March 10, 2010
It bears repeating: Rules for donating to Chile disasterOnce again a major disaster has struck. On Feb. 27, 2010, a devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami ravaged Chile.
With earthquake relief efforts in Haiti barely under way, you are once again being called upon to provide financial assistance to aid the victims. If you decide to provide financial help, you may be able to obtain a tax deduction on your 2010 return.
Contributions to domestic tax-exempt charitable organizations that provide assistance to individuals in foreign lands qualify as tax-deductible contributions for federal income tax purposes, provided that the U.S. organization has control and discretion over the use of funds.
You can ensure that you are contributing to a qualified charity by using the "Search for Charities" function on the IRS Web site at www.IRS.gov to see if the charity you intend to support is a qualified charity listed in IRS Publication 78. Certain organizations, such as churches or governmental organizations, may be qualified to accept charitable contributions, even though they are not listed in Publication 78.
Contributions directly to victims are not deductible. Also, the time period for contributing to Haitian earthquake relief and claiming a deduction on last year's tax return has expired.
Read more in IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions.
Contact our firm if you have any questions or comments about this article.
The technical information here is necessarily brief. No final conclusion on
these topics should be drawn without further review and consultation. Please
be advised that, based on current IRS rules and standards, the advice contained
herein is not intended to be used, nor can it be used, for the avoidance of any
tax penalty assessed by the IRS.
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