John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

The donation has to be a cash contribution that would otherwise be
deductible except that it paid after December 31. So the charity
receiving the contribution has to be a qualified 501(c)(3) organization.

--
Ed Zollars, CPA
Phoenix, Arizona

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> writes:

- quote -

They have to meet all the tests for being deductible.

In effect, what the law says:
IF you make a charitable contribution that meets
all the usual tests for being deductible,
AND it is a cash donation (which means checks, credit cards, etc.,
but not stocks, bonds, cars, etc.)
AND if the donation is made before 1 Feb 2005,
AND if it is earmarked for tsunami victim relief,
THEN if you want to, for tax purposes you can treat
the deduction as having been made on 31 Dec 2004.

All the law does is accelerate the tax benefit of certain types of
charitable contributions. It does not ease the requirements that a
donation must fulfill to in order to be deductible.

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

The government just passed a law allowing Tsunami donations
to be claimed in the 2004 tax year. Do these donations have
to be made to non-profit organizations to be deducted, or would
any donation be deductible? The reason I ask is that some
friends have started a Tsunami charity, but they will not get
their non-profit status for 6 to 9 months in the future. If
I donate now, will it be deductible?

-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
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