Small Church, Small Payroll, W-2's, W-3's, 941's!!

by Len Rasor
(Romeo, MI)

By God's grace we are starting a brand new church. At present we have four couples, one of which is our pastor and his wife. We have our EIN #, and have filed for incorporation. We would like to pay our pastor something, however small, to help him. I believe he is an employee and he has also exempted out of FICA. Because his salary is so low he has asked that no income tax be withheld. We're going to adopt a housing allowance for him to claim his income against to help him. My question: since no taxes will be withheld are we required to submit 941's? We will provide him a W-2 at year's end. Typically he has always received a tax refund at year's end. This is all new to us and I (no accounting experience) am trying to set-up our accounts and do things the right way and legally. Right now I'm overwhelmed and we've only just started!

I so appreciate your website and help. I'm trying to use your info to muddle through the accounting and myriad of start-up issues. Any help you could provide would be welcomed and appreciated.

By the way, we are praying for you and you husband. Remember, God cares.

Thank-you Vickey.

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Required to Submit 941 with no Withholdings?
by: Vickey

The IRS form 941 is the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return. It is used to report taxes withheld from employee's paychecks.

If there is no withholdings, there is no need to file an IRS form 941.You will just need to report his wages on a W-2. See this page for an example of a Pastor's W-2.

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you set up your payroll:

Payroll Set Up Guide

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