Can I Estimate Ministry Miles on My Return?
The IRS requires that you have adequate records backing up your mileage deduction. If you’re audited, the IRS examiner will ask to see your records or log. If you don’t have exact, reliable records, the IRS will ordinarily disallow your entire mileage deduction. This is true even if it’s clear that you did in fact drive…
Timekeeping Requirements for Churches
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act and similar state wage-hour laws require churches to maintain accurate timekeeping records and to pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked in a workweek and to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Some states also impose daily overtime requirements. To pay employees…
Calculating Overtime When a Church Employee Is Paid a Salary
It is fairly simple to calculate how much overtime a nonexempt employee is owed when the employee is paid an hourly wage. But calculating overtime becomes a bit more difficult when the employee is paid on a salary basis. The methods for calculating overtime vary depending on whether the employee’s salary is intended to cover…
Income-based Student Loan Repayment Plan
Two-thirds of students graduating college in 2016 are carrying student loan debt, averaging close to $30,000 and typically carrying interest at 6.8 percent, or a little over $2,000 per year. If you are paying more than $2,500 per year in student loan interest, the excess is not deductible and cannot be carried forward. Also, if you…
Defining the Workweek or Work Period For The Church
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)’s overtime laws require churches to pay employees overtime when they work beyond a certain threshold, usually 40 hours in a workweek. For most churches, the workweek coincides with the calendar week, running from 12 a.m. Monday to 12 p.m. on Sunday. But churches are allowed to use any fixed…
How Your Church Can Comply With The New Overtime Rules
The FLSA requires covered employers to pay “non-exempt” employees at least the minimum wage for each hour worked as well as overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Federal_FLSA_Exemption Guide If your exempt employees earn less than the new salary requirement, they will no longer meet exemption criteria and…
Are You Hiring Temporary Church Employees?
Hiring Temporary Employees Churches often have lots of tax and legal questions when hiring temporary employees. Temporary employees are still employees; not independent contractors. An employee working in a church — whether the job is temporary or permanent, part-time or full-time — is an employee of the church. It is illegal for the church to treat a temporary…
Is Your Babysitter An Employee?
Who’s a Household Employer? The IRS defines a household employer as someone who pays an individual to perform duties in or around their home and has the right to control when, where, how or by whom the work should be performed. Household employees include nannies, senior caregivers, housekeepers, nurses, personal assistants, chefs, estate managers, etc….
Your Social Security Statement is now at your fingertips
Have you ever received a Social Security Statement in the mail? You know, the one that shows all the earnings you’ve had each year and how much you could receive per month in Social Security benefits when you retire? The Statement contains crucial information to plan for a comfortable retirement. Now, thanks to my Social Security,…
What Qualifies for Ministry Clothes Deduction
What Qualifies for Ministry Clothes Deduction The cost of clothing can be a deductible ministry expense only if the clothing is: required or essential in the taxpayer’s employment not suitable for general or personal wear; and not worn for general or personal wear. You can only take the work clothes deduction if the apparel is…
