While Internal Revenue Code is definitely not the most exciting topic, Section 107 is good to know as it does offer some benefit to ministers. This is where the minister’s housing allowance is addressed. Here it is: “In the case of a minister of the gospel,...
Question: Can all church employees qualify for housing allowance? Answer: No. Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code allows only a “minister of the gospel” to have a housing allowance. Thus, only taxpayers who are serving as clergy under IRS rules for tax purposes are eligible for...
If you are new to Ministry, it’s possible that you’ve never heard of self-employment taxes before, much less paid them. One common mistake for new Ministers is filing the 1040 without taking self-employment taxes into account, which can result in a big bill later when...
For clergy who are living permanently in a nursing home, they can use some (but not all) of their nursing home expenses for the housing allowance. For example, the rental cost of their room and the utilities are eligible for the housing allowance. The food...
Question: Can I Deduct the Mortgage for a Home That is Being Constructed? Does it qualify for the housing allowance? Answer: The IRS allows for taxpayers to deduct all of the interest they pay on a construction loan within the 24 months before the home is...
Can you modify housing allowance mid-year? The Housing Allowance can be amended (changed) as often as needed. We always recommend overestimating when designating a housing allowance. The goal would be to have enough of a buffer in the designation to end up with unused housing...
As tax season comes to a close and your ministerial staff starts getting their returns, they might want to re-think their housing allowance for 2022. Here’s a quick “how-to” to simplify that process! To satisfy IRS requirements, churches are responsible for 3 key things: Determine Eligibility. Ordained, licensed,...
After reading about the Housing or Parsonage / Manse Allowance, you may be thinking, “if I designate my entire salary as a Housing Allowance, would it all be excluded from federal income taxes?” IRS has already addressed this by limiting the Allowance to the least...
The designated housing allowance may be reflected on Form W-2 in Box 14 with the notation, “Housing Allowance.” Though not required, this reporting method is suggested by Publication 517. Or, a church can report the designated housing allowance to a minister by providing a statement separate...
Self-employment tax Clergy are not eligible to have FICA taxes withheld from their church compensation. In lieu of FICA taxes, clergy pay self-employment tax, also known as Self-Employment Contributions Act tax (SECA). Reimbursements from an employer of SECA are taxable as wages. However, even though...