Aid for tsunami victims may be tax deductible

Contributions to domestic, tax-exempt, charitable organizations that provide assistance to individuals in foreign lands qualify as tax-deductible contributions for federal income tax purposes provided the U.S. organization has full control and discretion over the uses of such funds.

Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations, explains how the public can use charitable organizations to help victims of disasters, and how new organizations can obtain tax-exempt status.

Contributions are deductible for the year in which they are actually made.

On the Net:
Publication 3833 (PDF 507K)

Internal Revenue Service: IRS.gov