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    Preacher's Expenses

    After I heard Bart's preacher story a few weeks ago, I knew it would eventually find its way to the message board. The software post today finally woke up our Southern literary comrade, and sure enough Armando was there to receive his first swing.

    Sorta reminds me of a rodeo in my hometown where a bunch of good ol' boys locked a friend in a Port-a-Potty and rolled it down the hill. When they unlocked it, the occupant come out swinging at the first guy he saw! Yes, we do have fun in the south, right Bart??

    At any rate, what about Bart's preacher? Among my most miserable clients who file a 1040 are preachers. Think about it. Only the huge churches actually run a payroll. Most preachers go all year with no withholding, no social security, as the church is effectively exempt from both. The preacher thus has to face his income tax and BOTH HALVES of his social security at the end of the year with no withholding.

    Would love to hear from Rev. Billy Robertson, the Chief, on this one.

    Just how much can we use Schedule C to our advantage? According to the IRS, not much. They consider all the money received from the church as employee income, same as W-2 compensation except no withholding and no SS. Only "outside" income collected from parties other than the chuch goes on Schedule C - weddings, funerals, revivals, etc.
    A part of the money is supposed to be a parsonage allowance, and (you guessed it) the churches don't have any idea how much to allow, and most of the time the preacher's tax preparer has to split out the receipts based on fair rental value.

    The expenses for Preachers are substantial, and this is a shame because if you follow the IRS instructions, first they must be reduced by the 2%, and then can benefit part of the excess ONLY if they itemize on Schedule A. Any expenses deductible on Sch C can bring dramatic results, compared to their value on Schedule A.

    As for my clients: I deduct every conceivable expense on Sch C except Contributions. This means the mileage for his visitation duties, extra driving for church functions, overnite travel for youth groups, etc. I realize this is "pushing the envelope" more than IRS would like, but as long as the preacher can show just a modicum of revenue on the Sch C, I will take these expenses. I will not, however, take Contributions as these are not ordinary and necessary business expenses, period. If the preacher considers the collection plate as "priming the pump" I think he is wrong on more than one account.

    If the preacher tells me he has no revenue (weddings, funerals, honoraria, etc.) to report on Schedule C, I tell him he has no avenue to deduct expenses other than Sch A, and he will probably pay the maximum tax.

    Anyone else got idears?

    #2
    don't shed tears

    I don't shed tears for the clergy. Take another look at that housing allowance. Rental value of house, all utilities, taxes, insurance, furniture, cleaning supplies--if you can't totally exclude well over half the earnings that way you need a new calculator. And you can still go Sch A interest/taxes plus maybe office in home, and you haven't even started on Sch C write-offs. As for withholding, I don't know what your gripe is unless you don't know about Form 1040-ES.

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      #3
      1040-es

      Jainen, believe it or not we actually know about estimated taxes down here.

      You need to come down here, have dinner-on-the-ground, and do the
      "watermelon crawl."

      Comment


        #4
        dinner-on-the-ground

        Oh that little country church where we used to sing and pray
        How God would bless us in the old-fashioned way.
        It's still in my memory, oh I can see it now.
        We used to sing all day and have dinner-on-the-ground.

        Comment


          #5
          Preacher Income

          And, when that preacher retires, oh boy. You should be able to eliminate his retirement income with his housing allowance. Plus, preachers can double dip by eliminating housing allowances from income for income tax purposes but still deduct mortgage interest and property taxes on schedule A. Main stream preachers with everything paid -- rectory, property taxes, utilities, family health insurance, life insurance, pension contributions, business mileage, repairs and maintenance, continuing education, allowances to reimburse for social security taxes and for lack of housing equity, travel and entertainment expense reimbursements, etc. -- only have to pay for food and clothing with their cash wages. In our town, they have free country club memberships as well as a playground for their children and friends right on the property.

          Comment


            #6
            Who on earth is this?

            Lion, who on earth gets all this? Not any preachers I know in the "Bible Belt."

            I went into the wrong profession...

            Comment


              #7
              Idears on Preacher Income

              Snag, preachers in the more mainline churches. I believe it was back in 1987 that IRS targeted preachers for audits. That audit included me and the university I worked for had to change its way of paying ministers. We still had the option to be considered self-employed but received W2's for our income. Even at that I claimed all my expenses on Sch C. I also received a stiped for the institutions share of SE tax. but that was reported as income.

              Lions is correct on her post of double dipping especially for retired clergy. This lobby is so strong that I doubt if it will ever be eliminated.

              Snag, I think in regard to clergy returns, we as tax professionals could work with churches to guide them in the proper ways to handle a preacher's income. Housing allowance must be decided and voted on before the end of the church year for the year coming up. The same is true for all other special allowances for the minister. The church should vote to give the preacher W2's for income; the preacher shouldkeep records of fees, honorarium, and the like to report on Sch C. I agree with Snag that most of the time tax returns for clergy can entail a great deal of work because of the lack of record keeping and the like.

              I like your slang, Snag, because that is what I grew up with.

              Comment


                #8
                triple-dipping

                Actually, triple-dipping on that housing cost. First, exempt the fair rental value, which for commercial rentals would include as much of the taxes, mortgage, and maintenance as the landlord can pass through. Then, exempt all those same costs when the clergyperson pays them. Then deduct taxes and interest on Schedule A, or home office if appropriate.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Preachers

                  Well, the country club memberships are in Fairfield County, CT. I never see clergy pay for anything around here. But, growing up in a suburb of Chicago next to the train yards was different. I remember our minister and wife buying the paint and asking anyone from the congregation to join them in a painting party. We moved furniture and painted and talked and finished the entire inside of the manse for the new minister and his family. He then treated all the workers to pizza and soda. A lot different out here where we had the rectory painted and redecorated and pristine before paying movers to move in the new priest. And, continue to upgrade it to his specifications.... Listen to the reminders to vote prior to a new clergy starting and prior to the beginning of each calendar year on such things as housing allowance.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    test

                    test/test/test

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Disappearing posts

                      Brad/Paul

                      Is there a time limit on submitting a started post? Mine's okay for a short message, but if I take 30 minutes or so to compose a rant, then I get a message saying that I have not logged-in. If I do that, then the post disappears and I get a new blank post screen.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I’m not exactly sure what is happening to your posts, but I know that Internet sites that require you to log in often have time limits if you go for a period of time with no activity. My Internet email service does this. If I wait too long, my email message is lost and I have to re-log into the site and try it all over again. Typing in the message field is not considered activity. Activity is when you click on boxes or submit buttons that requires the page to refresh. So if you are simply typing in your message and take too long, the message box could become obsolete before you are ready to hit the submit button. I don’t think your log in expires because cookies are placed on your computer when you log into something and the log in can stay logged in after you exit the site and come back later. But a message box posting probably does have a time limit as to how long you can sit there with no activity.

                        I suggest that everyone type your message into your word processor program that is loaded on your computer. That way, you can use features such as spell check before your post to the message board. When you are satisfied with your message, copy and paste it into the message board dialog box. I do that with the word processing program half open on the screen and the message I am responding to open on the other half of the screen, so that I can read both the message and my response on the same screen. Also, if I lose my Internet connection half way through my composition (which can happen from time to time), I don’t have to re-write the whole thing when I get re-connected.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Brad

                          Okay, I didn't know that typing in the message box wasn't considered activity, so I thinks that's it and that's why I couldn't figure it out. Thanks very much.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by jainen
                            I don't shed tears for the clergy. Take another look at that housing allowance. Rental value of house, all utilities, taxes, insurance, furniture, cleaning supplies--if you can't totally exclude well over half the earnings that way you need a new calculator. And you can still go Sch A interest/taxes plus maybe office in home, and you haven't even started on Sch C write-offs. As for withholding, I don't know what your gripe is unless you don't know about Form 1040-ES.
                            No office in home because of housing allowance.

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