Category
Pastor Pay, Housing Allowance & Clergy Tax
Reasonable Compensation for Pastors: What the IRS Expects
Reasonable compensation for a pastor isn't a number the IRS publishes. It's a process your board runs and records. Here's what that process looks like.
Housing Allowance Myths That Get Churches in Trouble
The housing allowance myths that cause the most trouble: late designations, tax-free assumptions, and who qualifies. Here's what the rule actually says.
Who Qualifies for a Housing Allowance? The Minister Test
Who qualifies for housing allowance treatment? Only a minister for federal tax purposes. Here's the five-factor test, and the staff roles that fail it.
Is a Pastor an Employee or Self-Employed? Both, Actually
Is a pastor an employee or self employed? Both at once: employee for income tax, self-employed for Social Security. What that means for the W-2 and FICA.
The Minister's Housing Allowance, Explained in Plain English
The housing allowance for pastors in plain English: who qualifies, the three limits that cap it, and why the church has to designate it in advance.
Health Reimbursement Arrangements for Small Churches
A small church HRA can reimburse staff health costs tax-free, but only with a written plan. Handing the pastor cash for premiums is the costly mistake.
Quarterly Estimated Taxes for Pastors: A Practical Guide
Pastor estimated taxes, step by step: how to size each quarterly payment, when it's due, and the housing allowance trap that leaves ministers short.
Voluntary Withholding for Pastors: How It Works
Voluntary withholding for clergy: the church can withhold income tax by agreement, and the extra can cover self-employment tax. How to size and start it.
Clergy Dual Tax Status: W-2 Income, Self-Employed for SECA
Clergy dual tax status: a pastor is an employee for income tax and self-employed for Social Security. Here is what that changes on the W-2 and the return.
Mileage Reimbursement for Pastors: Rules and Records
Pastor mileage reimbursement stays tax-free only under an accountable plan with a real log. What the log must show, and why car allowances fail the test.
Love Offerings and Gifts to Pastors: The Tax Trap
A love offering the church collects and pays a pastor is taxable compensation, not a gift. Here's why, what it does to donors, and how to handle it right.
Housing Allowance for Multiple Ministers on Staff
Multiple ministers housing allowance rules: each minister needs a named designation with its own amount, adopted in advance. How boards record it.
Housing Allowance for Bivocational and Part-Time Pastors
A bivocational pastor can have a housing allowance, but only out of what the church pays and only if the board designates it in advance. Here's how.
Can a Retired Minister Take a Housing Allowance?
A retired minister can often have plan distributions designated as housing allowance. Here's who designates it, and the rollover that quietly ends it.
Housing Allowance and Social Security: The Part That Surprises Pastors
The housing allowance comes out of income tax but generally stays in the self employment tax base. Here's why, and how to plan for it before April.
Housing Allowance for a Pastor Who Rents
A renting pastor gets the same housing allowance as a homeowner. Here's what counts, what doesn't, and why the designation has to be set in advance.
Housing Allowance for a Pastor Who Owns a Home
What a homeowner pastor can count toward a housing allowance, what never counts, and why the year you buy a house needs a designation set in advance.
The Minister's Housing Allowance in Retirement
In retirement, a church plan can designate part of a minister's distributions as housing allowance, but only in advance and only from the right account.
The Pastor's W-2: What Goes in Each Box
The pastor W2 boxes don't work like anyone else's: 3 to 6 stay blank and the housing allowance stays out of Box 1. Here's what belongs in every other box.
Why Churches Don't Withhold FICA From a Minister's Pay
FICA withholding on a minister's pay is wrong: ministerial earnings run through SECA instead. What the church should do, and how to fix it if you withheld.
The 60-Day Rule: Substantiating Reimbursements
Reimbursement substantiation, 60 days to account for an expense and 120 to return an advance. What the benchmarks mean and how to write them into policy.
Cell Phone and Internet Reimbursement for Church Staff
A flat stipend is pay, not a reimbursement. Three clean ways to run church cell phone reimbursement for staff and home internet, and what to document.
Reimbursing Books, Conferences and Continuing Education
Pastor education reimbursement is tax-free only under an accountable plan. What to substantiate for books, conferences and study leave, plus common slips.
The Pastor's Pay Review: An Annual Board Agenda
Run the annual pastor compensation review as a fixed board agenda: the running order, the documents to bring, and what the minutes must record.
Bonuses, Christmas Gifts and Discretionary Funds
A church bonus to a pastor is taxable pay, whatever the envelope says. How to handle bonuses, Christmas gifts and discretionary funds without a mess.
Should the Pastor Be in the Room When Pay Is Discussed?
The pastor can give information about their own salary, then leaves for the discussion and the vote. Here's how a board handles it without the awkwardness.
Designating for a New Pastor Mid-Year
Setting a new pastor housing allowance: it never carries over from the last minister, and the board must designate it in advance of the pay it covers.
What If the Church Forgot to Designate This Year?
Forgot to designate housing allowance this year? Act today for the rest of the year. What's fixable, what isn't, and what to tell your minister.
Documenting the Designation in Your Minutes
Housing allowance minutes are the only evidence the designation happened in advance. What the board's minute entry must contain, and how to store it.
Who Has Authority to Designate the Allowance?
Who designates housing allowance? Whichever body your governing documents give authority over compensation. How to find it, and why the pastor can't.
Can You Change a Housing Allowance Mid-Year?
Can you change housing allowance mid year? Yes, but only going forward. How to word the board's revision so the two periods stay clear in your minutes.
When to Set the Housing Allowance Each Year
When to designate housing allowance: at the last board meeting before the year begins, with the budget. The annual sequence, plus four other triggers.
Why a Housing Allowance Must Be Designated in Advance
A housing allowance only counts if the church designates it in advance, before the pay is earned. Here's why timing matters and how boards get it right.
What Is an Accountable Reimbursement Plan?
Without an accountable reimbursement plan, church staff repayments become taxable wages. The three rules a plan runs on, and why every church needs one.
Pastor Pay Packages: What Goes Where
A pastor compensation package has four buckets: salary, housing, benefits, reimbursements. Here's what belongs in each, and the line that's never pay.
How to Set a Pastor's Salary: A Framework for Boards
How to set pastor salary: who decides, what comparability data to gather, how to document the decision, and why the pastor leaves the room for the vote.
The Three Limits That Cap Every Housing Allowance
Housing allowance limits, explained: the exclusion is capped by the lowest of the designation, actual costs, and fair rental value. How each one works.
Accountable vs. Non-Accountable Plans: The Difference
Accountable vs non accountable plan: same receipt, two tax outcomes. What separates the two for a church, and how churches drift into the wrong column.
The Parsonage Allowance vs. the Housing Allowance
Parsonage or cash housing allowance? They work differently, cap differently, and both must be designated in advance. Here's the comparison, side by side.
The Housing Allowance Designation Checklist for Treasurers
The housing allowance checklist for treasurers: what to confirm before the vote, what the minutes must show, and what to hand payroll afterwards.
Adopting an Accountable Plan: The Board Resolution
An accountable plan only exists once the board adopts it. What the accountable plan resolution must contain, and the three rules the policy has to enforce.
The Board Resolution That Designates a Housing Allowance
The resolution is the evidence. What a housing allowance board resolution has to say, who votes on it, and why it only ever works going forward.