What goes in my Box 1 Wages?
Clergy W-2 forms can be a little confusing, and almost every Church seems to do them a little bit differently. And even filling them out requires a little bit of tax knowledge about what is and what is not taxable. Box 1 of the W-2 should include everything that you need IRS to consider as…
If you had errors checking your stimulus payment, check again.
Many taxpayers trying to use the IRS stimulus payment website have been frustrated. The website was quickly released after April 15th, and has not always worked as intended. Some received error messages attempting to use the website, or received a message incorrectly stating that their return information did not match the return on file. According…
SBA Approves Minister’s Housing Allowance for PPP Loan
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOANS In an FAQ released on April 24, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) states that it has approved the inclusion of the minister’s housing allowance in payroll costs for purposes of applying for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and seeking forgiveness of that loan. 32. Question: Does the cost…
Remember to deduct clergy remote work expenses!
With the current quarantine situation in many states, many more people are working from home. While most non-clergy employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed employee expenses on Schedule A, Clergy still have the ability to deduct these expenses on Schedule SE, their self-employment tax schedule. If you had to buy a computer, purchase software, buy…
Top 10 Clergy W-2 Mistakes
Correctly filing Clergy taxes can be difficult, especially because many W-2 forms already contain errors or omissions. Here are ten common mistakes that are made when issuing Clergy W-2 forms. Forgetting to remove 403(b) contributions from taxable wages. The wages that Clergy defer into their traditional 403(b) retirement accounts should not be taxed. Forgetting to…
What is the Employee Retention Credit?
Under the CARES Act, an eligible church may be able to offset the impact of COVID-19 with an Employee Retention Credit. You must continue to pay employees during a COVID-19 related closure and carry on with church at some point during 2020 to be eligible for the credit. A qualifying closure occurs during any calendar…
How Do I Get the PPP Loan Forgiven?
You are eligible for loan forgiveness for the amounts you spend over the next eight weeks after receiving the loan on certain qualifying expenses. The qualifying expenses of the church over the eight-week period include payroll costs, rent, interest on mortgage debt and utilities. If the number of full-time employees is reduced over this time…
Coronavirus Stimulus Payments
Economic impact payments have started to be issued this week. Here are some basic facts about the payments: Who is eligible? US citizens or residents aliens who have a valid SSN, could not be claimed as a dependent, and have adjusted gross income under limits. How much is the payment? $1,200 for individual earning less…
IRS phones unstaffed, service centers closed, paper filings stopped.
As the global pandemic continues, IRS has scaled back or shut down parts of their organization. As of now, the IRS is no longer processing paper returns. If you mailed a paper return to the IRS, it will be processed when they reopen, but it is unclear when that will be. If you need to…
A quick analysis of important economic data
Clergy Financial Resources has received permission and partner with Elliott Pollack to provide an analysis of economic data. When you take a long view of what’s been done to help the economy over the past few weeks, in total it’s been quite favorable. The CARES Act is a $2.3 trillion disaster relief act that, if…
