Donations to Charity when not married and filing taxes separate.

[PSBMANLIJZM]

My partner and I have a checking account together and we give to chartities such as church and food banks throughout the year. Most of the checks are written by me. The letter provided by the church is address to me as well. Can we split the amount we contributed since it came from both of our checking accounts?

[HelenC12]

Yes, you can split the donation amounts  for your charities since it came from a joint account.  

To get the charitable tax deduction, you have to itemize your deductions on Schedule A and the total amount of ALL your deductions has to be greater than your standard deduction. 

To write off any cash contributions, no matter how small, you need a canceled check, bank record or a receipt with the charity's name and donation amount. That means that putting cash in the church collection plate or the Salvation Army bucket is a no-no if you want to be able to take a deduction for it.

As with all deductions, timing is everything. You can take the deduction for your contribution in the year that you make it.

To enter your 2022 charitable donations in TurboTax, click here.