Can I enter actual fuel and food expenses for travel related to a charity? I don't want mileage. TT Deluxe won't allow me to enter any travel expenses without mileage.

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 13, 2021
1 reply
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I would like to enter actual fuel and food expenses for travel related to a charity. But under charitable contributions, it always asks for and reverts to mileage. I am not claiming mileage but Turbo Tax Deluxe won't allow me to enter any travel expenses without mileage and when I enter it, it always assigns a mileage deduction. I know I can't claim both actual expenses and mileage, the IRS allows one or the other, but TT does not allow me to enter actual travel expenses.

TurboTax Deluxe Online

AnnetteB6

You can enter your actual expenses related to charitable travel by skipping the mileage field. If anything is entered in that box, then the standard charitable mileage rate will be used to calculate the mileage portion of the deduction.

Instead, enter the date of your travel and the total cost of your other travel expenses plus the description. This will allow your deduction to be based on the expenses you entered instead of mileage.

Be sure you have kept records to substantiate your expenses. Your records may include the miles you drove even if the deduction was not calculated using the standard charitable mileage rate.

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rkschallerAuthor

I tried leaving the mileage field blank but TT Deluxe would not allow me to continue without something entered in that field. I even tried entering 1 mile, but it then still listed the expense as "mileage" rather than actual expenses.

DaveF1006

It depends. The IRS does allow you to enter actual travel expenses in lieu of mileage.

Log into Turbo Tax
Go to federal>deductions and credits>Charitable Donations>Donations to Charity in 2020
When you find your charitable donation on the summary page, select edit
Select add a donation underneath that entry
Select mileage and business expenses
Next page will say Enter your mileage and travel expenses for XXXXX.
At the bottom, the page will say other travel costs. Enter the amounts here plus a brief summary of your travel costs.
Here is a screenshot on what this looks like.