Clergy Tax Questions

Question regarding clergy tax:

My best friend is a priest at a catholic church. He was a pastor at the church till 2007 and had to leave the country. He had not filed his income tax since then. A few questions hoping for an answer.


1. Does he owes state tax? How can he find out if he owes state tax?

2. Are there any tax exemptions for priest?

3. What are your suggestions?

I hope you can assist us and would greatly appreciate your answer.

Thanks and God Bless.

Mel

Answer

Without knowing the exact circumstances of your friend, I can only give you general advice.

1. Does he owes state tax? How can he find out if he owes state tax? It would depend on which state he lived in. You could put the name of the state and the term "income tax" in Google and find that state's tax site and it should give all the requirements of that state's income tax filing.

2. Are there any tax exemptions for priest? He is exempt from the self-employment tax (social security tax) only if he filed an IRS Form 4361 and it was approved by the IRS. Otherwise, he is liable for all income and self-employment tax due on income earned in the United States.

3. What are your suggestions? All the above advice is based on if your friend was a US citizen and /or earning an income in the US...if not...you will need to consult a tax professional regarding the rules and regulations of income earned in the United States by people who are not US citizens.

Hope this helps,



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