2010-01-27 CNN
Some help for all of you who are helping Haiti’s earthquake victims and a new bill let you write off your donations this tax season. Our personal financier Jerry Malice is on top of that force. Jerry, look, this sounds like good news all round.
Well, you know just last night this bill passed the Senate, Tony, and President Obama is expected to sign it into law as soon as next week. A similar measure passed after the tsunami in 2005. And here are the rules, for example, you must make your contribution your donation to the crisis in Haiti between January 11th and March 1st. Also this year a lot of folks donated to organizations via text messaging as you know. This bill also allows taxpayer to substantiate those deductions made by cell phone with their phone bill that shows the date, the amount and the name of the organization that got the contribution. So really trying to make it easy here to give money and to get that tax deduction, Tony.
Yeah, and Jerry, are there any other tax benefits that we could see in the coming days and weeks?
We know what’s interesting, after hurricane took Katrina, there were a number of tax benefits and some of those benefits, well they could be reinstated by Congress, for example, in this tax year, it may be easier for individuals and corporations to deduct the value of food donations they make. The IRS typically has very strict rules about deducting food donations. Of course it’s important to know what you can’t deduct, just as much important as what you can. Here are things you can’t deduct. Aid to an individual, aid to a foreign government and keep in mind here that any donations to foreign organizations, even legitimate relief organizations that are based on domicile somewhere else, the charity must have some kind of presence in the US for you to be able to deduct that contribution, Tony.
That is terrific, all right, Jerry. I appreciate it. Thank you! Have a great weekend!