MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

Question: I received a love gift from the church for pastor's appreciation. In the past I have declared this as business income and paid self-employment tax on it. Is this correct? Answer: Yes, virtually all gifts from an employer are considered taxable in the same manner as an employee's standard compensation. The church should report this income along with the pastor's standard compensation in Box 1 on his Form W-2. However, if the church should omit the gift, you are still responsible to report it as both earnings for income tax purposes and for self-employment tax purposes. Generally, the only exception to the taxation of gifts by an employer to an employee relates to non-cash gifts of nominal value. Per IRS Publication 525: Holiday gifts : If your employer gives you a turkey, ham, or other item of nominal value at Christmas or other holidays, do not include the value of the gift in your income. However, if your employer gives you cash, a gift certificate, or...

Your congregation wants to contribute to your retirement? Great! Now, how can/should you handle this? First , let's discuss the options; then we'll consider how the church can get involved. The best retirement plan option for each minister depends on his objectives and his current tax situation. The three most common retirement plan options used by ministers include: (a) IRC 403(b) plans (also called Tax Sheltered Annuities (TSAs)), (b) Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and (c) Roth IRAs. Ministers often select 403(b) plans when they want to maximize their eligible contributions, or to reduce their self-employment tax burden. For the year 2008, a minister may elect to have his employer withhold ("elective deferral") up to $15,500 of his compensation and contribute it, instead, to his 403(b) qualified investment account. Many ministers are eligible to increase this amount by another $5,000 to catch-up for earlier years' smaller deferrals (IRS ...

Question: Where can I find a free credit report? Answer: Click here... https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

A follow-up to yesterday's posting on designated gifts... Donors can contribute non-cash gifts as well, including vehicles that may be used by the church. The Internal Revenue Code includes provisions regarding donations of vehicles that must be carefully followed. If the church subsequently uses the vehicle for ministry purposes, all is well. However, if it is transfered to a church employee in lieu of cash compensation it represents taxable compensation at its fair market value. Unfortunately, the value will be taxable for both federal income tax and self-employment (social security) tax purposes. The gift of a car to an individual is neither deductible by the donor nor taxable to the recipient. Any business use that the donee makes of the car in 2008 is eligible for a business deduction at $.505 per mile. The only additional write-off available to the donee for business use is for tolls.

Any payments by a church to individuals for services rendered to the ministry represent taxable income to the recipients. If an individual is properly classified as an independent contractor (IRS Publication 15-A can help in this determination), then he or she must be issued Form 1099-MISC if his or her annual receipts paid by the church equals or exceeds $600. Each recipient properly classified as an employee must receive a Form W-2 by January 31 of the succeeding year. Church employees other than ministers are generally subject to social security and medicare tax withholding and employer matching; the exceptions to this requirement are rare. Churches are not subject to federal unemployment taxes.

IRS Publication 526 prohibits contributions to individuals. "You cannot deduct contributions to specific individuals, including the following. -- Contributions to individuals who are needy or worthy. This includes contributions to a qualified organization if you indicate that your contribution is for a specific person. But you can deduct a contribution that you give to a qualified organization that in turn helps needy or worthy individuals if you do not indicate that your contribution is for a specific person. -- Expenses you paid for another person who provided services to a qualified organization. For Example. Your son does missionary work. You pay his expenses. You cannot claim a deduction for your son's unreimbursed expenses related to his contribution of services." Unfortunately, IRS publications cannot address every scenario that might be presented. Here's one: A church member designates a contribution to a specific ministry or minister supported by the chur...

An auto allowance advanced by a church to its pastor is subject to very exacting accountable plan rules. See my explanation on my website at MinistryCPA.org under Minister and Ministry Tax, Top 10 Questions #4. The church must receive timely evidence of the pastor's business mileage when it offers advances. Generally, I recommend that a church reimburse its pastor for business use of his personal automobile (at the current IRS rate) only after documentation is received. Under accountable plan rules, when auto allowance advances exceed the allowable deduction (qualified miles times the current IRS rate) the pastor is required to refund the excess advance to the church. Otherwise, the arrangement is disqualified and the entire annual allowance should be included in Box 1 of the pastor's Form W-2. Simply including the excess amount in Box 1 is not in compliance with provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) have become popular employee benefits for churches since Congress established them earlier this decade. Medical Expense Reimbursement Accounts were their common predecessor. Amounts paid to a pastor by a church under a properly established and managed HRA or Medical Expense Reimbursement Account are not reported on Form W-2.

Question: Payments for a retirement account - the payments are part of a salary package and are made directly to our pastor. Are these listed on the W-2 and, if so, are they listed in Box 12 Code E or in Box 1 as salary? Answer: Generally, any payments directly to the pastor are considered taxable income included with his standard compensation in Box 1. Frequently, a church will provide in its budget for its pastor's retirement. The money is paid directly to him and he is responsible to follow up with an IRA contribution or other retirement savings plan. If he contributes the funds to a Traditional IRA account, then he can take a write-off on his personal return. Even if the church sends the contribution directly to the pastor's Traditional IRA investment account, the Form W-2 reporting is unaffected. Box 12, Code E is exclusively reserved for 403(b) (also called TSA) plan contributions. The amount withheld from the pastor's pay and contributed to his 403(b) is report...

In accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 105, amounts received by employees under employer accident and health plans are excluded from Gross Income. This rule is also communicated by the IRS in its Publication 15-B (2008), Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits. Relative to churches and Christian ministries, the typical lone exception to this rule applies when the employer has established a "self-insured medical reimbursement plan that favors highly compensated employees." These plans typically reimburse employees for medical expenses not covered by insurance. For a church with a pastor as its sole employee, these rules are not applicable. Publication 15-B provides concise, understandable explanations of these rules.

Question 1 : Can church benevolence funds be given to a non-profit entity on the behalf of a needy individual who is being treated by that entity? Answer 1 : Yes, as long as the disbursement is not a private enrichment of that individual or entity (the IRS calls it "private inurement"). Care should be particularly exercised if the individual is a church employee. Question 2 : Can church members or non-members give gifts to the benevolence fund designating an individual as the one to receive the donation? Answer 2 : Generally, no. The church must be careful to avoid conditions in which it could become a conduit for recharacterizing personal gifts or payments as charitable contributions. My general advice has been that the church can offer to assist the donor of non-deductible gifts in maintaining his or her anonymity, but that it cannot provide a tax deductible receipt. Having said this, I do believe it is acceptable for the church to announce its corporate...