For most churches, the mere thought of year-end reporting can cause headaches. You have to do it every year, and it consumes valuable time that you just don’t have to spare. Figuring out which form you need to file, tracking the changing regulation, and filing all takes time. Understanding all of the clergy rules associated…

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed in December 2017 which eliminated the moving deduction. The moving expense deduction disappears from the tax year 2018 through the tax year 2025, but it’s scheduled to come back at that time unless Congress intervenes to eliminate it permanently. This time frame means that if you moved…

An HR Audit helps determine the effectiveness of the necessary HR function of your church. It represents a systematic, objective tool to assess regulatory or policy compliance in the workplace, and you can take it as many times as you like. (Note: Not designed to be comprehensive for every church, the following list of questions…

Most ministers are required to pay quarterly estimated taxes if you have fourth-quarter income, get them postmarked by January 16, 2018, tax deadline. Generally, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires you to make quarterly estimated tax payments for the calendar year 2017 if any of the following apply: you expect to owe at least $1,000…

President Trump recently signed the tax reform bill into law, and it makes major changes to the U.S. tax code for both individuals and corporations. In fact, the bill represents the most significant tax changes in the United States in more than 30 years. While many deductions are remaining under the new tax law, there…

The IRS requires churches to report wage and salary information for employees on Form W-2. Your W-2 also reports the amount of your housing, federal, and state withholdings. As a non-clergy or clergy employee, the information on your W-2 is extremely important when preparing your tax return. To insure you have it in time, the IRS…

Give To Charity If you are a charitably inclined person and itemize your tax returns, consider making another gift by the end of the year.  A lot of deductions are going away in 2018, which will make it harder for many people to take advantage of itemized tax returns. In addition, with the standard deduction nearly…

Tax reform will be capping your state and local tax deductions at $10,000 beginning in 2018. To prevent taxpayers from navigating around the $10,000 deduction cap that will take effect in 2018, Congress wrote right into the tax bill that taxpayers will not be able to prepay their 2018 state income taxes and take the…

The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2018 optional standard mileage rates. Effective January 1st, 2018, the IRS standard rate will be 54.5 cents per mile driven for ministry or business purposes (The new rate is up from 53.5 cents per mile for 2017 because of higher gas prices ). Use of this rate is…

As the holidays approach, many people look for ways of combining their desire to help the causes they believe in with their desire to save on taxes. For the charitably inclined, there are strategic ways of giving that can accomplish both goals. However, if Congress passes a tax reform bill this year, it could include…