The total amount of debt owed by U.S. consumers has reached $11.91 trillion, with the average indebted household owing $15,355 in credit card debt alone, according to NerdWallet’s Annual American Household Credit Card Debt Study. As one of the most expensive types of debt, credit card debt costs consumers an average of $2,630 per year in…
Think it’s too late to switch your tax or payroll service before tax season? Think again. A change to Clergy Financial Resources now means a better partnership that is committed to providing close, personal attention. We take pride in giving you the assurance that the personal assistance you receive represents our commitment to excellence years…
No law requires an employee handbook, but every church should eventually have one. Why? Because written policies help to bring order in the workplace and protect employers against potential lawsuits. The handbook is designed to provide employees with a general summary description of the church personnel policies, programs, and employee benefits. The church has the…
A question we continually hear from my clients is, “How do I pay less tax?” But as you know, there is no simple answer to this question. While tax reduction strategies do exist, they are limited for the majority of clergy−and they do take some planning and attention. But there is one tax saving approach…
In June 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced proposed changes to overtime regulations that would significantly increase the minimum salary required to classify an employee as an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee, and proposed indexing those wages to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics data on annual earnings in future years. Those proposed…
Thanks to reduced funding to the IRS by Congress, the audit rate for individual tax returns has declined from 291,000 field audits in fiscal year 2014 to 267,000 in fiscal year 2015. The number of correspondence audits increased from 951,000 for fiscal year 2014 to 961,000 for fiscal year 2015. The revenue from examinations fell…
Remember that an appraisal is required for noncash contributions with a value exceeding $5,000. See Form 8283 and instructions as the IRS web site, www.irs.gov. (There is a Declaration of Appraiser on the form.) There is an exception to the rule for vehicles donated to a charity. If the charity sells the car, the taxpayer…
Generally, when a participant in a retirement plan or an IRA reaches age 70 ?, minimum distributions are required to be made by December 31 each year. The distributions are also required to be made for inherited accounts. Roth accounts are excluded from this rule during the original owner’s lifetime.
Since the stock market has done so well, fewer individuals are holding stock that has declined in value. If you do, consider selling it before the end of the year. The capital losses can offset any capital gains that you have plus an additional $3,000 can be used to offset other taxable income. Remember the…
