A minister who wishes to be exempt from social security/Medicare tax must file a Form 4361 with the IRS for approval. Before your application can be approved, the IRS must verify that you are aware of the grounds for exemption and that you want the...
Churches normally hire an interim minister for the time between the departure of a pastor and the calling of a new pastor or a “sabbatical interim pastor” when a pastor is granted sabbatical leave. Full-time, interim ministers are usually paid on the same scale as...
Employees often use their personal cell phones for church business. The church requires that they submit monthly expense reports and they’re reimbursed through an accountable plan. The church board wants to ditch the paperwork and just pay flat-dollar allowances to employees every month. Would that be...
The allowance must be officially designated in advance by the church. The designation should be stated in writing, preferably by resolution of the governing body and/or in an employment contract. In addition, the designation should be recorded in the church budget and payroll records. If the only reference...
WASHINGTON –The Internal Revenue Service recently reminded self-employed individuals, retirees, investors and others who pay their taxes quarterly that the first estimated tax payment for tax year 2019 is due Monday, April 15, 2019, for most taxpayers. A 2018 tax return and 2019 Form 1040-ES,...
As the April filing deadline approaches, IRS reminds taxpayers that Form 1040 has been redesigned for tax year 2018. The revised form consolidates Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040-EZ into one form that all individual taxpayers will use to file their 2018 federal income tax return. Forms...
The IRS reminds employers that several programs have been affected as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed last year. This includes changes to fringe benefits, which can affect an employer's bottom line and its employees' deductions. Here’s information about some of these...
The 2019 version of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, was released by the Internal Revenue Service recently. The 2019 form is similar to the 2018 version of the form now in use and retains the use of withholding allowances. You can access this new...
For qualifying ministers, the housing allowance is an invaluable tax benefit—in fact, according to attorney and Church Law & Tax senior editor Richard Hammar, it’s “the most important tax benefit available to ministers.” In October 2017, however, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the ministerial housing...
The most important tax benefit available to ministers who own or rent their home is the housing allowance exclusion. To the extent the allowance represents compensation for ministerial services, is used to pay housing expenses, and doesn't exceed the fair rental value of the home, including...