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Can a pastor claim housing from the church when he is also a business owner?

by Susan
(Myrtle Beach, SC)

Can a pastor that works part time at the church for the addiction ministry claim housing allowance if he also has an S Corporation with his wife for a secular business. He is 50 % owner and also works in the business?

Vickey's Reply
His secular occupation would not factor into his housing allowance eligibility. As long as he fits the criteria of a minister and his church governing body has designated and approved a housing allowance...he can claim the housing exclusion on his taxes.

However, be aware of a couple of things.

1. A housing allowance is never retroactive. For example, If it was approved in June...he could only claim eligible expenses from June to December.

2. He can only claim the lesser of 3 amounts. You can read what those are on my housing allowance page.

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Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Housing Allowance.

If you want to DIY your payroll, I highly recommend you look at using Gusto! It is very user friendly and their support is awesome! Plus they know how to set up and maintain payrolls for churches and nonprofit organizations.

Note: I am a "partner" of Gusto, but as I have told you before ... I never recommend anything that we or our clients have not tried and love =)



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