For the past several years we have not been able to itemize on our income tax, and thus could take no deduction for charitable contributions.
Due to medical expenses, on this year's return we are ahead if we itemize. I have read that charitable contributions from past years could be carried-over to the current year. Would this apply in our circumstance?
Thank you.
JJ
The carryover referred to is for charitable contributions that could not be deducted because the amount of deduction claimed on the Schedule A exceeded the AGI limits. Taxpayers who make large charitable deductions are limited by the amount of their AGI. Typically, you can't deduct contributions that exceed 50% of your AGI. In some cases, the threshold is a lower percentage of AGI.
There is no carryover for the contributions you describe.
Of course you were "able to". But the standard deduction proved more advantageous. So, you charaitable contributions for those years can no longer be used. They are not lost, but were deemed part of the standard deduction.
As others have noted, you can't carry over the contributions.
But with some planning, you may be able to take advantage of the situation by bunching your contributions into this year. That would involve donating for both both this year and next year before December
31st, so that all of your contributions fall within this tax year. Then for 2011, when you will hopefullly not have large medical expenses, you can go back to the standard deduction.Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
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