President Obama has signed a bill that would allow donors to accelerate the income tax benefits of charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

The bill would allow 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 would apply 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 would be deductible on the 2009 return, not the 2010 return. The bill also would relieve recordkeeping requirements for Haitian relief contributions. For these contributions, a telephone bill would satisfy 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.

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