News

Congress has passed, and the President has signed, legislation allowing taxpayers to claim a deduction on their 2009 federal tax return for qualified Haiti disaster relief contributions.

The bill gives taxpayers the option of claiming a deduction on either their 2009 or 2010 tax return for 2010 donations to a domestic U.S. charitable organization assisting Haiti. Taxpayers entitled to the deduction include both individuals and corporations.

 Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return qualify for this special tax relief provision, enacted January 22. Only cash contributions made to these charities after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, are eligible. This includes contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card.

Federal law requires taxpayers to keep a record of any deductible donations they make. For donations by text message, a telephone bill will meet the recordkeeping requirement if it shows the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution and the amount of the contribution. For cash contributions made by other means, be sure to keep a bank record, such as a cancelled check, or a receipt from the charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution.  If the charitable payment is greater than $250, timely acknowledgement from the charitable organization is required documentation.