News

2010 Haitian Relief Contributions Deductible on 2009 Returns
Monday, 01 February 2010

On January 22, 2010 President Obama signed into law H.R. 4462, a bill that allows donors to accelerate the income tax benefits of charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The Senate had previously passed the bill by voice vote on January 21, 2010 and the House had similarly passed it by voice vote on January 20, 2010. The Act has been assigned a Public law number: P.L. 111-126.

The bill allows individuals who make charitable contributions to aid Haitian earthquake victims to elect to claim an itemized charitable deduction on their 2009 tax return (instead of having to wait until next year to claim the deductions on their 2010 tax return). The election applies only to Haitian relief contributions made in cash after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010. If the election is made, Haiti relief donations are deductible on the 2009 return, not the 2010 return. The bill also relieves recordkeeping requirements for Haitian relief contributions. For these contributions, a telephone bill satisfies the Code Sec. 170(f)(17) recordkeeping requirements if it shows the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.