Haiti Donations: $1.3 Billion

Relief organizations in the U.S. have raised an estimated $1.3 billion for Haiti relief, but experts are warning that more support will be needed to continue dislocated Haitians throughout hurricane season. Philanthropist Stacy Palmer says that while the money donated has provided food, water and shelter to many, the temporary homes most Haitians are living in are not suitable to withstand hurricane weather.

The donations have been enough to provide basic necessities such as food and water, according to Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. But now homeless Haitians also need help fending off tropical storms.

"That's potentially worrisome with the hurricane season about to begin," she said. "The kind of shelters that people are in right now are tarps and things that would not necessarily be able to withstand a hurricane. The goal is to get sturdier kind of housing."

Palmer said that $1.3 billion is an impressive tally, coming close to the $1.6 billion that was raised in the wake of the 2004 tsunami in the South Pacific.

Continue reading at CNN.com…

Haiti Relief Workers Qualify for Combat Zone Extension

In a new IRS press release, the IRS announced that Haiti relief workers would qualify for combat zone tax deadline extensions. Along with military personnel and designated civilians, Haiti relief workers are now being given an additional 180 days to file returns and pay any taxes due.

Deadlines for taking care of a variety of federal tax matters are automatically extended for persons serving in a combat zone or a contingency operation. Operation Unified Response is a contingency operation, thus giving designated persons providing earthquake relief in Haiti the same extensions that are available to military and support personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat zone localities.

This relief applies to members of the military, Red Cross personnel, accredited correspondents, and civilian support personnel acting under the direction of the Armed Forces. In most cases, the relief also applies to spouses.

Normally, eligible taxpayers have at least 180 days after they leave the combat zone or contingency operation area to take care of various tax-related matters. For Operation Unified Response and the Haiti earthquake, these tax-related matters include:

• Filing a 2009 federal income tax return,
• Paying tax due for 2009,
• Making a 2009 IRA contribution, and
• Making a quarterly estimated tax payment for 2010

Check out the full release at IRS.gov….