Is the turbotax system updated to account for the $300 charitable deductions under the CARES Act for those who take the standard deduction?

[dcnafzger]

^^^ This worked for me! 

[TAXMETWICE]

TODAY 2/19/2021 AFTER UPDATE FROM 2/18:

 unable to take the charitable contribution for line 10b. If its filled in smart check says it should be blank. I filled in line 10b after completing my taxes. yes it was $300 or less.

[TAXMETWICE]

Thanks for the help VolvoGirl, You are correct.

[holidayfrank]

2/20 and looks like it is still a problem.  The solution recommended is not working

[JamesG1]

If you are in TurboTax Online, the screen Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act appears as the end of Deductions & Credits. First you have to pass the screen Based on what you told us, the standard deduction is best for you at the end of Deductions & Credits.

But you have to qualify for the standard deduction before the screen appears.  So you may want to change the value of one or more itemized deductions to $1 so that you qualify for the standard deduction.

Follow these steps:

At the top of the screen, click on Deductions & Credits.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Wrap up tax breaks.

Continue through several screens.

At the screen Based on what you told us, the standard deduction is best for you, click Continue.

At the screen Any Charitable Cash Contributions? remove the dollar amount.

Continue through Federal Review to make sure that things look correct.

Then restore your itemized deductions dollar amounts.

See also this TurboTax Help.

[Nail17]

Agree with this 'work-around' procedure to finally get the CARES Act deduction....none of the other procedures worked with my Premier Edition.

[straightforward988]

Thanks.   Very helpful.  This was a simple answer to a tricky question.   You must go all the way through the charitable deductions and then continue through (no jumping around) to allow you to enter this.  Turbo Tax won't even let you over-ride on the form.   Extremely frustrating and should be fixed as per a software bug. 

[GregCoben]

IRS still needs to clarify whether the $300 deduction is "per tax return" or "per individual."  This is because the CARES Act talks to "individuals" but not taxpayers who are "married filing jointly," where presumably the deduction should be doubled to $600.  Currently, TurboTax allows a $300 maximum, but there seems to be a disagreement within the tax community as to what it should be, i.e., $300/$600 or $300/$300.
IRS Publication 526, "Charitable Contributions" is still in draft for 2020 as of today, so there is no clear guidance yet.  I did go ahead and alert IRS of this issue.
More discussion about this at https://thefinancebuff.com/cares-act-charity-donation-deduction-married.html.

[VolvoGirl]

For 2020 the max is 300 even for a Joint return.  For 2021 it is going up to 600.

[VolvoGirl]

That article you posted does explain it at the end.  It says....

That resolves it. The above-the-line deduction for 2020 is capped at $300 per tax return whether you’re single or married filing jointly. It’s capped at $150 each if you’re married filing separately.

[Update] Just to make it more confusing, Congress passed a new law that extended this deduction to 2021, and the cap in 2021 for married filing jointly is increased to $600. The cap in 2020 for married filing jointly is still left at $300. See 2021 $300 Charity Deduction For Non-Itemizers $600 Married.

[GregCoben]

The problem is that it remains a matter of interpretation until definitively clarified by the IRS.  The following is from the New York Times:
"If my spouse and I file a joint tax return, can we deduct up to $600?

The I.R.S. has not yet made clear whether the law allows a $300 deduction per taxpayer or per tax return. Though some legal firms have written that it is “reasonable” to assume that the deduction is $600 per couple, Ms. [Cari] Weston [director of tax practice and ethics at the American Institute of C.P.A.s] said that most tax professionals would probably advise clients to be “conservative” and deduct no more than $300 per return."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/your-money/charity-deduct[product key removed]avirus.html

[DoninGA]

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@GregCoben wrote:

The problem is that it remains a matter of interpretation until definitively clarified by the IRS.  The following is from the New York Times:
"If my spouse and I file a joint tax return, can we deduct up to $600?

The I.R.S. has not yet made clear whether the law allows a $300 deduction per taxpayer or per tax return. Though some legal firms have written that it is “reasonable” to assume that the deduction is $600 per couple, Ms. [Cari] Weston [director of tax practice and ethics at the American Institute of C.P.A.s] said that most tax professionals would probably advise clients to be “conservative” and deduct no more than $300 per return."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/your-money/charity-deduct[product key removed]avirus.html

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The Form 1040 (2020) Instructions for Line 10b on page 29 are clear - 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.

[RoseKo]

NEVER found this "bonus" screen at the end of deductions and credits, no matter what I did. (We are using Home and Business.)  I had put in all my contributions anyway, WAY in excess of $300, but it chose standard and I never got the screen. SUPER frustrating.  That said...when doing smart check at the end, it gave me the option to manually input into line 10b.  If I didn't know about this, I probably would have just typed in $0 and not understood. Way to go TT....doing taxes in late February and that's how someone needs to figure it out.  Really sad.

[egensman]

The screen others suggest pops up to enter the $300 does not pop up on my basic version of TT.  However, when I go to the 1040 Worksheet, I can enter the $300 in 10b and c on the worksheet. This will transfer the $300 to your 1040.

[Irene2805]

In order to take a deduction for your charitable donations if you are taking the standard deduction, there is an extra step to take in addition to entering the figure in charitable donations. 

Please follow these steps:

1. After entering your deductions, you will see a screen telling you which method is right for you -- standard or itemized deduction. 
2. If you are taking the standard deduction, after that screen you will see a Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act. 
3. Enter the amount of your charitable contribution in the box (up to $300).  Click Continue.