On January 22, 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, and the House had similarly passed it by voice vote on January 20. 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 Jan. 11, 2010, and before Mar. 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. See article below for additional discussion.

Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service issued guidance that designates the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 as a qualified disaster for federal tax purposes. The guidance allows recipients of qualified disaster relief payments to exclude those payments from income on their tax returns. Also, the guidance allows employer-sponsored private foundations to assist victims in areas affected by the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti without affecting their tax-exempt status.