CARES Act charitable donation with standard deduction

[JTK]

Under the CARES Act, individual taxpayers can claim an "above-the-line" deduction of up to $300 for cash donations made to charity during 2020.

I'm getting a jump-start on my taxes this year, using TurboTax Home & Business (Mac). My charitable contributions (cash donations all and entered as "Money" in TurboTax) are listed on the Form 1040/1040SR Worksheet under line 10 (linked to the Charitable Contributions Summary, as expected). However, line 10b on the worksheet, "Charitable contributions if you take the standard deduction" is blank and shaded yellow. Similarly, line 10b on my Form 1040 is blank. I'm using the standard deduction, so I expected to be able to take a $300 deduction. Needless to say, the program is not factoring this deduction into my tax calculation.

Is this a bug? Have I entered something incorrectly?

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

No, it is not  bug, but TurboTax cannot determine if you will have other deductions to itemize so until the deductions & credits section is totally finishes and TurboTax tells you that the standard deduction is correct for you, it will not show up on the 1040.

[JTK]

Thanks!

I navigated through all of the "Deductions & Credits" sections, and then it confirmed that I should be using the standard deduction, and it updated the CARES Act charitable deduction properly.

[garrich2842]

Please allow me to say It is a bug. I'm not itemizing. When running the federal smart check. it identifies that I need to enter an amount if I chose to itemize. I enter manually typing over the red numbers the number 300.00 save the file. It still flags it as an error to be fixed. I have also clicked on the + sign then enter a description and enter the 300.00 again. It autofills the total as 300.00. I save the file, run the smart check and it flags it as an error again. Please know I'm running on Windows 10.TurboTax version 2020.0. Ive gotten the latest updates today Feb 2 2021. 

[JamesG1]

This TurboTax Help states: 

• For 2020, even if you don’t itemize, you may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualified organizations.

I was able to enter and successfully Review in TurboTax Desktop by following these steps:

• Across the top of the screen, click on Federal Taxes.
• Click on Deductions & Credits.
• At the screen How do you want to enter your deductions and credits?, click on I’ll choose what I work on.
• Across the top of the screen Your 2020 Deductions & Credits, scroll down to the bottom and click Done with deductions.
• Continue until the screen Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act.
• Enter your charitable cash contribution.  If you enter more than $300 (for a Single taxpayer), your deduction will be capped at $300..
• Click Continue.
• Click Done with Other.
• Across the top of the screen, click Review, then Continue.
• After Review is complete, click Step-by-Step in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
• Select Form 1040 in the left hand column to review the entry on line 10b of the 1040.

[Leigh2727]

I was struggling finding this on the desktop version - but this worked, the question was after being told they were using the standard deduction and then clicking next to "Other" - so thank you for that detailed step-by-step!  Much Appreciated!

[VikingEric]

I still think there is a bug here.  It accepts an entry of $600 for married filing jointly, but does not update 1040 10b correctly.  Seems to max out at $300.

Charitable donations: The 2020 CARES Act created a $300 above-the-line deduction for cash charitable donations for 2020 tax filers who don’t itemize deductions. The CAA increased this to $600 for married couples, and extended the deduction through 2021.

[DoninGA]

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@VikingEric wrote:

I still think there is a bug here.  It accepts an entry of $600 for married filing jointly, but does not update 1040 10b correctly.  Seems to max out at $300.

Charitable donations: The 2020 CARES Act created a $300 above-the-line deduction for cash charitable donations for 2020 tax filers who don’t itemize deductions. The CAA increased this to $600 for married couples, and extended the deduction through 2021.

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The maximum above the line charitable contribution for tax year 2020 is $300.  For tax year 2021 the maximum will be $600 if filing as Married Filing Jointly.

IRS Form 1040 (2020) Instructions page 29 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf#page=29

Line 10b
If you don't itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you (or you and your spouse if filing jointly) may be able to take a charitable deduction for cash contributions made in 2020.
Enter the total amount of your contributions on line 10b. Don't enter more than:
• $300 if single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er);
• $300 if married filing jointly; or
• $150 if married filing separately

[VikingEric]

Thank you for the quick response.  OMG, could this be any more confusing.  I read the link below and it clarified things for me.

CARES Act 2020 Charity Donation Deduction: $300 or $600 for Married? (thefinancebuff.com)

Thank You

[AP35]

There seems to be a bug. I took the standard deduction and entered the $300 under the Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act section but at final review prior to filing, an error continues to appear saying the Charitable Cash Contributions section needs to be fixed, the amount is too large? Thanks for any help! 

[DawnC]

What amount is showing on the review page?   The max is $300.   Try this:

1. Get out of the Review portion by clicking on Federal in the left side panel
2. Click on Deductions & Credits at the top
3. Scroll all the way down and click on Wrap Up Tax Breaks
4. Click on OK to confirm your standard deduction
5. On the next screen, enter your cash contribution - Max is $300 no matter what your filing status is
6. Continue through until go start the Review section again

@AP35

[AP35]

Thanks for the quick response! $300 is showing on the review page. So I'm not sure why it keeps showing 'amount too large'? 

[ReneeM7122]

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: 

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.

@AP35

[marjoriehilts]

I believe I have found a bug in TurboTax. 1040SR line 10B should be $600 for married filing jointly. It auto fills only $300, however, the IRS has stated the above-the-line deduction is a per person deduction. How can I fix this error? Thanks.

[DoninGA]

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@marjoriehilts wrote:

I believe I have found a bug in TurboTax. 1040SR line 10B should be $600 for married filing jointly. It auto fills only $300, however, the IRS has stated the above-the-line deduction is a per person deduction. How can I fix this error? Thanks.

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There is no error.  The maximum for tax year 2020 is $300.

Go to the IRS Form 1040 (2020) Instructions for Line 10b on page 29 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf#page=29

Line 10b
If you don't itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you (or you and your spouse if filing jointly) may be able to take a charitable deduction for cash contributions made in 2020.
Enter the total amount of your contributions on line 10b. Don't enter more than:
• $300 if single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er);
• $300 if married filing jointly; or
• $150 if married filing separately