Should Form 1040 line 10b be blank? I made charitable contributions and took the standard deduction, but the final review says "charitable contributions should be blank"

[richkut]

Did you perform a final review to confirm that it may be better for you to take the standard deduction? I thought that I was going to be able to itemize, but the final review proved the opposite! Due to the changes in the tax laws and all of my deductions for 2020, as it turns out this is the first time in decades that the standard deduction saves me more than itemizing--check it out!!

[Winneroak]

Can I deduct the $300 charity when using TurboTax basic?

[JotikaT2]

No, you cannot use TurboTax Basic to obtain the $300 adjustment for charitable contributions.

This amount is reported on Schedule 1, and then pulled into your Form 1040. 

Schedule 1 is used to report any adjustments to your income and includes items like the charitable contribution adjustment allowed by the Cares Act, as well taxable refunds, alimony, or business income just to name a few.

Schedule 1 is not included in the Basic version.

@Winneroak

[AVanBuren]

That worked for me. Thank you

[Vista]

I just went back into the return, did a final check, the error said the $300 should not be on line 10b, so I took it out and printed a new 1040 and it is correct. How did I get the fix so fast? Lucky I guess!

[geoffromicks]

I spent a long time on the phone with a TurboTax agent and I don't know why but the reason we were seeing this error is that TT was showing "You are using the Standard Deduction" when in fact, it put me in the itemized deduction.  Line 10b should be blank for all people using itemized.  If you're having troubles, you should double check which deduction you are using by clicking the box "Change my deduction" on that page.  It showed that I was indeed using itemized, so I just cleared out the $300 from that line.

I don't know that everyone is having the same display error as me but it's one possible avenue.  The TT agent was super surprised and confirmed multiple times that he saw it say Standard Deduction.  At some point, I saved a copy of my tax return with a different name, and it all of a sudden switched to showing Itemized Deduction even though I hadn't changed anything.  I hope this helps someone out there.

[billcheal]

So, Your software is broken!

So many of the auto fill entries do not give me a clue as to where the value came from. This is one of the many flagged entries I received when I tried to check my return.

At least if you showed me where the entry was obtained fro, I may have a clue where the error was, yours or mine!!!!!

[mes5127]

I have spent the last hour trying to e-file my return but I am stuck with this Charitable Contribution error.  I have read the message board and it appears there is still a problem.  I am taking the standard deduction and therefore I get the $300 charitable deduction.  I have gone back to the Deductions / Credits updated the amount to not exceed $300.  I have taken all the steps communicated in the message board by the experts but still it doesn't matter what I put in there.  I am even willing to forget the deduction but no the program seems to refuse allow you to e-file. 

[ReneeM7122]

Remove the charitable contribution at the screen Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act.

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.

After you complete the steps above, follow this if necessary:

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.

@mes5127

[tim100]

I dont see "I'll choose what I will work on." Is this on the online version (deluxe)?

[BillM223]

@tim100

Different versions of the product have different screens. Also, the dynamic nature of the input screens means that based on your previous answers, you may not see the same screens as someone else or as even you did on a previous pass. So rather than worrying about "I'll choose what I will work on." (which really isn't that important), let's review the steps by which the deduction on 10b is taken.

Go to Charitable Donations under Deductions & Credits. Make sure to enter any cash charitable donations that you made (i.e., category of  MONEY). If you are sure that you are not gong to itemize, you don't need to enter anything else here (unless your state allows more itemized deductions that the federal return).

Then skip the suggestion to go to the Charitable Cash Contributions under CARES Act. Instead, when you are done with your return and the Standard Deduction has been chosen for you, start the Review. In the Review, TurboTax will notice (1) you are taking the Standard Deduction, and (2) you have made some cash donations.

This will cause TurboTax to ask you in the Review to enter the amount for 10b (the lesser of your cash donations or $300).

This process has worked since mid-January.

OK?

[alexandervin]

there are 3 MANDATORY radio buttons on the charitable deductions section a) 60% only b) other c) and 50% donation. This is new to me. For a straight forward cash donation (no services rendered - just supporting the cause) which is the correct button to choose, please?  I do not file with the 'standard' deductions - I itemize for other reasons.

[DawnC]

Line 12b should be blank if you are itemizing.   

The amount you can deduct is usually limited, depending on what you donate and the type of charity.    The amount you can deduct for charitable contributions is generally limited to no more than 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Your deduction may be further limited to 50%, 30%, or 20% of your AGI, depending on the type of property you give and the type of organization you give it to.   A higher limit applies to certain qualified conservation contributions and qualified cash contributions for 2020.

Your AGI is the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11.

If you make a very large charitable donation in a single year, you may not be able to deduct all of your donation in that year. The IRS limits the amount of deduction you can take to a percentage (50% for non-cash, or 60% of cash contributions) of your adjusted gross income (AGI).  If this happens to you, you can deduct the remainder of your donation in subsequent years. This is called a charitable contribution carryover and it becomes an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

We'll do the math for you as we go through your return. Generally, the amount you can deduct for cash is limited to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For donated items, it's limited to 50% of your AGI.   To do the calculation, you multiply your AGI by 60% or 50% to find out the dollar amount you can deduct.  Your cash contribution must be counted against the limit first, then your donated items. We'll calculate these amounts for you.

@alexandervin

[DBergie]

This does not fix the problem.

I can enter cash donations here and they have no impact on my taxes due. It is like TurboTax thinks I am itemizing yet it shows me getting the standard deduction

[DianeW777]

Some TurboTax Online customers are experiencing an issue when trying to enter their charitable cash donations when claiming the Standard Deduction.

Enter the amount of donations you made up to the maximum limit per your filing status.

For Married Filing Jointly, the maximum amount to claim is $600. For Single filers, the maximum amount to claim is $300.

1. Manually enter your charitable donations directly into TurboTax:
   1. Open your return in TurboTax.
   2. In the search box, search for donations and then select the Jump to link in the search results.
   3. Answer No when asked if you have an ItsDeductible account (even if the answer is yes).
   4. Answer Yes to Do you want to enter your donations for 2021?
   5. Follow the instructions to enter your donations.

Please update here if you need further assistance. 

@DBergie