Individuals who have made charitable cash contributions to Haiti earthquake victims will not have to wait until 2010 to claim an itemized charitable deduction, if a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday becomes law. "House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) said the legislation (HR4462), which would allow taxpayers to claim the donation on their 2009 tax filings, was developed in order to encourage people to donate to relief efforts in Haiti, whose capital was left in ruins when the country was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12."

Furthermore, the legislation "would allow those U.S. residents who donate money to Haiti relief efforts through text messaging to use a phone bill as proof of their donation. Phone service providers are allowing customers to make $10 donations to the American Red Cross when they text "HAITI" to a designated number."

It is worth noting that this tax break will only help less than 40% of households who itemize their deductions instead of taking the standard deduction. Perhaps it would best "to bunch donations into one year so that the household could itemize in one of the two years."

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