Line 12b on the Form 1040 is for charitable contributions when a taxpayer is taking the standard deduction. A taxpayer with a filing status of single, is allowed to deduct up to $300 (in cash only, no non-cash charitable deductions) as a charitable contribution. Taxpayers with a filing status of married filing jointly, and taking the standard deduction, can deduct up to $600 (again cash only) as a charitable contribution. Review your entries for charitable contributions to ensure you have not entered an amount greater than what is allowed for your filing status.
I have received and tried three different responses to fix this issue and none have worked so far. I have walked through all the deductions, removed my itemized listing of charitable deductions, used ItsDeductible to import my charitable contributions and the result is always the same. I have deleted the $300 numerous times, replaced it with zero and then $600 (the correct amount) and every time it repopulates with $300 and then tells me that is in error. I cannot file until this is fixed, who or how can I contact at TurboTax to get this fixed? I have used this product for over 15 years and never have run into any problem like this before.
I am running TurboTax Premier for Windows Version 021.000.0415 and only see this error if I entered a Charitable Donation in the Deductions & Credits section and only eligible for the Standard Deduction.
To remove the error I went into Forms mode and deleted the Charitable Organization Worksheet. Then on the Form 1040 Worksheet for Line 12b removed the $300 amount so Line 12b is now blank (empty).
Going back to Step-by-Step I completed the Deductions & Credits section without entering anything for a charitable donation. Continuing through the screens until landing on the screen labeled Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act, I entered $600. Continued through Final Review without error.
For the TurboTax online editions -
The problem appears to be that a charitable donation was entered in the Deductions and Credits section of the program when you are only eligible for the Standard Deduction.
Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen
Click on Tools
Click on Delete a form
Scroll through the all the forms, schedules and worksheets listed and delete all the Charitable Organization forms listed.
When completed with removing forms click on
Continue With My Return
at the bottom of the list.
Click on Federal on the left side of the screen
Click on Deductions & Credits at the top of the screen
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on
Wrap up tax breaks
Continue through the screens. After the screen showing that you are getting the Standard Deduction the following screen is Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act. Enter $600 if filing Jointly or $300 for all other filing status'. The federal review and the Final Review should no longer show an error for the charitable donation.
I am running TurboTax Premier for Mac. I followed your instructions and went through the Deductions and Credits section, but I am unable to locate a screen labeled "Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act".
@mlh9 wrote:
I am running TurboTax Premier for Mac. I followed your instructions and went through the Deductions and Credits section, but I am unable to locate a screen labeled "Charitable Cash Contributions under Cares Act".
Providing that you are only getting the Standard Deduction, that screen should have showed up right after the screen the showed you are getting the Standard Deduction.
Unfortunately, I do not recall seeing that screen. I recall entering all my "itemized" deductions and at the end of that interview the screen indicated that I would be getting the Standard Deduction. Is there any way to get back to that screen without beginning another return?
Click on Deductions & Credits at the top of the desktop program screen. Click on I'll choose what I work on. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Done with deductions. Continue and the third screen should show that you are receiving the Standard Deduction.
I'm not seeing a solution. When I click on I'll choose what I work on and select yet again the federal deduction, I run Smart Check and boom, the same error for the $300 appears
The solution mentioned in this thread was posted by @DoninGA above. You can also see it here.
If that does not resolve the issue for you, please reach out to a TurboTax representative for assistance.
What is the TurboTax phone number?
Clicking all the way through the multiple screens seemed to solve the problem for me. I believe I may have stopped too soon in prior attempts, that is, I did not click through all the screens as they presented themselves.
If you delete the charitable deductions in the deductions and credit sections then they do not roll over to the state form (in my case Iowa). A solution needs to address how you can use standard deduction on the federal 1040 and Itemized on the state -- which is allowed at least for/in Iowa. I'm trying to use the $600 Cares act deduction on the federal form (standard deductions) but use a higher value on the state (itemized)
So frustrating am having same issue. Turbo Tax should be fixing this in the online edition ASAP or at least have a prompt to note the workaround.
There are steps you can take to get around the issue @CKreuz
You just have to click through a few more screens to get your deduction to show up on Line 12b. Right now, TurboTax does not know if you are taking the standard deduction or if you are itemizing deductions. To clear this up in TurboTax and get your deduction recorded on your tax return, do the following.
You will get some follow-up finalizing questions before you see the message - The Standard Deduction is Right For You! Continue clicking through those screens, answer the Cares Act Contribution question, and your charitable contribution should then show up on line 12b of your Form 1040, correctly.
Just now got email from TT that says they are aware and working on fix.
This issue should be fixed by TurboTax (intuit). We should not have to do a work around to fix it. How do we get this issue to them if they don't see it here and fix it Intuit, are you hearing this?
Same issue here. Extremely frustrating this year as they didn't have my state's OR-A form ready until today and now another issue. I am starting to file with another software just in case they don't get this fixed soon.
Update on my situation. I was able to fix this on the online version by manual putting 600 instead of 300. I selected married filing jointly but somehow they automatically put 300.
There was an update for TT today....but that didn't address this issue.
I wonder, when you go through the deductions process and get all the screens mentioned,
and for the time being the review step says no errors, if you actually try to file, if the error will
appear again in your upload file to TT and you get rejected. For now, I'm waiting for an update
to fix it....
More assistance and explanation on the issue you are having has been provided by clicking here.
I've encountered this same issue trying to get my returns e-filed. Although I can input the correct amount, I'm getting an error trying to complete the filings, as such:
The Intuit Electronic Filing System is having difficulty recognizing the data in the return you are sending. Make sure your TurboTax program is up to date. Go to the Online menu and select Check for Updates. If you still can't transmit your return, go to www.support.turbotax.com for a solution or workaround. In some cases, you may need to file this return by mail. - Tax Year 2021 transmissions are not available. - TurboTax is not ready to process Tax Year 2021 for this return.
I don't know if these issues are related, but I hope they are resolved ASAP. I'd really like to get my returns filed and be done with it. I've used TurboTax for years and have never had such problems until now. This is unacceptable.
With respect to the Line 12b issue, I stumbled upon a different thread last night that solved that issue. If you're taking the standard deduction (and NOT itemized deductions) this will apply. Delete all the charitable donation info stored in the usual place in deductions. Go through the screens until you get to Done with Deductions. After that, when the app tells you that you're getting he standard deduction, another prompt will appear that allows (under the CARES Act) a deduction of up to $300 (or $600 married filing jointly) for cash donations. Entering the amount here solved the issue I had with Line 12b. I'm not sure how we were just supposed to know that - at least I found it to be very unclear.
The e-filing issue did not go away, however, so that is definitely a separate issue. I submitted a separate question on that.