TurboTax optimizes the claim between you and will recommend a carry forward if it calculates that saving the donation claim for a future year is optimal. The Charitable Donation Optimizer can also help you determine who should report and claim your donation.

Here are some steps to follow, if needed.

1. Enter the donations for each spouse.
2. The optimizer automatically places the total amount of donations on one spouse's return.
3. To assign a split of the donations, continue in the Donations section until you reach the screen called "Split credit with spouse or common-law partner" (right after the carry forward to 2020 screen).
4. Choose the amount of donations you'd like to assign to the spouse who currently has zero.
5. Click Continue to save the choice.