Skip to main content

Review: Form 1099 Payments to 501(c)(3) Organizations

Question:

A church rented space from another church last year. Should it request a completed Form W-9 and issue Form 1099-MISC?

Answer:

Payments from one 501(c)(3) organization to another 501(c)(3) organization are not subject to Form 1099-MISC reporting. The IRS Instructions for Form 1099-MISC state that "payments to a tax-exempt organization" are exempt from reporting a Form 1099-MISC. 

The following are typical examples of payments of $600 or more by a church which are subject to reporting a Form 1099-MISC:
  • Rent paid to an individual (non-corporation)
  • Payments for services rendered by individuals who are not employees (e.g. janitorial service, facilities, snow removal, guest speakers)
  • Support sent directly to missionaries


Comments

  1. Thank you for your blog post.

    So if "payments to a tax-exempt organization are exempt from reporting a Form 1099-MISC", are there no circumstances in which a church should receive a 1099?

    I ask this question because our church is looking to cash out a $25,000 annuity that was purchased many years ago under the previous pastor. We have been told by the annuity company that they will issue a 1099 to the church for the amount of interest the annuity has gained over the years. Is this an error on the part of the annuity company? It is my understanding that a church is not required by the IRS to file a tax return every year. But if we receive a 1099 for interest earned on an annuity, will that mean that we have to file a tax return for that year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great question! Most annuity companies will issue a 1099 as part of their regular process no matter the filing status of the receiver. Receiving a 1099 does not change the filing requirements of the church, if you are otherwise exempt from filing that will still be the case. That being said we do recommend keeping the form 1099-INT for your churches records.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rental of a Church Parsonage to a Non-Minister

Question: A church owns a parsonage, but the pastor does not use it as he owns his own home. The church rents the parsonage to a tenant other than a minister or employee of the church. Will the church be responsible for paying income tax on these monies as Unrelated Business Income (filing a Form 990-T) even if the money is used to carry on the business of the church? Answer: Whether the money is used for church purposes is irrelevant.  IRS Publication 598  states: "If an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business." Fortunately, in the case of rental income from real property, such income is "excluded in computing unrelated business taxable income" (Publication 598). Caution: see content below regarding debt-financed property.  However, a second concern not a...

How can my ministry expenses be covered by the church?

     How can my ministry expenses be covered?                            Many ministers use their personal autos for ministry purposes. Their employers can reimburse these costs using a standard mileage rate published by the IRS. The per mile rate represents employees’ entire reimbursable cost other than highway tolls and parking tabs. If not covered by use of the ministries’ credit card, other costs can be reimbursed as well—business and travel meals, lodging, office supplies, and professional library purchases among them. Some ministries reimburse travel costs using per-diems published by the IRS. If employee business expenses are not reimbursed, the personal tax deduction benefit to the individual minister is severely limited. Non-taxable reimbursements after documentation is provided to the employer follows IRS rules for accountable plans. Non-taxable cash advances before expenses are in...

What is the best retirement account for a Minister?

       What are my options for retirement savings?                  Regardless of options, start now! You probably have learned about traditional and Roth IRAs. We have often found them well short of the benefits we will share here regarding Internal Revenue Code section 403(b) plans. These plans must be established by your employer (although you might need to be the initiator). They are funded in two ways—withholding from your paycheck at your option (called “elective deferrals”) and as initiated by the employer (matching or non-elective contributions). These contributions not only save income tax, but they also reduce the income you must report as subject to the 15.3% SECA tax. Further, at retirement with the cooperation of your church or Christian ministry the distributions to you can be tax-free to the extent of your qualified housing expenses. Many ministries also adopt what are often called “FICA alternative” be...