Gifts from the Church Taxable?

Is money given by the church to the pastor for Christmas and for pastor appreciation included in W-2 Earnings?


Answer

That would depend on how the gifts were taken up and recorded. If the gift was taken up as a love offering from the church as a whole and the monies were processed through the church and a church check then was used to give the Pastor a gift, then the payment of the love offering or gift is taxable and subject to payroll tax treatment and reporting.

If church members just give the Pastor their gifts in his hand or similar method and it was not processed through the church and the donors were not issued a church receipt for the gift, then the gift would not be considered taxable.

Hope this helps,




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