Taxpayers who itemize deductions will be allowed to claim on their 2004 tax returns charitable donations made to tsunami relief efforts in January 2005. The IRS credits a new law enacted on January 7 to allowing these deduction as though they were made on December 31, 2004.
“There are no extra forms to fill out or any additional burdens for taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “As long as you send your check by the end of the month, the donation will be treated just like it was still 2004.”
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Only cash contributions are allowed by the new law. The donations must specifically be made for the relief of victims in areas affected by the December 26, 2004, tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The new law gives taxpayers the option of deducting the contributions on either their 2004 or 2005 returns, but not both, the IRS said in a release.
The IRS advises taxpayers to be sure their contributions go to qualified charities.
Taxpayers who have a specific charity in mind can make sure that it is a qualified charity by doing a search on IRS.gov. Some organizations, such as churches or governments, may be qualified even though they are not listed on IRS.gov. For information on groups involved in tsunami relief, donors can also look to the USAID site at: http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ngolist.html or USA Freedom Corps at http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
