church pays minister's medicare tax

Should that amount be be included in his w-2 wages?

Comments for church pays minister's medicare tax

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Mar 02, 2021
Need More Information
by: Vickey

Not sure what you mean by the church "pays" the minister's medicare tax?

Please give us a little more detail. For example, some churches give their ministers a SECA allowance to help cover the self employment taxes that most ministers have to pay on their compensation.

It is completely taxable and must be included in Box 1 of the minister's W-2.

Mar 02, 2021
Clergy Medicare payment
by: lewis robbins

The church pays Medicare directly on behalf of the pastor.

Mar 07, 2021
Cannot Withhold and Match FICA Taxes for a Minister
by: Vickey

A minister is considered to have a "dual status" with the IRS. Please see more on that here: https://www.freechurchaccounting.com/ministers-taxes.html

OR click on "Resources" in the top menu bar and go down to "Minister Taxes".

If you want "IRS" documentation on why a church CANNOT withhold and match FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes for a minister, see their "audit" guide: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/ministers.pdf

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Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Minister's W-2.

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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