Donation in 2020, 1098-C January 2021. Can I claim this deduction in 2020?

[mustang59a]

I have a Form 1098-C for a car I donated in December 2020. Unfortunately, the sale didn't take place till January 2021, and that is dated on the Form 1098-C. Can I claim this deduction in 2020, or must I wait for 2021?

[ThomasM125 · Accepted solution]

The date of contribution in box 1 is the date that you go by to determine what year to take the deduction. It should have a date in December, since that is when you made the contribution. If not, then you should request a corrected form.

[burnsun1]

I have same issue and turbo tax keeps denying it as the sale date is Jan 2021.   Saying ineligible.   I am thinking / feeling like it is glitch because of the minimum information I ofund as it is donation date and only need the 1098 c with the amount for the verification of the sale.

Is this you error.  I found a lot of information about going back and ammending previous returns if you received your 1098 after filing that years.  But none for this actual situation (ours Nov4 2020 - sale Jan 4 2021)

[DavidD66]

Since you made the donation in 2020, it is deductible in 2020.  I would enter the 1098-C using the date you made the donation.  This could result in you getting a letter from the IRS, but as long as you have documentation showing the actual donation date was in 2020, you just reply and provide that to the IRS.  Or you could wait and claim the donation on your 2021 tax return.

[joyandpenny]

Hi DavidD66

The question is not when to claim the deduction but why is TurboTax flagging it as an error for tax year 2020  if the sales date [Box 4b] is in 2021 but the [Box 1] date on the 1098-C is in 2020.  I have the same issue.  I think TurboTax needs to fix the software

[joyandpenny]

Update 02/28/21.  Been on the phone with TurboTax, finally got to the resolution desk.  This is acknowledge as a known error in the Smart Check, hopefully an update will be sent out soon.  I will post when I get notified of the update rolling out