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403(b) Contribution Calculations Exclude Housing Allowance

By Anonymous
Question:

 Should 403(b) contributions and the subsequent match be based on the pastor's total income from the church (including housing allowance) or just from the salary minus housing allowance?

 Answer:

 According to Richard R. Hammar, J.D., LL.M., CPA, in his book 2015 Church & Clergy Tax Guide, “Section 107 of the tax code specifies that a minister’s housing allowance (or the annual rental value of a parsonage) is not included in the minister’s gross income for income tax reporting purposes. Therefore, it would appear that the definition of includible compensation for purposes of computing the limit on annual additions to a 403(b) plan would not include the portion of a minister’s housing allowance that is excludable from gross income." 

Hammar's Church Law and Tax Report is an excellent resource that many ministries should consider as annual subscribers.
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