I made a $300 charitable donation in 2020. This should give me a $300 deduction. When I enter the $300 in TurboTax, why does my return not increase?

[MinhT1]

You need to go through the Wrap up tax breaks procedure in TurboTax.

For 2020, you are allowed to deduct up to $300 ($150 if Married filing Separately) of cash donations to 501(c)3 organizations even if you do not itemize your deductions.

In order to take this above-the-line deduction, enter your donation(s) under Deductions & Credits > Charitable Donations > Donations to Charities in 2020.  The deduction will be added above-the-line by TurboTax after you have completed the  Wrap up tax breaks interview in TurboTax if you take the Standard deduction.

On your form 1040, this deduction appears on line 10b - Charitable contributions if you take the standard deduction.

[Weester]

Thank you for the response!    I was not able to confirm yet - it appears that I cannot do "Wrap up tax breaks" yet, because TurboTax is still awaiting some forms to be finalized.  Hopefully all will go smoothly when those are available.  Thanks again!

[Hal_Al]

Don't go by that "refund meter" at the top of the page. Sometimes it's not accurate until additional info is entered. Wait til you get to the end, to see if you agree with the final result. Then all your info will have been input to analyze the result