The House unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that would make donations made after
The
Without such a change, donations made this year
couldn’t be deducted from income taxes until taxpayers file 2010
returns. In 2005, a similar law was created to encourage donations to
victims of a tsunami in the
Contributions to U.S.-based, tax-exempt charities
that provide assistance to foreign countries can be counted as
tax-deductible contributions on federal income tax returns. Donations
to foreign organizations generally are not deductible.
Only taxpayers who itemize their deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, can claim deductions to charities.
Regardless of the amount of a donation, taxpayers
need bank records or written communication from the charity that shows
the date and amount of their gift.
With millions collected by charities via text
messages, the House bill specified that taxpayers could use a phone
bill as a receipt. Some text donations can be verified with receipts at
http://www.mgive.org/receipt/.
Other proposals related to contributions to
include allowing a waiver of the limit on how much of a taxpayer’s
income can be deducted in a year — if the donations are cash and
specifically designated for
Typically, charitable donations beyond that amount would have to be carried forward.
Another proposal is to allow corporations that
donate food to relief efforts to deduct the actual market value of the
donation, rather than the cost to produce the food.
—
(c) 2010, The Miami Herald.
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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
