Taxpayer asks:
Hello there and thank you for answering my question.
I am self employed and contributed nearly $8,000 in cash/non cash donations this past year (goodwill, church, habitat for humanity). When my friend did my taxes on her computer program it did not reflect a deduction upon entering in the charitable donation information.
I hve all proper documentation but I am wondering if there is some place in particular she has to put the amount on the form when not filing a long form?
Taxgirl says:
The short answer is that you have to use the long form.
The short form (1040-EZ) is a basic tax form for taxpayers who report wages, use the standard deduction and plan to claim no credits other than the earned income tax credit (EITC). You cannot claim itemized deductions on a short form.
Charitable contributions are itemized deductions. You report itemized deductions on a schedule A on your federal form 1040 on lines 16-19 (see below):

If your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction ($5,450 if single and $10,900 if married filing jointly), you’ll want to claim the itemized deduction to get the bigger benefit. You should consider other deductions that might be included on Schedule A such as medical expenses, other taxes paid, casualty losses, job expenses and miscellaneous expenses to maximize your available deductions.
More importantly, however, than the charitable deductions issue is that if you’re self-employed, you can’t use the short form. You must use a long form (federal form 1040) if you had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400. You’ll need to file a Schedule SE to figure your self-employment tax - and you will likely want to file a Schedule C to claim business expenses against your business income.
Make sure you’re using a good computer program, like TurboTax or TaxAct, to walk you through these forms. If it’s still too confusing, consider hiring a tax professional.
Like any good lawyer, I need to add a disclaimer: Unfortunately, it is impossible to give comprehensive tax advice over the internet, no matter how well researched or written. Before relying on any information given on this site, contact a tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
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