As most of you know, the First Presidency issued a statement about donating to help the people of Haiti. You can do this as a regular donation to Humanitarian Aid or you can contact LDS Philanthropies and donate directly to them. My purpose of this post is to let you know the tax benefit. The IRS has ruled that donations to help Haiti made between January 12th and March 1st 2010 can be claimed on your 2009 tax return. Along with that the Church has decided that all Humanitarian Aid donations during that time frame will be sent directly to Haiti, so your donation will count under IRS guidelines. If you choose to make a donation, keep a copy of the check and add the amount to your 2009 charitable contributions (the Church will not reissue ’09 Charitable Contributions). If you have already filed, don’t worry, you can claim it on your 2010 return.
Another tax tip is to claim your charitable miles. Mileage used to fulfill your calling or an assignment will count for this. You can’t deduct driving to church as a member to worship or to go to the temple on your own. You can, however, deduct the mileage if you are going to a meeting for your calling or going to the temple for a sealing assignment or to transport youth or others for an official activity. Home and visiting teaching mileage is also legit.
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