If you are donating to charities providing
earthquake relief in Haiti, you may be able to claim those donations on your 2009 tax return. Here
are 10 important facts we want you to know about this special provision.
- A
new law allows you to claim donations for Haitian relief on your 2009 tax return, which you will be
filing this year.
- The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in
areas affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
- To be eligible for a deduction on the
2009 tax return, donations must be made after Jan. 11, 2010 and before March 1, 2010.
- In
order to be deductible, contributions must be made to qualified charities and can not be designated
for the benefit of specific individuals or families.
- The new law applies only to cash
contributions.
- Cash contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card may
be claimed on your federal tax return.
- You must itemize your deductions in order to claim
these donations on your tax return.
- You have the option of deducting these contributions on
either your 2009 or 2010 tax return, but not both.
- Contributions made to foreign
organizations generally are not deductible. You can find out more about organizations helping
Haitian earthquake victims from agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development ( www.usaid.gov).
- Federal law requires that you keep a record of any deductible donations you make. For
donations by text message, a telephone bill will meet the record-keeping requirement if it shows the
name of the organization receiving your donation, the date of the contribution, and the amount
given. 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. Receipts should show the name of the charity, the
date and amount of the contribution.
For more information please contact one of our
member firms. You can find the member nearest to you by clicking here.
