Yes, just the total for the year is what you enter.

[anonymouse1]

Do I have to ask our bank if the check was *mailed* December 31?  Because it's dated December 31, according to Pub 526, "Time of making contribution. Usually, you
make a contribution at the time of its uncondi-
tional delivery.
Checks. A check you mail to a charity is
considered delivered on the date you mail it."

Or maybe December 31 it became "unconditional delivery" because the bank wasn't going to cancel it even if he called that day, because it's too hard to stop it from going out?

[CatinaT1]

I would go by the date on the check.