Reporting "Gifts" to Missionaries on Form 1099-MISC

Question:

A church gives money directly to a missionary in honor of 25 years of service in the field. The church issued a 1099-MISC and reported it in Box 7 (non-employee compensation). The missionary's tax preparer tells him that the church incorrectly reported it in box 7 and that it should have reported it in Box 3 (other income) since it was a gift, trying to avoid him having to pay self-employment tax on the monies.

When, if ever, should monies paid to missionaries be reported in box 3 rather than box 7?

Answer:

The church has filed the form correctly. The instructions to Form 1099-MISC leave little room for negotiation in this matter (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099msc_09.pdf).

The Ministers Audit Technique Guide produced by the IRS states:"There are numerous court cases that ruled the organized authorization of funds to be paid to a retired minister at or near the time of retirement were gifts and not compensation for past services. Rev. Rul. 55-422, 1955-1 C.B. 14, discusses the fact pattern of those cases which would render the payments as gifts and not compensation"
(http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=210018,00.html). Unless the minister qualifies in this sense, the income is reportable in Box 7. If the above situation does apply, then it should not be reported on Form 1099-MISC at all (or on any other form).

According to the Form 1099-MISC instructions, Box 3 might be used to report missionary payments if the following applies:

"Prizes and awards received in recognition of past accomplishments in religious, charitable, scientific, artistic, educational, literary, or civic fields are not reportable if:

The winners are chosen without action on their part,
The winners are not expected to perform future services, and
The payer transfers the prize or award to a charitable organization or governmental unit under a designation made by the recipient. See Rev. Proc. 87-54, 1987-2 C.B. 669."