Charitable Deduction Carryover in Standard Deduction Years
Contributions in excess of the deduction limits may be carried forward for five years. An amount can be carried over even though an individual does not itemize in the year of the contribution.
However, in any year, the taxpayer elects to take the standard deduction instead of itemizing the deductions allowable in computing taxable income, that year is nevertheless treated as one of the five carryover years and also reduces the amount of carryforward, even though the taxpayer received no benefit by taking the standard deduction. (Reg. §1.170A-10(a)(2), (b)(2))
Thus, the carryover is reduced by the amount that would have been allowed if the individual itemized. The following is a simple example to demonstrate the concept.
Example: In 2021 the taxpayer has an AGI of $50,000 and chooses to use the standard deduction instead of itemizing his deductions. He has a $40,000 contribution carryover from 2020 consisting entirely of cash contributions that were subject to the 60% of AGI limitation (he elected not to use the 100% of AGI limit in 2020). The amount of the carryover deemed to be used in 2021 would be $30,000 (60% of $50,000) leaving a $10,000 carryover to 2022.
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