Help. I do not know why I should take the standard deduction when itemized deductions from list below exceed the $27800 standard deduction by approximately $5500. I itemized property tax, 2021 state tax estimate withheld, 2020 state tax payment due, charity, and car registration. Please explain if there is an error in turbo tax or my logic and how to correct it.
You can only deduct $10,000 in state taxes, so it is possible that you are overstating your state tax deduction. If so, then your allowable itemized deductions may be less than your standard deductions.
Thanks for the reply. My state tax total is well under 10000. About 80% of my deductions are to charity.
If 80% of your deductions are donations to charity, it is possible that your contributions are being limited. Depending on the type of donation and type of organization you are donating to, donation limitations can be as low as 20% of your AGI. This means the amount you enter for the donation, may not be the amount that is being counted towards your itemized deductions. Therefore, your itemized deductions are likely to be less than what you are entering.