Can I take above the line deductions for charitable donations in 2022 tax year?

Unfortunately, the above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions is no longer available for the 2022 tax year. This was a temporary COVID relief measure that allowed taxpayers to deduct up to $300 ($600 for married filing jointly) in cash contributions without itemizing, but it expired after the 2021 tax year. For 2022, charitable donations can only be deducted if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A. Since you mentioned the standard deduction is higher than what you'd itemize, taking the standard deduction would be more beneficial for you financially. One thing to consider for future tax planning: if your charitable giving varies year to year, you might consider "bunching" your donations. This means making larger donations every other year to exceed the standard deduction threshold in those years, then taking the standard deduction in the off years.

I had the exact same problem with my 2022 taxes! After struggling to figure out the charitable deduction rules, I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that actually helped a lot. It analyzed my donation receipts and confirmed what I suspected - that the above-the-line deduction expired in 2021. What was super useful though was it showed me all the documentation I needed for my donations and explained exactly how the itemizing vs. standard deduction calculation worked with real numbers from my situation. Saved me a ton of research time since the tax rules seem to change every year.

Just wanted to update after checking out taxr.ai - it actually was pretty helpful! I uploaded my donation receipts and it confirmed what everyone here said about the above-the-line deduction being gone for 2022. But where it really helped was with valuing my furniture donations. I had no idea I was significantly undervaluing some items! It has this guided assessment that helps assign reasonable values to everything based on condition. Still didn't get me over the standard deduction threshold, but at least now I have proper documentation if I ever do itemize or get audited. The receipt organization feature is also really nice - I'm terrible at keeping track of tax documents normally.

If you're still looking for tax breaks related to your charitable giving, you might want to look into getting help directly from the IRS. I had a complicated donation situation last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS for clarification. After multiple failed attempts, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in under an hour when I'd been trying for days on my own. They have this system that holds your place in the IRS queue and calls you back when an agent is available. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with explained that while the above-the-line deduction is gone, there are still some special cases that might apply depending on your specific situation. Definitely worth a direct conversation rather than guessing.

I need to apologize to Profile 15 about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I had a question about my late-filed 2021 return that I couldn't get answered anywhere else. I'm genuinely shocked - it actually worked exactly as described. Took about 40 minutes (which is lightning fast for the IRS), and I got connected to an agent who answered my questions about penalties. Saved me at least 3-4 hours of hold time I would have spent doing it myself. For the original question about charitable deductions - the agent confirmed there's no above-the-line deduction for 2022, but suggested looking into QCDs (Qualified Charitable Distributions) if you're over 70.5 and have an IRA. That's a way to get tax benefits from charitable giving without itemizing.

Doesn't anyone remember that the $300/$600 above-the-line deduction was just temporary for COVID? It was never meant to be permanent. Before that special provision, charitable deductions were always itemized deductions. If you really want to get tax benefits from charitable giving, there are some creative approaches: - Donor-advised funds if you have larger amounts - Donating appreciated stock directly (avoid capital gains) - QCDs from IRAs as someone mentioned if you're old enough - Focusing on getting over the standard deduction threshold through bunching Standard deduction for 2022 is $12,950 for single filers, so you need substantial deductions to make itemizing worthwhile.

I think you can still deduct if you're self employed and its a business expense? I donated to some local charities last year from my small business and my accountant said it was deductible???