The acceleration of Income Tax Benefits for Charitable Cash Contributions for Relief of Victims of Earthquake in Haiti (P.L. 111-126 (H.R. 4462)) enacted on Friday, Jan 22, 2010, allows taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return to qualify for this special tax relief.

Any cash contribution made after Jan 11, 2010, and before Mar 1, 2010 for the relief of victims in areas affected by the Jan 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti are eligible to claim the contribution as if they made it Dec 31, 2009.

The new law applies to cash (as opposed to property) contributions. The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the Jan 12 earthquake in Haiti.

Taxpayers have the option of deducting these contributions on either their 2009 or 2010 returns but not both.

Taxpayers donating to Haiti relief by using their cell phone text messaging service may use a telephone bill showing the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution as meeting the recordkeeping requirements of Code section 170(f)(17).

More details can be found in the IRS news release IR-2010-12 issued on Jan 25, 2010. 

Larry Banks