Setting Up a Housing Allowance

A housing allowance is the greatest tax benefit available to ministers. It is also one of the least understood.

Setting Up a Housing Allowance

It is simply a portion of a minister’s compensation that is so designated in advance by the minister’s employing church. See this article on Is Designating all Salary as Housing Allowance Permissible?

It is very beneficial for ministers because an allowance for housing is excluded from federal income tax. However, it is not exempt from the minister’s self-employment tax...more on that later.

In order to qualify for the exclusion from federal income tax, two very important conditions must be satisfied:

  • The allowance must be board approved before it was paid (A housing allowance is NEVER retroactive)
  • The minister actually spent the allowance on eligible housing expenses during the year
Compensating Ministers Pacakge

The Compensating Ministers Package includes three ebooks on how to compensate and pay your ministers; what minister benefits could potentially hurt the minister and the church; how to set up a housing allowance and report it; and how to handle ministers' gifts/love offerings. Also includes an example of a W-2 for a minister.

Additionally there is a sample of a resolution you can use to  to set up and approve a housing allowance for your ministers; an estimate worksheet for the minister to use to help the church determine the amount of the housing allowance; and an example of a notification letter the church can use to inform the minister on the amount of housing allowance payments paid during a calendar year.

All 3 ebooks are only $18.55 PLUS you can use the discount code: FCA for an additional 10% off!

Your church must designate a housing allowance before any payment is issued. This designation should be in writing to avoid problems of proof should the allowance ever be challenged. This can be through a board approved resolution (properly documented in the minutes), written in the minister's compensation package, or even listed in the church's budget. The best and safest method is the "board approved resolution".

The housing allowance designation should be reviewed and adjusted before the beginning of each new budget year.

Your church does not have anything to do with the second condition. The minister has the responsibility of tracking actual housing expenses and determining the fair rental value of the housing.

A church's governing body/board can set up and approve a housing allowance any time during the year, but the minister needs to be made aware that when it comes to claiming the income tax exemption ... they can only claim eligible housing expenses incurred AFTER the allowance for housing was approved!



Church Accounting Package

A set of 2 ebook packages that covers the following topics...

  • Fund accounting examples and explanations
  • Difference between unrestricted and restricted funds
  • Best methods for tracking restrictive funds
  • Explanations and examples of financial statements for churches and nonprofits
  • Minister compensation and taxes
  • Payroll accounting and its complexities
  • Much more - Click here for details
CAPBox

Housing Allowance Expenses and Taxes:

Housing Allowance Expenses and Taxes

A housing allowance may be used for any expense relating to renting a home, purchasing a home, and maintaining a home. Some of the eligible expenses are:

In regards to taxes, if a minister lives in a church-provided parsonage, the minister is not subject to income taxes on the use of the parsonage.

However, the fair rental value of the parsonage (plus utilities if paid by church) is added when figuring his self-employment tax. (The minister is responsible for determining the fair rental value of the parsonage.)

The same goes for a housing allowance paid to ministers that own or rent their homes. The eligible housing allowance amount is exempt from federal income taxes, but not from self-employment taxes (Social Security and medicare) unless a minister has filed a Form 4361 and been approved to opt out of social security.

A nonexempt qualifying minister with an approved and designated housing exclusion must report the lesser of the following amounts on a SE schedule on their personal income tax return:

Note: if you are not being paid anything from your organization, you will not have anything to report and exclude from personal income taxes.

Generally, a housing allowance is exempt from most state income tax....but not all the time...so be sure and check you state's income tax requirements.

PP Book 4 cover

The Policies and Procedures Package includes an ebook on Receipts and Reimbursements that explores the management of receipts and supporting documents.

Additionally, it provides insights on establishing and managing an efficient accountable reimbursement policy.

Includes a sample of a resolution you can use to present to the board to set up and approve an accountable reimbursement plan.

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This ebook is included in the Policies and Procedures Package. However, you can purchase it by itself for only $7.95 by clicking the ADD TO CART button below!

PP Package Cover

The Receipts and Reimbursements ebook is also part of a larger "Policies and Procedures" Package" that is packed full of valuable information and for a limited time you can purchase all 5 ebooks and 8 policy templates for only $32.80

A Housing Allowance and the Church:

The church is not required to report the minister's allowance for housing to the IRS. However some churches choose to report it in Box 14 of the minister's W-2 (which is labeled “Other”) as a courtesy to the minister.

Note: Box 14 on a W-2 is an "informational" box that employers use to provide information to their employees.

The appropriate allowance for housing amount is reported to the SSA and IRS by a minister on Schedule SE of Form 1040.

Another option churches have to report a minister's housing allowance is to include the amount of the allowance in a separate letter to the minister. (This separate letter should not be sent to the IRS and will not be included or attached to the minister's personal tax return.)

To receive the special tax treatment of a ministerial allowance for housing, the employee must meet the IRS’ 5-test definition of a minister found in section 107 of the IRC. See this page on clergy taxes for more details. Nonminister employees are not eligible for this allowance.



NOTE: Paying the pastor's utility bills or other personal expenses and not including those amounts in his gross wages is private inurement! READ MORE

A designated housing allowance for evangelists can be part of a guest speaker’s compensation. It should be designated in advance and handled correctly, but can be a nice tax benefit for your traveling evangelists. READ MORE



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Questions and Comments on a Housing Allowance

Do you have a question or comment about a housing allowance? Share it!

Archive of Housing Allowance Q&A

The following comments, tips, and Q/A were provided by FreeChurchAccounting's generous readers:

Housing Allowance for more than one ministerial job 
If a qualified minister holds more than one ministerial jobs, can he claim a housing allowance for both jobs?

Do I still have to do a letter to the Minister's for housing allowance if its on their W2 ? 
If the housing allowance is on the W2 do I still need to give them a letter for the amount of the allowance?

Christmas Bonus 
Our Pastor's salary this year has been designated to Housing Allowance. Will his Christmas Bonus go on a W-2 even if it's only a small sum? Thanks, …

Can the Church pay the minister’s rent directly to the landlord? (This question applies for the state of Virginia) 
1. Can the Church pay the minister’s rent directly to the landlord? (This question applies for the state of Virginia) 2. In what cases is permitted that …

Housing allowance for bi-vocational minister 
Our assistant pastor receives is a bi-vocational licensed minister. His monthly compensation is $1,000 per month ($500 designated as salary, and $500 …

Do we include the FMV of the use of a parsonage on a W2?  
Would you put the fair market value of the parsonage a pastor used in box 14 of his w2?

Housing Allowance reported on 941, file a 941-x to amend or just leave it? 
So our pastor moved into a new home in September and had housing expenses. We are allowing him to claim housing allowance. I filed the quarterly 941 …

What day can I start counting expenditures towards housing allowance? First official start day at work or before that? 
What day can I start counting expenditures towards housing allowance? First official start day at work or before that? I moved from one state as a pastor …

Housing Allowance 
Is Housing Allowance included on Form W-2, Box 1 (Wages, Tips, Other Compensation)

Housing Allowances from 2 Different Work Places 
I work in two places, one is a hospice chaplain and a church pastor. These two places that offer housing allowances, is it legally correct to receive housing …

Church owned Parsonage plus housing allowance, can the same Pastor have both? 
Our Church owns a Parsonage which our newly chosen ordained pastor and his family will live in. It is my understanding that the fair market (utilities …

HA pay is only recorded in church financial books and not declared elsewhere except by letter to the clergy...correct? 
Our part-time clergy receive their full pay as designated HA. My understanding is that it is NOT included in the wages reported on our Qtrly 941s. …

Housing Allowance and 1st Position HELOC 
I recently qualified for housing allowance and have my mortgage set up under a 1st position/lien HELOC. I would guess the interest payments on the HELOC …

College paying Minister employee housing allowance. 
I am a tax professional who does many clergy tax returns and think I know all the rules but... Several years ago I had a client start teaching at …

Housing Allowance and SE Tax for Retired Ministers with Second Ministry Career 
If a Minister retires from the Govt/Military (was a military minister) and receives a 1099-R for retirement pay, but then starts a second career as a minister …

Full-Time RVer 
My denomination designates my pension as "housing allowance" and has an IRS letter confirming that designation. Beginning in June 2020 we live full …

I don't have my commissioning certificate 
We are commissioned missionaries that could claim a housing allowance, but are being told we need a certificate/letter with details of our commissioning, …

Housing Allowance on Paycheck 
I am an ordained minister and part of my compensation plan agreed upon in June 2021 was to move half of my pay to a housing allowance amount. My paychecks …

Interim Ministry Question 
We hired an interim pastor who resides out of our area. He is requesting that based upon the fact that his employment will be less than 12 months, an …

Can a missionary that is licensed to the gospel ministry still claim the exemption (see below)  
I am a full time missionary for a missions organization. I get paid monthly by organization and they are offering to give me a housing allowance. My …

Other donation from church 
I received other donations from the church that is not a part of my salary, such as Pastor appreciation, vacation pay, birthday etc, from the church. It …

If your actual housing amount is more than your designated housing allowance, are you able to deduct it on your tax return? 
If you are a minister and you have designated a housing allowance but your actual housing expenses are more than your housing allowance, are you able to …

Can Housing Allowance be reduced from self employment tax (with an appropriate schedule)? 
Is the entire housing allowance portion reported as wages for self employment tax, on schedule SE (box 5a of 2020 tax year) OR can I reduce the housing …

Prorated Final Paycheck - treatment of Housing Allowance 
Our pastor has put in his notice and his last day will be in about a month (mid-May). He is not currently going to another congregation. He has …

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Can you take a housing allowance if you own your home free and clear? 
If a pastor owns their home free and clear (no mortgage), is the housing allowance then limited to only the actual expenses - insurance, taxes, utilities, …

Housing Allowance on a Church owned house 
We have a church owned mission house. At this time, we have a previous IMB missionary living in the house. He has joined our staff for now and …

If Pastor is already gainfully employed full time... 
We are a small church and we have a parsonage that we are just remodeling for our new pastor. She has a fulltime job with another company with full …

941 Form and W2 reporting for a Pastor 
Our pastor's amount earned is broken down by his salary/insurance/housing. For the quarterly 941 form on line 2 for wages do I include his total amount …

who needs to sign the letter for taxes purposes regarding a pastors housing? 
who needs to sign the letter for taxes purposes regarding a pastors housing?

Can Box 1 include Housing Allowance? 
I have previously read "do not include clergy Housing Allowance in Box 1 taxable income" so I know that's the recommendation. However, if this does …

Amounts excluded from income limited my Monthly amount or annual amount?  
If a minister spends more in one month than is designated monthly, can it be considered part of the annual amount and still excluded from taxable income? …

Property taxes of rental house which provides housing allowance 
I live in Cook County, Illinois. Our church currently has a pastoral house which provides as the residence for our pastor. However, the pastor desires …

Can home renovations be used for UMC household furnishings allowance?  
We are planning on renovating the kitchen which would include new cabinets and counters. I have a housing allowance but am wondering if I can make use …

H&R Block Housing Allowance for pastors 
I had to go back and file my 2018 taxes. I am using H&R Block software. The church I pastored did not report my housing allowance on the W-2, which was …

Housing Allowance in year of retirement. 
My housing allowance of $25,000 for 2020 was adopted by the Board in December 2019. I will be retiring on July 31. Can I claim on my 2020 tax return …

Housing Allowance and the 941 Form 
We do not provide a salary for our pastor, only a weekly $200.00 housing allowance. Should we include this amount on the 941 Quarterly form?

Pastor Employed with HA & recieving retirement with designated HA ??? 
Can a minister who is 69 and presently an employee of his church and receiving a housing allowance also use a housing allowance designated by his retirement …

When to report FMV of church owned property for minister 
We have a new minister joining our staff. The plan is for he and his wife to use dual living space - their primary home and a church owned property - until …

Down Payment on New home & Housing Allowance 
When a pastor moves to a new church and buys a new home, does the down payment on a new home factor into minister’s housing allowance?

Downpayment on new home 
Can a minister who is currently renting while in between having sold their home and purchasing a new one use the down payment made in the purchase of their …

How Do We Report Insufficient Salary? 
We approved our Full-time Senior Pastor for a $36K 2019 Compensation package: $18K Salary/$18K HA but the church could only afford to pay him a little …

Pastors Housing Allowance Annual Designation 
If the housing allowance remains the same each year does it have to be recertified each year ?

Can an ordained minister not receiving income from a ministry still claim housing allowance 
My husband is an ordained ministry with a full-time non-ministry job, and also has a ministry to incarcerated inmates. He performs ministry part-time …

When renovating clergy home, is temporary housing in an apartment acceptable allowance? 
When renovating clergy home, is temporary housing in an apartment an acceptable allowance?

Two pastors Two amounts of housing allowances-How to Handle 
One pastor needs $1,000 and the other needs $2,000, so if the board wants to pay the lower amount to both, how is the higher expense pastor to handle the …

Housing Expenses for More Than One Home? 
When retired may a minister include housing expenses for a primary and secondary (seasonal) residence?

1099 to S Corp instead of indiviual 
We have an interim minister that we paid as a contract employee. I was planning on issuing him a 1099. He has asked me to issue the 1099 to his …

Is there such a thing as “Deferred Housing Allowance”?? 
I am well aware of what the “ministers housing allowance“ is… But we have also been informed, and utilize something called a “deferred housing allowance“ …

How to report housing for a pastor 
Our pastor does not receive a salary, he turned it down so that his father (our former pastor) would continue to receive his salary. Recently our new …

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Financing a Parsonage 
I'm a pastor and currently receiving a weekly amount for housing allowance. The home I live in is personally owned and not receiving the benefit of a parsonage. …

Housing Allowance Approvals 
We began paying our pastor a salary on January 1, 2019. He will receive a 1099 for 2019. At the time, we discussed housing allowance but failed to get …

Housing Allowance Change in July 
Our church has semi-annual business meetings--one in January and one in July. In the July business meeting in 2019, it was recommended that the pastor's …

Need help completing pastor compensation contract correctly. 
We are paying our pastor a salary and giving a housing allowance. On the contract, do we add both amounts to arrive at his total income or do we only include …

Can you pay your pastor's housing allowance if he does not actually receive a paycheck from the church? 
Is the pastor still considered an employee of the church if he does not receive a salary, and if he is considered an employee of the church can he be paid …

Qualifications as a "minister" per IRS/Tax definition and Housing Allowance 
I am a pastor of a Church through a recognized denomination. I will be installed (commissioned?), however I am not "ordained." From what I understand, …

where do I place housing allowance on my IRS form 
Where do I place my housing allowance deduction on my IRS form as it is included in my salary?

Can Renovation Expenses be included as part of a Housing Allowance? 
Can a Minister include renovation expenses as part of her Housing allowance? Should she use the higher estimate or the lower estimate of the planned renovation? …

Housing allowance for non-church 501 c 3 organization 
A chaplain created a 501 3 c for his chaplaincy ministry. Can that ministry board designated a housing allowance for the chaplain?

Major Appliance purchases 
When an appliance is purchased on a payment plan, when does the expense become part of housing? The full amount at the time of purchase or the monthly …

Housing Allowance Approval 
Is there a process to get approval from the Federal Government before claiming housing allowance? Some sort of form to submit?

Can a pastor add to his housing allowance maintenance dues on time share property he owns? 
Can a pastor add the total years monthly maintenance dues on time share property he owns?

2 homes= full salary 
One of the pastor's at my church owns two homes. One he is currently living in while he remolds the other. So essentially he owns 2 homes. Can his …

Can I have 2 separate housing allowances, from 2 separate sources of income? 
Can I have 2 separate housing allowances, one from my current employment as a pastor of a nondenominational church, and another from my pension as a former …

Can a minister receive both a parsonage/church paid utilities AND designate a housing allowance at the same time?  
Can a minister receive both a parsonage/church paid utilities AND have the board designate an additional housing allowance? Therefore in addition to the …

Housing Allowance and Moving expense 2018 taxes 
I was wondering since moving expenses are no longer deductible for 2018 Federal taxes, could moving expenses be considered a "housing allowance?"

No house allowance provided 
I am helping our pastor do his taxes for 2017. He receives no parsonage or allowance for housing. He owns his house. He has all his house expenses. …

HA while living with parents to save for downpayment  
My husband and I are trying to sell our house to build a new one. We will probably end up living with his parents for six months (rent free) next year …

HA for independent or assisted living facility in retirement? 
If a retired minister lives in an independent or assisted living facility, can the HA be used to pay for the expense of the facility, since that it is …

Facilities director AND Campus Pastor 
I am interested in learning more about when a pastor is considered a minister as determined by the IRS. I My full-time facilities manager has recently …

Still an ordained minister but not employed by the church 
My question is if I'm still an ordained minister and registered with the state but no longer employed by a church, can I still receive housing allowance …

W2 Box 1 negative when including Housing Allowance and Retirement Contribution 
My denomination allots a housing allowance of 75% of gross income, for which I can fully utilize by making additional house payments toward the mortgage …

Housing Stipend to minister/pastor and equity share that amount to the church? 
If the church gives a housing stipend of say $2,000/mo ($24K/year) can there also be an equity share agreement with the church for that contribution. …

Does the Housing Allowance belong anywhere on the 941 Form? 
Does the Housing Allowance belong anywhere on the 941 Form? Vickey's Reply: NO. Do not include housing allowance payments on the 941 form. The only …

HA is not approved for a Mortgage Loan 
We were just denied a mortgage loan because our HA has not been effective for 12 months. Apparently this was written into effect in Trump’s new law as …

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Withholding on Housing 
Can the church elect to withhold FICA taxes on Housing and pay the employer portion on 941 quarterly tax forms and include the housing payments in the …

Housing Allowance is hurting me, I think 
My church allocated $20000. towards housing allowance for me, which is my whole salary. It feels like I am paying more because of the self-employment …

Is there a Housing Allowance Cap amount? 
The IRS site has a "Local Standards: Housing and Utilities" chart that shows how much you can take as Housing allowance in your state county. If …

HA for Youth Pastor approved after the fact...  
Our new Youth Pastor's housing allowance didn't make it in the budget approval prior to the new year, however, we did call a special meeting in January …

FICA/SS withholding on salary when pastor has HA 
Should the church withhold SS on salary that is not the HA? Should the withholding be reported on the W2? Vickey's Reply: You cannot withhold FICA …

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

Non-salaried ministers and HA 
We do not pay our pastors a salary. We have a designated offering one Sunday every month and whatever amount that offering is will be immediately distributed …

Renting out a room in the parsonage 
If a pastor does not fully use a parsonage, can the church rent out one of the rooms? If so, are there tax implications?

Part time 
How would HA be administered to a part time employee? Are they eligible? (Vickey's reply): If they are a minister...yes ... they would be eligible …

Choices of Laptop & Software 
Can I get a couple of recommendations of a good laptop brand that is compatible with a church accounting software? I have a windows computer that has …

What if you have 2 licensed ministers in one house? 
My husband and I are both ordained ministers who work full time at our church. Should we both claim our total allowable expenses or split our allowable …

Housing allowance paid in appliances? 
A church buys its paid minister some new appliances for their home, and they are also paid a housing allowance. Can the value be added to housing …

Licensed Pastor as of June 
I will officially be a licensed pastor as of June (I am in process as we speak and perform duties while finishing the classes but the last class is June.) …

Pension withdrawal and housing taxation 
If a minister withdraws from his 403(b) to use as a down payment on a house, is that disbursement taxable or is there a ministerial exclusion?

Owning a home and living in a manse 
I am not sure how to handle housing allowance and the reporting of fair rental value in my case. I own a house 10 minutes from the church but the church …

Housing Allowance for office space 
I am currently living in a small apartment, and plan on moving into a mobile home that has an extra bed room that will be used as an office. Would …

housing expenses are higher than my housing allowance 
We've had a couple of expensive, unforeseen repair and remodel expenses this year that were not included in the pre-authorized housing allowance. Can …

Responsibility for amount of Housing allowance 
A letter of agreement setting out the amount of the housing allowance needs to be executed prior to the first payment of the year. If the pastor is …

Parsonage AND housing allowance? 
Can a clergyperson who is provided with a parsonage free of charge also have part of their salary designated as housing allowance and enjoy tax relief …

How to Convince Lenders to add your Housing Allowance into Your Income for Loan Qualifying? 
I had a phone call from a pastor friend who needs to refinance his home. Unfortunately, the lenders they are speaking to will not let him add his …

Church not including housing allowance on paycheck! 
If my church hasn't been including the housing allowance deduction on my paycheck and I have paid tax on all of my income, will this ultimately affect …

Claiming housing on tax when self employed 
I am licensed minister in wash. DC. I am attending Seminary in another state. I need to attain housing to attend school full time. I am not employed …

Can a home equity loan be included in the housing allowance? 
If the pastor already receives a HA that has been agreed upon by the board, and he wants to take out a home equity loan to do some remodels on the house, …

can a church rent a parsonage out?  
Can a church rent a parsonage out or have a memorandum of understanding to the parsonage that is owned by the church?

Multiple Church Incomes under the same denomination going towards housing allowace 
I have an approved housing allowance through my denomination. This is used against my online donations for a church planting pastor (somewhat like missions …

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Married Pastoral Couples and Housing Allowance Designation 
If a married couple are both designated as ministers, can both have a housing allowance recognizing they will only be able to deduct the actual allowable …

Daughter Full Time Minister Living with Parents 
My daughter is single and still living at home. She has become a full-time kids pastor. If she lives at home can the parents charge her rent and …

Housing expenses in two states 
I serve churches in two states (NC and NY) and have housing expenses in each, about 6 months in both states. How should the housing allowance be set up …

Position Absolved, When Does Housing Allowance End 
I was a full time minister for 2 and a half years and then left my position in August of 2016. I took a housing allowance during that whole time. Are …

moving expenses & storage unit expenses 
I am a retired minister. I have 2 questions re Housing Allowance. 1. I have placed furniture and other household goods in a storage unit until I …

Renting Guest House and how it affects housing allowance. 
I am looking at purchasing a property with a guest house. If I choose to rent out the guest house (to family...don't know if that would change anything) …

Receiving ministerial pension and wages and housing allowance- can I use my expenses against both incomes? 
I am receiving a ministerial pension benefit from the Methodist church and I am allowed to treat that income as all housing allowance since I am retired …

How do I report my HA with no other "church" income? 
We pastor a small church (35 people), and have not ever taken a salary, but had a pre-approved housing allowance (for up to the rental value of our home) …

Retroactively Correcting Housing Allowance Designation 
If the minutes of church governing board in December 2015 or January 2016 incorrectly state that housing allowance is "$500 for 2016" but request and intent …

Is the down payment on a home deductible as a housing allowance? 
Is the down payment on a home deductible as a housing allowance expense?

Does HA have to begin before start of new fiscal year  
We have decided to ask for the housing allowance from our church employer but now it is almost March. Can we start the HA now and just pay the full taxes …

Info on w2 
The business manager of the church withholds federal and state, pays FICA and also wants to include housing allowance. I want to be sure that this …

Mileage not paid 
We needed to remove the mileage our pastor was being paid due to the church budget crunch. He would like to get credit for that mileage as his tithe since …

Can I write off the fair rental value for my parsonage allowance if I am living rent free in an apartment my parents own? 
Can I write off the fair rental value for my parsonage allowance if I am living rent free in an apartment my parents own? We are on deputation as missionaries, …

Housing allowance and construction of a new home 
Our pastor has been living in a church-provided parsonage for years. He is nearing retirement. This year, he decided to build his own home. …

Multiple W2s with Housing Allowance? 
Can a pastor have housing allowance on multiple W2's? Even when not changing churches mid-year. Example: Pastor serves church and as a professor …

Pastors paying taxes 
We are a small church of about 30, our pastor gets 40 percent of what the tithes and offering is but he has refused to pay taxes for 12 years. He calls …

Interim Pastor Temporary Housing 
We have an interim pastor on a short term basis.... maybe 3-4 months. He has a permanent home where he is retired about 150 miles from our location. …

Housing Allowance 
May I take the housing allowance on income earned from a church controlled school? I receive a salary from the church and a salary from the school. …

What is the proper form for submitting housing related expenses? 
What is the proper form for submitting housing related expenses? (Vickey's Rely) HI Jeff, Are you talking about the form the minister completes and …

Pastor Over-estimated Housing Expenses; can they reduce housing allowance portion of salary? 
We have a pastor whom over-estimated his housing expenses. Is it possible for them to request that the housing allowance portion of their compensation …

can a religious organization, 501c3, set up and approve a housing allowance? 
Can a religious organization, 501c3, set up and approve a housing allowance? Is there an IRS Code and Section for this?

Deduct the rental value of a home? 
I qualify for a pastoral housing allowance. If my house is paid for, is there anyway to still deduct the rental value of the home or am I limited to the …

Can non-ordained ministers who serve a church full time recieve a housing allowence? 
I work as a youth pastor at a church in Pennsylvania. I am full time. I am curious if I can receive a housing allowance even though I am not ordained. …

Housing Allowance 
Do you report the gross salary on the W-2 and put the Housing Allowance Total in Box 14 or subtract the Housing Allowance from the gross salary? EX. …

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Does housing allowance qualify as income in order to qualify as an exempt employee? 
Employees are required to earn $46,476 per year in order to be considered exempt employees in the State of California. Would housing allowance be added …

Housing Allowance while on SDI 
My husband has brain cancer and wants to go on temporary disability. Is he eligible if he continues to receive a housing allowance of $2,040.00 per …

Gifting a Home to Minister 
A home was given to our church as a gift from a family member after their parents passed away. Can our church gift this home to our associate pastor? …

Is the cost of replacing a driveway eligible for the housing allowance?  
Is the cost of replacing the driveway eligible for the housing allowance, or is it considered a capital improvement and therefore not eligible? …

temporary housing 
I am a minister and changed jobs 7 months ago which required a move to another city. I own my own home with a mortgage and maintain utilities at that town. …

Which year can a charged purchase be deducted? 
Which year can a charged purchase be deducted? Year of of charge or year of payment? We wish to purchase(charging in December) matteress in 2016. Payment …

Can the church contribute a percentage of the ministers HA towards his retirement account (403B)? 
I sit on the Board of our church and also Treasurer. In our ministers contract, it says that he receives 10% of his regular pay plus 10% of his HA by the …

Minister has no mortgage payments on house he owns 
If a minister owns his home, having no mortgage payments, can the minister include in the HA the fair rental value of his home for the purpose of adding …

Housing Allowence When Switching Ministry Jobs Mid-Year 
I am an ordained minister who currently receives housing allowance at my job. I will be transitioning to another ministry job mid year. How does housing …

Is a Minister's Housing Allowance Subject to California State Disability? 
In California should I pay Calfornia State Disability on the amount of money I take on my housing allowance? This information does not seem to be available …

building a garage 
I own my home out right, no mortgage. Can I use a HA to build a garage?

Housing Allowance for Extra Home Loan Payments? 
I am a youth pastor who is in his 2nd year of owning home. I have a large housing allowance designated by my church and am wondering if I can include extra …

Parsonage allowance for new condo moved into during the year 
Next year we'll be renting until August-September, then moving into a new condo we're purchasing. I'll still be serving the same congregation as its pastor …

Seconding 
I have been approached by someone employed by a registered not-for-profit ministry to ask if we would "second" him. By that he means we would officially …

posting housing allowance to general ledgerr 
the Debit side is to Housing Expense the Credit side should be listed how? and should this be allotted monthly or can evangelist salary be adjusted at …

What if minister under-declared housing for entire year? 
Before the new year comes, our pastor's fill out and sign a Salary Alignment detailing how much they are designating for their Base Salary and Housing …

Housing Allowance Only W-2 Needed? 
I am in charge of the accounting and finances for a very small church plant. If we have properly designated an amount to be paid to our pastor as Housing …

Parsonage allowance and owner occupied rental home 
The Minister lives in a 2 family home and receives rental income in this 2 family home. Should his FMV of actual expenses be calculated and reduced by …

Housing question transitioning from called part of the year to receiving housing equity money... 
If one has a housing allowance of $21000 for the year and ends the call in April and at the same time withdraws housing equity funds from church sponsored …

Is a housing allowance considered earnings for purposes of figuring a wage garnishment on a pastor? 
We have a pastor that has been presented with a wage garnishment due to a medical debt. I am calculating the amount of garnishment and I am not finding …

Can a non exempt minister receive housing allowance? 
Many church starters are part time because their church is too small to support them. Consequently, they work another, mostly secular type job. Can they …

Wages report on w-2 
Have more questions? Our How To Guide can help! I am a pastor of a small congregation that is paid 4000.00 yearly. For 2015 1000.00 …

housing allowance pastor treated as employee 
a couple questions is housing allowance taxable for FWT ? for FICA ? for state of PA? also how is it reported on w2 salary of 50,000 housing …

2nd home housing allowance 
I'm seeing that "recent legislation" restricts the housing allowance to the home occupied primarily for purposes of ministry. I don't see that legislation. …

Can I use my own labor as a housing allowance expense?  
Is it possible to claim a dollar amount per hour when repairing my home when adding up housing allowance expenses? Septic Field Replaced Windows Replaced …

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We have an ordained minister that is our minister of music.  
The minister of music only does the music for our church. This was all supported in documentation before he was hired that his payment would all go to …

Can a housing allowance be reduced when donations fall off? 
Can a housing allowance be reduced when donations fall off?

Housing allowance during leave? 
My wife is clergy at a congregation that provides her with a housing allowance. we have purchased a house and deduct the mortgage etc. as a parsonage …

Housing allowance for constructing a home 
Can the housing allowance be used for the cost of constructing a home and still be granted favorable tax treatment?

HA if the home is paid for or if the minister is paying cash as he builds? 
My husband is a qualifying minister and we normally receive HA for our current home which has a mortgage. If we sell and use our equity to build and pay …

Parsonage allowance when a minister refinances his home 
A minister takes on a mortgage to purchase his own home. After several years, he has paid down or paid off the mortgage. He then refinances the home, …

Can a cell phone bill count towards housing allowance? 
We are a new church plant with no offices. We work from our home and our cell phones are used for church and personal calls. We also have 2 teenage daughters …

Pastor desires to purchase church supplied parsonage 
Our Pastor of 10 years wants to purchase the parsonage he is living in. He is planning on retirement and wants to build up equity in a home. He would like …

Severance paid as housing? 
Can our pastor who is no longer an employee be paid his severance pay as a housing allowance? Would we report this as a 1099? We will be paying his …

Donating Rental Expense to my pastor 
Can I provide housing to my pastor in a home I am still paying the mortgage on, but it is not my primary residence. Would I first donate the payment …

Self employement tax 
If housing allowance is exempt from tax and one can opt out of Social Security, why does the minister pay self employment tax? I read on post that the …

Housing Allowance - Shared Residence 
If two ministers' families qualify and purchase a home together, live together and share housing expenses, would both ministers be eligible for a housing …

What's our next step? 
We became part-time pastor of a small, struggling church two years ago. It was agreed at the time that we would not receive a monetary salary until the …

Housing allowance PLUS parsonage 
Our pastor is living in a church supplied parsonage but just bought a home. He will not move into the home for another month. Can he receive a housing …

New church parsonage allowance 
The Treasury regulations 1.107-(1)(b) require that a housing allowance be established in the prior tax year. For a new church (and a new minister hire) …

part-time 
Are part-time ministers eligible for parsonage allowance?

Living in the Church Parsonage 
When a pastor does not want to live in free church parsonage, can the assistant pastor or other church member live in church parsonage for free?

Approved 4361 exempt from paying all income taxes? 
Does an approved 4361 mean that a minister pays no income taxes at all? If so, is there any reason to designate a housing allowance?

Can housing allowance be retroactive 
My husband was an interim lead pastor 2013-2014. We really did not think of housing allowance as this was the first time he was an Interim Pastor. …

Church's liability for stating housing allowance correctly 
What are the consequences if a church gives a pastor housing allowance that they shouldn't have? Does the burden fall on the pastor or the church? Thanks. …

housing allowance guidlines 
Our Pastor just retired after many years of service with us. About 20 years ago they purchased the parsonage from the church. Then he received a what I …

Tax Responsibilities with a Parsonage 
Our church is considering bringing on an Associate Pastor whose only compensation would be a parsonage. For tax purposes, he is licensed. My understanding …

Can a personal loan for house count as HA 
My in laws have offered to give us the money for a house as a personal loan. They wanted to offer this to us as an interest free loan that we would pay …

Ordanation needed to have a housing allowance 
We have a young man who has just entered into a full-time ministry with the church but is not ordained, with no plans to become ordained. Is he still …

Pastor living in parsonage yet owns home in another state 
As a new pastor fresh out of seminary, this is all confusing to me. If I am living in the parsonage provided by the church and own a home in another state …

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Tax on clergy housing allowance in retirement 
Our denomination's pension plan pays out our pension as housing allowance. In PA, housing allowance is taxable prior to retirement. Is it also taxable …

Ordained and transitioning from role of pastor to work for a non-profit 
I am soon to leave my position of pastor at a church, to take a position with a non-religious non-profit org. If my new position is deemed to be a "validated …

Does our Vacancy part- time pastor claim income for free rental apt.  
We provide a salary for our vacancy pastor who works for our church only 8 days per month. However, our church provides a place for him to live rent free …

Pastor moving out of parsonage, should I get a raise? 
I work as a full time children's pastor at a church, and when I was offered the job, a parsonage and all housing expenses was part of the compensation …

Retiree Housing Allowance 
As a retired pastor can I claim any portion of my housing expenses as an allowance for Federal Taxes?

Reporting Housing Allowance on #941 
Does Church report a ordained minister's housing allowance on its #941? HELP!!Our Minister of Music is an ordained minister. His part-time employment …

The non profit approved a Housing allowance for me last year of 4,500 
I am ordained minister and was given housing allowance last year approve by the board for 4,500. However by accident they filed in as a 1099 misc. When …

W2 has nothing in box 14 and the IRS accepted my opt out, do I still have to report my housing allowance? 
My son-in-law is a minister that's been approved for opting out by the IRS. As the preparer of their taxes, I want to make sure I understand how to correctly …

Do you have to take the Housing Allowance if it was designated by the board? 
My question is do you have to take the housing allowance designated by your church board? My Husband is a pastor and we have 9 children so our standard …

Renting Below Fair Market Value 
The landlord is renting a home to a pastor, openly acknowledges that the amount charged is below fair market value, and reports the rental as such on their …

How to report pastors w2 to the IRS 
As the secretary of the church. I filled out the pastors w2 online and electronically sent/filed it with the SSA. Do I need to do anything else with …

Self-employed missionary's clergy housing allowance from a source other than primary missionary agency 
Question about self-employed missionary's clergy housing allowance from a source other than primary missionary agency I am a self-employed missionary …

Must be considered self employed to have housing allowance? 
My husband is an ordained youth pastor. We have never needed to take advantage of the housing allowance because we always receive more than we paid at …

Missionary returning home 
We had a missionary returning home to leave the mission field. We had an old house that had not been lived in for 10 years and allowed him to live there …

Two Pastors Who Are Married.  
What happens with the pastor housing allowance when two pastors are married and live in the same house? I am thinking of a case where the husband is the …

Part-Time youth pastor as contract labor or HA? 
My husband is a part-time youth pastor that is paid twice a month as 'contract labor'. Another pastor told us that it would be more beneficial for him …

Why must I put something in box 1 
On turbo tax it says I have to aleast report a dollar even tho my w2 only has amounts in box 14?

Part time Pastor is only paid housing allowance. 
Pastor is only paid housing allowance as he is only part time. The parsonage needed repairs, which he agreed to repair. The church agreed on the housing …

Deferred Housing Allowance 
Can a church board establish an account for a pastor where a portion of his salary is placed in an investment account, under a written agreement between …

what if you have work 2 pastorates  
What if you worked 2 pastorates this year. One was from January to July where we rented a home and the other is from August-December and we had a manse. …

minister paid hourly with HA 
We have 3 licensed ministers who are eligible and have been approved for a housing allowance. However, their approved HA amount actually exceeds their …

Does a laptop computer purchase qualify as Housing Allowance? 
I purchased a laptop computer primarily for use in my home. Does the money I spent on the laptop qualify to be counted as housing allowance?

W-2 box 1, housing allowance? 
I handle payroll for our church, our last CPA reduced box 1 of the W-2 by the housing allowance amount and listed it in box 14. I moved over to intuit …

Payroll Set up if Housing 
I am pretty new to all of the payroll taxes and laws. If we are only paying our pastor a housing allowance, do we still need to set up all of the payroll …

pastor chooses not to live in parsonage but wants an allowance for other home? 
Our pastor wants to move out of the parsonage. Do we still have to give him a housing allowance since the parsonage is available?

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Housing Allowance Spread Over Several Years 
I did a major renovation this year. Can I somehow spread the cost over several years?

Can husband and wife both claim ministerial housing allowance 
Husband and wife are both "Called Ministers of Religion". Can they each use the Housing Allowance as a tax consideration for their individual income?

Does a Church Need to Keep records on what the pastor purchased with his housing allowance? 
Our church has recently asked us for an itemized list of what we spend our housing allowance on. The reasoning is they may need this in case they are audited. …

Will a housing allowance effectively increase my income? 
I am wondering if receiving a housing allowance will effectively increase my income due to that portion of that income not being taxed federally. Wouldn't …

HA and W-2 
To clarify, the church is responsible for designating the Housing allowance; the minister is responsible for tracking the actual expenses and/or the fully …

Deductions After Leaving RO 
I left my duties as Religious Order in April of this year. May I deduct expenses incurred for the remainder of the year against my housing allowance? …

Housing Allowance with No Ministerial Income 
I do not receive a salary or HA from my church. Is there any way I can benefit from the tax advantage of the tax benefit with the amount I pay in rent? …

Renting out a portion of home and housing allowance 
If I am a minister collecting a housing allowance and I rent out a portion of my home to someone else, do I need to subtract the rent I collect from the …

Pastor has declined to provide estimate housing expenses to substantiate housing allowance adjustment 
Should a pastor provide a written estimate of housing expenses to the church when asking for an increase or change in his housing allowance, even if the …

Pastor Package w/ Parsonage & Housing Allowance 
Our church has just created a Finance Board and I have been elected chairman. The finances in our church lack in some areas. We are using an Interim …

Assocaition Definition and Housing Allowances 
I am on the board of a non-profit religious school, which is established as an association of churches. The association nominates members to the board, …

housing allowance for visiting ministers 
Can a church designate a housing allowance for a visiting minister if he visits once a month or more? A retired minister is preaching once a month - sometimes …

Church documentation of housing allowance 
Our pastor wants utilities set up to come out of main church account electronically each month. Is this good to do from documentation standpoint for the …

Proportion of housing allowance vs salary 
Can a minister receive a larger housing allowance than salary if expenses warrant it? Suggestion $8000 housing allowance, $2000 salary per month?

How often should a housing allowance form be updated? 
I'm wondering if there is a need to have the minister update their housing allowance form each year whenever we submit the budget for approval if nothing …

Church employee(director of music) living in church housing 
We have a director of music living in church housing....we have treated it as part of his compensation. He is not a minister and to the best of my knowledge …

Brand New Church Plant With No Money 
I am bi-vocational. I don't accept any monies from the church. If the church cannot afford to pay out any housing allowance or the pastor refuses to receive …

Live in parsonage and take housing allowance on 2nd property 
I live in a parsonage but I am also purchasing a home for retirement. Can my housing allowance from the church cover both?

Is It Ok for My Church to Pay No Salary but Pay Housing Allowance? 
My husband was recently installed as pastor after our current pastor retired. Our current pastor still receives a salary (under church agreement/contract. …

house allowance should it be reported when apply for medicaid 
My husband is a pastor and the church do not provide medical insurance for us a family of 4, his salary is 1500 a month. He also get a house allowance …

Mission House 
If a non-clergy employee of a church stays longer than 12 months in a mission house, will this benefit be considered income for the employee?

First Time Daycare provider living in Parsonage 
My husband is an Associate Pastor and we are currently living in a parsonage. I have been providing daycare for a family. They have not withheld taxes …

Retired at 48 from company then hired into full-time ministry. 
I retired from a company at 48 then went into full time ministry. My question is since my church pays me a HA, and I draw a pension from this company, …

Is it ok for my church to pay no salary for a part-time minister but provide $2400 housing allowance? 
Is it ok for my church to pay no salary for a part-time minister but provide $2400 housing allowance? Is it legal? Will it trigger IRS audit for my church? …

Should the housing allowance be deducted from the amount shown on a 1099? 
One of our pastors is paid on a contract basis. Should the housing allowance be deducted from the amount shown as "other income" in box 3 on the 1099? …

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Housing allowance for major repairs 
If a pastor has major repairs on their home, can most of their salary be designated as housing allowance. (They have water coming into their basement and …

reporting income for school voucher program 
Ohio recently passed an income based voucher program allowing families at 200% of the poverty level to opt out of public school and enroll in a private, …

no mortgage 
If my house is paid for, can I deduct a rent amount?

Presbyterian minister's housing allowance 
What is the rule when two Presbyterian ministers are married and serving two different churches - does each church pay a housing/utilities allowance?

Part time ministers 
Can a minister who is employed by a church part time to handle youth activities or other related church activities be granted a housing allowance even …

Pastoral Housing Allowance 
I read the post about the LETTER that the pastor is given to confirm his housing allowance. But the post said that this letter is NOT sent in with the …

% or $ amount on board approve documents 
What should be shown on the board approve document for the housing allowance? Is it by law that the % of the salary for the minister be shown or the actual …

Down payment for house purchase.  
What does the housing allowance for "down payment for house purchase" work? Can a minister who is currently renting designate what they are putting into …

Houssing Allowance Qualifications 
Is an ordained pastor hired by a church to serve as Maintenance/Grounds Supervisor eligible for Housing Allowance ?

Is Housing Allowance good for ministers who do not opt out of Social Security? 
I'm wondering if it's better not to use the housing allowance because I have to pay 12.4 percent social security tax. But if I include it as regular income …

Double housing allowance for the same home. 
We have a husband and wife as pastors in our church. One is Childrens, one is youth. Can we pay both of themj a housing allowance if they are in the same …

Purchases of furniture and appliances for parsonage  
Our church provides a parsonage for the pastor's family and also pays the pastor a housing allowance. If the pastor uses a portion of the housing allowance …

Frequency of change of parsonage allowance 
Are there limitations on how frequent the parsonage allowance can be changed? We increased the amount for our Rabbi when her rent went up in June. She …

can housing allowance increase during the year for remodeling? 
Can the housing allowance be increased during a year where remodeling occurred?

Applying for Social Security Disability. 
Does housing allowance affect this? I am disabled and need to try to get SSI but I do get a housing allowance from our church, but not a salary. Will getting …

unpaid housing allowance due to pastor 
What if the Church was unable to pay the pastor 100% of the (actual amount spent by the pastor, (for housing allowance expenses allowed by the IRS)for …

Can a pastor volunteer to designate part of his taxable salary as non-taxable HA to help rent a more expensive house that than congregation wants to pay for? 
Our pastor rents a home for $2150 per month. We give him a housing allowance of $1500 per month. Can he volunteer to switch $650 from his taxable salary …

Can a housing allowance be cut in the middle of the fiscal year due to budget cut?  
Our budget to our church had to be revised due to bad times and in that budget cut was the part time ministers housing allowance. Can this be done after …

Can we purchase a storage shed with housing allowance money? 
My husband is a pastor and receives a housing allowance. Are we allowed to use that money to pay for a storage shed?

The IRS Test of Qualified Minister v the Supreme Court 
It seems to me that the old IRS test for who qualifies for Clergy exemption with regard to Housing Allowance is now much stricter, and out of touch, with …

Anyone know how to setup a paycheck showing Housing Allowance in Quicken?  
I am using 2013 Quicken Premier. Unfortunately, Intuit/quicken help and forum is no help.

NON- Clergy "Housing Allowance" for Medical Workers in California 
My employer just informed me that to "save on taxes", I will be paid part of my wages under normal W-2 process,(about 2/3rds) and the rest via a SEPARATE …

parsonage deduction from income 
My church does not provide a check or reimbursement for parsonage expenses, rather it provides a pre-approved amount that can be counted as parsonage allowance. …

What should a minister's paycheck look like??? HELP 
I have been a minister for 5 years now and I need some help figuring out how my paychecks should be cut to me. For the first 2 years of being a minister …

Housing allowance and 1099 
Yes, my question is this. I am an elder in a church that helps with the support of a number of men who do not preach for us locally. One of our men …

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Is a pastor's housing allowance used as income to calculate child support 
My husband is a Pastor and receives a letter yearly for 20,000 in housing allowance. He does not receive cash in hand for this but my understanding is …

Social Security, House Allowance, w2 or Misc 1099, salary 
I have been the office admin for a couple of years. I started with just taking record of tithes and offering. Pastor had someone doing their 941'S and …

Do part-time ministers classify as clergy for housing allowance? 
How do we decide which of our part-time ministers classify as clergy for housing allowance and which don't given the many hats that they have to wear today? …

What amount do I need to enter on my taxes for housing allowance? 
I am trying to do our taxes this year, and my husband's income is designated as housing allowance. Do I put the gross amount or the amount after federal …

Became a Pastor during the year and received housing allowance. 
I was originally hired as part of the administrative team of our church. During the year, one of our pastors stepped down and I was ordained. Because of …

All Income for Part Time Pastor is Housing Allowance 
All the income for our part time pastor is designated as a housing allowance. What is the best way to report this on a 1099misc? I tried to do a W-2 …

Housing Allowance for Home with No Mortgage 
Our Pastor's mortgage is paid in full. How does this factor in with the housing allowance? Can only housing expenses such as utilities, appliances, etc. …

HA now possibly turned income. 
Is a pastor required to pay rent on a parsonage owned by the church? We provide him with 2000 a month HA which was previously used to pay rent at a …

Substantiating actual housing allowance 
In regards to a minister having to substantiate the housing allowance, I have been receiving the allowance check from the ministry, let’s say for 500. …

Can housing allowance be greater than chruch paid income? 
Our Pastor has two income streams; one from the church and one from outside the church. His housing expenses exceed the income from the church. Is he …

Income less than the actual housing costs 
What if my actual clergy income is less than my housing costs?

Housing allowance 
How do you report the income to the Social Security Department?

What Can You Spend Your Housing Allowance On? 
My son is going off to college and I am paying for his rent. Can I use part of my housing allowance to pay for it?

Disallowed Housing Allowance 
Our church had an audit completed last year due to the embezzlement of funds. During the audit, it was discovered that the Pastor had directed the …

How does Housing allowance affect a minister who is exempt from SS  
As a pastor who is exempt from paying social security, having filed and received approval from the government how does this affect housing allowances?

Can housing expense go on a 1099? 
Our board approved the max $8000 housing expense for our part time pastor... Last year (her first tax season with us) I did it on her W-2. After tax season, …

Housing allowance plus church pays for mortgage 
Can a church pay a ministry a full housing allowance (i.e., all related expenses, including mortgage), and also make separate payments that cover the pastor's …

Housing Allowance for personal home not parsonage 
We own a home that we will be renting out - the rent may or may not cover the entire mortgage payment. We will be living in a church parsonage. May we …

PARSONAGE UTILITIES 
When I became pastor I commuted back and forth to the church from my home (110 miles 1 way). To be closer to the church we moved into the parsonage and …

Expenses in Patio  
Expenses in Patio putting a patio concrete at our backyard deductible? Appreciate your reply. Pastor Ed Fuentes

Housing allowance for non-paid Elders/Pastors 
Do non-paid Elders/Pastors qualify in any way for housing allowance status?

Correcting previous W-2 that did not have Housing Allowance subtracted from Box 1 
We have discovered that the previous bookkeeper here did not subtract Housing Allowance from the pastors' salaries in Box 1 on their W-2s, and so the pastors …

Is a Minister legally allowed to place all of his income in housing allowance? 
Is there a limit to the percentage of income you place in housing allowance? If your housing expenses are equal are greater than your income, are you …

Housing allowance for a home and a parsonage 
We own a home where we lived when my husband was at our former church. He was moved to another town to a church with a parsonage. Spouse is at the former …

Housing Allowance approval?? 
Housing Allowance approved for $300.00 a week 1.What goes into minutes the dollar amount or breakdown of the expenses so check can be issued? 2. Is it …

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Pre-Approval for Housing Allowance 
What exact provision in the IRS code calls for the governing board of a church to approve, in writing, the housing allowance to be paid to a minister prior …

How do you treat approved housing allowance but the church did not have enough money to pay out? 
If housing allowance was approved by a church for a certain amount but later on the church does not have enouugh to pay that amount, how do you treat the …

Pastor's housing allowance 
If a pastor lives part of the year in one state and part of the year in another, can they take the utilities, maintanence, etc on both homes?

Pastor Parsonage 
What are some of the benefits to the ministry in having a parsonage instead of providing housing allowance?

How do I file my Housing Allowance when I receive a 1099? 
How do I file my Housing Allowance when I receive a 1099? I am using Turbo Tax.

Pastor purchasing his house 
The church includes a housing allowance between 20 - 28% of the pastor's salary? This does comply with IRS regulations, right?

MORTGAGE PAYMENT DIRECTLY TO MORTGAGE COMPANY 
Can a church write a check made payable DIRECTLY to the minister's Mortgage Company?

Eligiblility for Housing Allowance 
My dad is a retired Wesleyan minister. He pastored in a number of churches over the years, but it was not his primary source of employment over his working …

W-2 vs 1099 
I was recently elected to the council of a small church that annually contracts with a retired ordained minister to serve as our pastor. He is 74 and collects …

Do you include a housing allowance when calculating for Earned Income Credit? 
Bottom line...Does an ordained minister have to include his housing allowance when calculating for Earned Income Credit? It seems that even the IRS …

Housing Allowance 
We have a small non-profit incorporated church/ministry & I am a licenced & ordained minister. Our board designated a housing allowance years ago …

Housing Allowance less than house rent 
I am a pastor and the board of the church of which I am also an incorporator and president agreed to give me a housing allowance. All the amounts I receive …

Housing Allowance on W-2 
Our pastor has a salary of $42000. $1200 is set as Housing Allowance. The $1200 goes into Box 14? Does $42000 go in box 1 or would it be $30,000. Vickey's …

Do I pay a SE tax on the total amt rec'd? 
The SE tax that we will be required to pay, will that be like 15% of the total amount rec'd for housing regardless of the monies spent on housing? vickey's

Is my housing allowance exempt from the SE tax, in MY situation 
I currently serve as a part-time pastor of a Baptist church, and it has given me part of my salary as a housing allowance deduction (only from FICA wages, …

Record keeping requirement for the church on minister housing allowance 
What details are required for the church to keep as ministers' housing allowances? What are the required details or evidence that the church needs to …

Bivocational Minister's income exceeds Social Security Maximum Amount 
Is a Minister, whose secular income exceeds the Social Security Maximum amount required to pay Social Security Tax and thus at some point he stops paying …

Do i include the amount that the church pays on rent as goss income or salary? 
Ok, the Church has agreed to pay me $44,000 salary per year. But they are going to actually write the checks for the rent which will total $8,400.00. …

Renting out personal dwelling property and housing allowance filing? 
I have the housing allowance, but I also rent out rooms from my house. How should I file? Vickey's reply I am not sure. I believe you would …

Taxes for Housing Allowance 
I want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Our pastor is going to get $1000/month in housing allowance. With his approval on the w-4, we can …

Part time pastor & housing allowance 
My husband will be working 15 hours per week (ordained minister). Can he use all of his pay toward housing allowance (his monthly pay will be less than …

Filing Married for the first time and calculating housing expenses 
My husband and I were just married in May. When I calculate housing expenses for the year if we are filing jointly, can I add both of our housing expenses …

Housing Allowance Eligibility 
My uncle has a house church which is a official religious organization. Are housing allowances only for churches with a payroll? We are trying to be able …

Is Housing Allowance a Payment or a Credit? 
Is a housing allowance something actually paid by the church to the minister and then credited to your taxes, or is it simply an amount you get to take …

HOUSING ALLOWANCE FORM 
I pastor a very small church that pays me a small salary, but they cannot pay for my Housing Allowance.I have paid for my own Home. My former taxpreparer …

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How is Housing Allowance Reported on Form 941? 
How and on what line is housing allowance reported on Form 941? Also is this amount reported on Line 2 on Form 941? Know the answer? Face the same

Do I include Housing Allowance in Hourly Rate Calculation of Unpaid PTO Hours 
Our pastor is leaving. He has unpaid PTO days. The compensation package comprises two elements: a salary amount and a housing allowance amount. When …

Splitting the Compensation package between housing and salary 
Our church is relatively small and therefore can't pay our pastors properly. Lower than the 25% range for pastors in our area. It was determined our …

Housing Allowance for Nonpaid Ministers 
Is a housing allowance available to nonpaid ministers? vickey's reply No. It is an exclusion of a portion of a minister’s compensation package …

Housing allowance while living over seas temporarily 
I am licensed and ordained and received housing allowance for the past 6 years. In 2009, my family moved to Chile for the months Sept. to Dec. for ministry …

Unreimbursed Expenses and Housing Allowance Statement 
I am preparing my taxes with H&R Block tax software. I am ready to file and I am instructed to write a statement about ministerial income, housing allowance, …

Can you deduct Parsonage Related Expenses 
I live in a church parsonage, but do not receive an allowance for utilities/expenses. I report the fair market rental value on form SE. Can I deduct the …

Refinance expenses count toward housing allowance? 
How do I determine from re-fi settlement statement the amount to count toward my "actual expenses" with regard to my housing allowance? vickey's

Can Entire Salary be Tagged as Housing Allowance? 
Have a part time minister that receives a monthly stipend - can he allocated the entire dollars received as housing allowance? (Please use the "comment" …

Social Security tax on Housing Allowance 
Does the church pay 1/2 of the social security tax and the mnister pay 1/2 on housing allowance or does the minister have to pay the entire amount? …

Housing Allowance and Schedule A Double Dip 
If mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deducted on Schedule A, is it also ok to include those same amounts in the housing allowance that is excluded …

Does the HA have to be a direct expense of the church? 
I have read where the HA does not have to be an actual expense for the church. Like, if it is a small church that is unable to compensate with a salary, …

Housing allowance reported in W-2 box 14 but not actually received 
I have received from my church W-2 form that includes HA in box 14 as others. But the total amount in box 14 was not received. For example, church …

Need to File a 941 If Only Paying a Housing Allowance? 
Our small church only has one employee and his total compensation is designated for "housing allowance". Does the church need to file a Form 941 to report …

Is the housing allowance taxable income for state taxes? 
Is the housing allowance taxable income for state tax purposes? thank you! Answer Generally, housing allowance payments are exempt from most …

drawing my social secutity 
when i sign up for social security does my parsonage allowance count toward my income Answer Anything you pay self-employment tax on such …

Box 14 Housing Allowance 
Thank you so much for being there for many small church office secretaries and support staff. This is our situation. We had an assoc. pastor leave part …

Reporting a Housing Allowance  
I receive all my salary in HA. I do not get a W2. How do I report that to the IRS? vickey's reply If you are an employee of your church, …

How Do I Report a Housing Allowance if No Income is Received 
A clergy member who does not receive income just has the housing allowance needs to report additional expenses as well as depreciation for the church van …

Do I write 2 separate checks one for the housing allowance and one for the pastor's salary? 
We are writing 2 separate checks to our pastor. One is a payroll check for his salary and the other is out of our payables for the housing allowance. …

What to Report on Schedule SE 
I receive about 80% of my income as housing allowance, which isn't taxed by my church. The other 20% is taxed. Do I just report my housing allowance …

How do I write a housing allowance letter for tax purpose. 
I am the bookkeeper for our church. I need to write a letter stating that our ministers are receiving housing allowance. How do I start this letter and …

W-2 and H/A 
How can correction be made to the W-2 once the treasurer has sent them in? The Total in box 1 was inclusive with the housing allowance and also listed …

Should total wages reported on w-2 box 1 include housing allowance? 
In box 1 of my w-2 the church reported my total wages to include my housing allowance. I am a full time pastor. I thought box one should only report wages …

Housing Allowance 
No one really knows this answer. We outsource our payroll and the accounting firm has no idea. Our church employs 3 part-time ordained associate pastors. …

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Part Time Clergy and a Housing Allowance 
Are part time Clergy eligible for housing allowance? Answer I am not sure what you mean by part-time. If you are a pastor of a church, you …

Taxes on Housing Allowance  
I serve as a certified minister at my local church. My church has been taking our Social Security and Medicare taxes out of my paycheck. My entire …

Housing Allowance and Parsonage 
Housing Allowance and Parsonage, Are they the same? Answer No. A parsonage is simply a place where the minster and his family live. It is …

Reporting Housing Allowance on a W-2 
I am receiving conflicting information regarding reporting a housing allowance on a W-2--how much of our pastor's housing allowance must be reported on …

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