MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

Consider reading the entire Bible in 2015. You may have seen many alternative schedules. Here is a linkto one on our website that Corey developed more than 30 years ago and has enjoyed using in most of those years. It concentrates your reading and thinking on one passage per day, alternates Old Testament and New Testament books, and avoids breaking up your New Testament reading into partial chapters.

Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service issued the 2015 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, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:
57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014  14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizationsThe standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil. The charitable rate is set by law.

Taxpayers always have the option of claiming deductions based on the actual costs of using a vehicle rather than t…

It's that time of year when individuals and businesses are making year-end gifts to charity. In a recent email, the Internal Revenue Service reminded those individuals and businesses that several important tax law provisions have taken effect in recent years. Here are five topics that taxpayers should keep in mind: 
Qualified Charities

Before you give that year-end donation, make sure the charity is eligible. Only donations to eligible organizations are tax-deductible. Select Check, a searchable online tool available on IRS.gov, lists most organizations that are eligible to receive deductible contributions. In addition, churches and government agencies are eligible to receive deductible donations. That is true even if they are not listed in the tool's database.

Year-end Gifts

Contributions are deductible in the year made. Thus, donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2014 count for 2014, even if the credit card bill isn't paid until 2015. Also, checks count for 2…

Question:

A church's minister has an immediate relative who has been suffering from ALS for the past six years. The church sponsored and organized an "Ice Bucket Challenge" for the relative.

Originally, the thought was to raise $3,000-$5,000. The church intends to (1) transfer the funds to the facility that cares for the relative or other ALS charities and (2) report the funds as a bonus compensation to the minister.

However, the church raised close to $30,000; now the tax situation has more serious consequences if the church calls it compensation to the minister. How should the church report these monies?

Answer:

We see three areas that could affect how to report this money:

If the funds are simply going to an organization to support its general operations (not to pay a single patient's costs) or to other ALS charities, the transfer is from one Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) organization to another. There is no tax consequence for the church's ice bucket cha…

It is our privilege to announce that our blog has been chosen as one of the 50 Best Accounting Blogs of 2014 by Accounting Degree Review.

Accounting Degree Review ranks and reviews the best accounting degree programs in the country. As a helpful resource, they decided to provide their readers with the 50 Best Accounting Blogs of 2014. MinistryCPA is mentioned in the "Profit and Non-Profit Businesses" section of the article.

Our blog has seen substantial growth through the years, as we recently passed 200,000 page views. The mission of the blog has always remained the same: to answer questions given to us by ministers and others serving in Christian ministries who are advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.