What this line means
Charitable contributions from prior years that exceeded the AGI percentage limits and were carried forward to this year. Charitable deductions are limited to a percentage of your AGI (typically 60% for cash, 30% for appreciated property). Contributions beyond those limits carry forward for up to five years.
Does this apply to you?
- You made large charitable contributions in a prior year that exceeded the AGI limit
- You donated appreciated property exceeding 30% of your AGI in a prior year
- You have carryover amounts documented on your prior-year Schedule A or charitable contribution worksheet
Easy to overlook
The five-year carryforward has a use-it-or-lose-it deadline Excess charitable contributions carry forward for exactly five years. If you had $50,000 of excess contributions in 2020, any unused amount expires after your 2025 return. There are no extensions. Use carryover amounts before making large new donations, because current-year contributions are used first. 1 IRS Publication 526 — Charitable Contributions
Current-year contributions are used before carryovers The IRS requires that you deduct current-year contributions first, up to the AGI limit. Only if space remains under the limit can you deduct carryover amounts. This ordering rule means new donations in a year when you have carryovers can push the carryovers further into the future, potentially past the five-year window. 2 General filing pattern — charitable contribution carryforward
Watch out for this
Forgetting about the carryover entirely when switching tax software or preparers. The carryover is documented on your prior-year return’s charitable contribution limitation worksheet. If your new preparer does not ask for it, or your software does not import it, you forfeit legitimate deductions. Always provide prior-year returns to a new preparer.
Footnotes
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IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf ↩
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IRS Schedule A (Form 1040) Instructions. See also IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf ↩