Gift of money to church member - taxable income?

by Kathy
(North Carolina)

If a church member is sent a check for $1,000.00 to help out with expenses - is it taxable income to the church member? The Church member did a large task at church and would not charge for the work. The pastor now want to send a gift to the member.

1Comments

When is a payment taxable income?

MMarcusNTexas

Yes, if the payment to the church member (or anyone else) is, in fact, for services render by the recipient, it is taxable income and a 1099 MISC must be sent to the recipient at the end of the calendar year. We recently had a similar situation at our church where the member needed financial assistance with his rent. He had been doing some work for the church and had not charged for his services, so we provided the financial assistance he requested but considered it to be compensation for the services he was continuing to provide. He was informed that he would receive a 1099 MISC in January 2014.