It’s official.

Last week, President Obama signed the “Haiti Assistance Income Tax Incentive Act” which allows taxpayers to deduct charitable donations to the Haiti earthquake recovery efforts on their 2009 income tax returns.

To be eligible for the new deduction, donations have to be in cash (i.e., you can’t donate goods) and must be made after January 11, 2010 and before March 1, 2010.

And there’s more good news for those who contributed by texting a donation to a charity like the Red Cross: the record-keeping requirements of the newly-inked law can be met by keeping a phone bill that indicates the date and amount of the donation, as well as the name of the organization.

But what if you don’t need another deduction on last year’s return? No problem. Just treat it like any other charitable contribution you make this year and deduct it next year.