Haiti Donations Deductible for California

From the California Franchise Tax Board Tuesday:

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) announced today that a new state law allows taxpayers to immediately deduct their donations made to provide relief for the January 12 Haitian earthquake.

"This is welcome news for Californians who are supporting earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti," said State Controller and FTB Chair John Chiang.

Charitable deductions are normally taken on a tax return the following calendar year. The new law gives donating taxpayers the added option to claim the deductions immediately on their 2009 returns instead of waiting to claim it on their 2010 returns.

To claim the charitable deduction on the 2009 tax return, both individuals and businesses must have made the Haitian-relief contributions to qualified charities before March 1, 2010. Only cash contributions such as those made by text message, check, credit card or debit card qualify. The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

The new legislation, Assembly Bill 347 (Stats 2010, Ch. 8), conforms to similar federal law (Haitian Relief Bill H.R. 4462; P.L. 111-126).

Information on the federal law is available in our previous post here.