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If I donated cash to church or clothing/personal items to goodwill/thrift stores does that count?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
January 23, 2024
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TurboTax Free Edition Online

Best answer by Opus 17

Yes, you can list donations to charities and churches. Whether this reduces your tax or increases your refund depends on your overall tax situation (like, whether your itemized deductions are more than your standard deduction). If audited, you must have certain receipts and other proofs. In particular, you are no longer allowed to deduct donations of cash unless you have a receipt from the charity. (You can deduct donations by bank card or check if you have the bank record, even if the organization does not give you a receipt--although they are required to give you a receipt if you donate more than $75. But if you put anonymous cash in the collection plate and the church doesn't know who you are to send a receipt and you don;t have a bank record of the donation, you can't deduct it.)

X

xmasbaby0

Employee

A charitable donation almost never changes your tax due or refund all by itself. First, your donation does not count "dollar for dollar"--it is calculated by a percentage based on your tax bracket. You need a LOT of other itemized deductions like mortgage interest or property taxes, medical expense, etc. to itemize and exceed your standard deduction.

That being said, you are posting from the Free Edition of TurboTax which does not support itemized deductions. In order to itemize your deductions, you need an upgraded version of TT such as Deluxe (or higher). If you do not have enough deductions to itemize, then your donations will not affect your refund or tax due. You will just receive the standard deduction.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

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Opus 17Answer

Employee

Yes, you can list donations to charities and churches. Whether this reduces your tax or increases your refund depends on your overall tax situation (like, whether your itemized deductions are more than your standard deduction). If audited, you must have certain receipts and other proofs. In particular, you are no longer allowed to deduct donations of cash unless you have a receipt from the charity. (You can deduct donations by bank card or check if you have the bank record, even if the organization does not give you a receipt--although they are required to give you a receipt if you donate more than $75. But if you put anonymous cash in the collection plate and the church doesn't know who you are to send a receipt and you don;t have a bank record of the donation, you can't deduct it.)