Are your church workers classified correctly?
Churches may soon face increased scrutiny relating to employment classifications. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found in a recent study that 19 percent of small business employers didn’t comply with IRS rulings on worker status. This percent may be higher among churches. We recommended that your church review and increase compliance with employee…
Gift Giving Limitations
How much can you give before the IRS gets involved? The IRS has set the annual gift tax exclusion at $14,000 this year. What this means is that you can gift up to $14,000 each to as many individuals as you like this year without having to pay any gift taxes. A married couple can…
The U.S. Has a Really Helpful Student Loan Repayment Program—and No One’s Using It
Many clergy leave seminary with large student loan bills. The menu of repayment options available for struggling borrowers is a key benefit of taking out federal loan. Only 3 out of 10 borrowers in the repayment plans are getting the kind of help that pegs a borrower’s payment to his or her monthly income. These…
Volunteering? Don’t forget to keep track of mileage.
You can deduct as a charitable contribution any mileage directly related to the use of your car and unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in providing services to a charitable organization. You cannot deduct general repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees, or the costs of tires or insurance. Â You can use a standard mileage rate of 14…
IRS Updates Mileage Rates for 2013
The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2013 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2013, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 56.5 cents per…
IRS Audits on Churches Temporarily Halted
In a previous article “Clarifying the IRS Rules About Endorsing Candidates From The Pulpit,” we wrote about the IRS rules and regulations concerning churches/clergy officially endorsing political candidates. Throughout the election season, the IRS was inundated with complaints regarding the churches officially endorsing candidates. Recently, Bloomberg BNA talked with Russell Renwicks of the IRS Tax-Exempt and…
What would happen if the “housing allowance” exclusion was eliminated?
How much money does the IRC 107(clergy housing allowance/parsonage tax exclusion) actually save clergy? After running a few scenarios, the outcome may surprise you. In each scenario, we calculated the amount of tax paid by the clergy in two ways. First, their taxes are calculated as if the housing allowance/parsonage exclusion was eliminated(secular employee). This…
Appeals Court Rejects Multiple Housing Allowance Decision
On Wednesday February 8, 2012, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta overturned a decision made by the United State Tax Court(Commissioner vs. Driscoll) regarding the ability for a clergy to claim more than one home as a housing allowance tax exclusion. In May 2010, a United State Tax Court finalized a ruling, from…
Health Care Information on my W-2?
When you get your 2011 W-2, you might notice some new information on the form. Box 12 is where the church will report the cost of your group health insurance coverage. This amount is both the amount the church pays as well as the premiums paid via payroll deductions. The amount, which will be designated…
IRS Updates 2012 Business and Ministry Mileage Rates
The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2012 optional standard mileage rates that can be used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 55.5 cents per…