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Nonprofit and Church Accounting FAQs


FreeChurchAccounting is all about helping small churches and nonprofits.



Church Accounting FAQs Below is links to pages where not only can you post questions about contributions, accounting, clergy taxes, etc. but you can also answer questions and provide other churches and nonprofits with tips and advice.

Most of us are volunteers...learning through trial and error. So...if you can help someone else by providing an idea or tip that saves you countless hours-would you do it?

Here is an example of some of the questions, comments, and tips submitted so far:

Can you recommend any good Church Accounting Software?

Which box on Form 1099 I need to put Housing Allowance?

If an individual writes a check payable to the church, but designated as a love offering to the pastor ...?

Donated supplies: Do each of these types of donations have to be substantiated by the church...?

If you are a financial administrator for a small church or nonprofit or even a volunteer helping your church or nonprofit with their accounting, I would love to hear from you!

Please share your ideas, tips, comments or questions with the rest of us:

If your question, comment, or tip doesn't fit any of these categories, simply use the following form. There is no login or registration.

New Policy: Most of you know my husband has been newly diagnosed with stage IV Colon Cancer. See our story on this page.

With all of the doctor appointments, my regular 40 hour a week job, and trying to keep up with the housework, meals, etc....I just do not have time to try to answer every question myself immediately.

So...I am going to post your questions and comments daily (without trying to answer each one myself). I found out while my husband was in the hospital that there are some wonderful people out there that are more than willing to help answer questions and comments. Some of them are even smarter than me :-)

If by the weekend--when things slow down a little for me--I see that there are any questions or comments not answered, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Thank you for your understanding and your prayers. Vickey

Your Questions, Advice, Comments, Tips, Etc.......

Contribute Your Church Accounting FAQs, Helpful Answer, Comments, or Tips

You know what one of the best things about being a Christian is? No matter where you go in this world, when you meet up with another Christian, you’ve found a brother or sister.

That’s what makes the Christian and Nonprofit community so special. They are not looking out for just themselves but for the well-being of others.

So submit your questions, answers, time-saving tips, or helpful ideas and lend a hand to other volunteers or staff facing some of the same ordeals you face.

Enter Your Title of Your Idea, Tip, Advice, Question, Etc.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Hospitality or Benevolence  starstarstarstarstar
What is the difference between hospitailty expenses and benevolence expenses? When groceries are brought with a church check to prepare a meal after a ...

Returned Check  starstarstarstarstar
How should a small church handle returned checks?

[Know the answer? Face the same situation? Please post your answer or comment by using the "comment"...

How does the church record & report for tax purposes when giving the pastor a car?  starstarstarstarstar
Our church board has approved the purchase of a car for our pastor to replace his old one. As church secretary/treasurer, how would I record & report this ...

Couples in the Finance Ministry  starstarstarstarstar
We have a couple in our ministry that donate a lot of their time. She works in the finance ministry and he does maintenance. However, sometimes she will ...

Loan from General Fund to Pastor  starstarstarstarstar
We have a small 200-300 member church located in Maryland.

Recently the air-conditioning/heating unit at our pastor's residence went bad. (he does ...

Church Paying Medical Expenses Considered Income?  starstarstarstarstar
In addition to paying the premium on our Pastor's Individual insurance plan our church has decided to cover certain additional medical and dental expenses ...

Worker's Comp Insurance  starstarstarstarstar
Are churches required to carry a worker compensation policy?

[Know the answer? Face the same situation? Please post your answer or comment by using ...

Automobile Mileage  starstarstarstarstar
My church pays a mileage allowance at the federal standard rate for the pastor's automobile. It is a part of an accountable reimbursement plan for the ...

Treasurer  starstarstarstarstar
I have a couple of questions:

1. We are a very small church (about 60 regular attendees). Our pastor has a jail ministry and at this time has a married ...

CPA accounting for small churches  starstarstarstarstar
Should pastors do books and know who pays tithes within a small church?

Answer

That depends on the pastor and the availability of staff.

Some ...

Paying Visiting Ministers  starstarstarstarstar
I have handled accounting for several small churches in the past/present. I continually hear disagreements on what to call the amount of money given to ...

what tax forms do we need to file?  starstarstarstarstar
We are a small church(less than 50 members).We don't have any employees and we don't pay a pastor. Do we need to file any tax forms with the IRS?

Answer...

Bank Accounts  starstarstarstarstar
Is it OK for a pastor to have a separate personal bank account in the name of the church?

Answer

The only way I can think of that would be acceptable ...

Mail Merge Question  starstarstarstarstar
Question about using mail merge for annual contribution statement:

Vickey,
We've used your contribution spreadsheets this past year, and they have ...

Amount of Time to Decide to use Monies From Building Fund  starstarstarstar
We have a small church (about 125 in attendance). We don't have any building projects in progress or any planned for the future presently. But sometimes ...

Church Bank Accounts  starstarstarstar
Is it illegal for the women’s auxiliary to have their own Bank account.


[Know the answer? Face the same situation? Please post your answer or comment ...

Timecards and Salaried/Exempt employees  starstarstar
Is it a common practice to have salaried employees fill out timecards and sign them. Our payroll clerk fills out a timecard sheet for all salaried employees ...

Gas Allowance  Not rated yet
Our church has a charge account at one of the local gas stations. Pastor and staff is able to charge gas and the church is billed monthly for the gas purchases....

Designated Funds or Restricted Funds  Not rated yet
What's the difference between designated funds and restricted funds.

[Know the answer? Face the same situation? Please post your answer or comment ...

CLERGY/PASTOR KNOWLEDGE OF GIVING  Not rated yet
Having served as a Pastor for several years in large and small congregations ..........

It seems the Senior Pastor may want to know if his
leadership ...

BALANCE SHEET  Not rated yet
Vickey, Thank you for your kindness and generosity in sharing your expertise. So sorry to learn of your husband's challenge and yours also.

I am working ...

Filing church records  Not rated yet
I need to know from church secretaries what filing system they use to file church correspondence, financial records, personnel records, etc. or can they ...

Salaries & Benefits vs Total Budget  Not rated yet
What is the business ratio for Salaries and Benefits versus the Total Budget for the church? 25% in the budget, 50% of the budget? We are reviewing our ...

Church Loan  Not rated yet
Can a member loan the church money? If so, how is the repayment amounts recorded in the books? I would like to hear your advice/comments.

Answer

I ...

Using the Reimbursement method???  Not rated yet
Is it a best way to reimburse the Staff who take care of buying materials, supplies for the church. He/She turns in the receipts with total then the church ...

Missionary Support  Not rated yet
Our church has been receiving missionary support for a couple who were getting ready to go overseas.

They were going through the process of being ...

Permanent record retention schedule  Not rated yet
Our church closed & reopened under district ruling. do we need to keep the past churches bank statements & ccl checks etc. or can we destroy them since ...

Filing church taxes  Not rated yet
Do all small churches, no mater how small, file church taxes each year if they are set up as non proper/tax exempt?

[Know the answer? Face the same ...

checking acct.  Not rated yet
Can there be more than 1 member of a family on the church checking account?

Answer

Yes. It is not an ideal situation, but for some small and/or ...

CPE Units?  Not rated yet
Hello, I was recently told that anyone handling church bookkeeping needs to have something like 21 units of CPE credits annually.

Can you help shed ...

Is it required by the IRS to save the tithe envelopes?  Not rated yet
We are a small church and we have some tithe envelopes that some of our people use to put their tithes and offerings in. Not all of our people use the ...

Is our church truly exempt from tax filing?  Not rated yet
Our church has never filed a Form 941 to my knowledge. However, I want to make sure we are right in not doing it.

I am the pastor and the only employee ...

depreciation  Not rated yet
How does a church record depreciation? Is it reported on tax filings?

Answer

See this post .

This post explains more about depreciation .

There ...

Prayer / Testimonie  Not rated yet
God be with you and your husband Kevin, Vickie through this tough time, this is just another hurdle for you to climb using your faith, God is the greatest....

Clergy Tax Preparation  Not rated yet
Can you direct me towards a good clergy tax preparing in my area? I have been sending my taxes out of town for the past 20 years. :) Burnsville, MN ...

Annual Financial Report - When should you give it out?  Not rated yet
My husband and I are the Youth Pastor's at our church and we just had our Annual Review meeting for our church (Febuary 2010). We were given the Annual ...

Medical Insurance, Life Insurance & Health Savings Accounts for Pastor's  Not rated yet
We are in the process of having the board write up a church plan to be placed in our board minutes to exclude certain benefits from taxable income for ...

Automatic Bill Pay  Not rated yet
Question regarding on-line bill paying:

Our treasurer is trying to retire after many years of being our treasurer. Everything has been done by hand ...

Changed Budget Mid-Year  Not rated yet
We just voted in a changed budget 6 months into the year. Do we put the budget amount in to divide it up by 12 months or keep the past six months figures ...

Startup Budget  Not rated yet
I am building a business plan for a new work in Oregon. My question is how to setup a budget for the first year with projections out to 5 years.

I will ...



The comments above are for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. See full disclaimer.

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