Use caution before making political statements
On July 28th of 2020, the IRS published the following guidance on Churches making political statements. “Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to…
IRS Issues Basic Guidance on Payroll Tax Deferral for Churches
The IRS has issued Notice 2020-65 deferring the withholding and deposit of the employee’s share of Social Security (OASDI) taxes on applicable wages. Specifically, the deferral applies to applicable wages paid on a pay date between September 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The availability of deferral is based on the date the employee is paid….
IRS Confirms It Has No Plans To Extend The Filing Deadline
The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have announced that the 2019 tax filing deadline remains July 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. Ministers who cannot meet the July 15 due date…
New Bill – Give Ministers the Opportunity to Opt-in to Social Security
Congressman Kevin McCarthy recently held a press conference with local pastors about his newly introduced bill, the Clergy Act. This bill would offer ministers – many of whom opted out of paying into Social Security in their youth – a two-year “open season” to effectively opt-in to Social Security. McCarthy released the following statement: “In…
Who qualifies for “Clergy Status”
The employing congregation, denomination, integral agency of a denomination or a church, or religious organization is responsible to determine whether an individual qualifies as clergy status under the federal law definition. Having “minister” in the title or ministerial duties in a job description is not enough. The IRS uses the five criteria listed below to…
Freedom from Religion Foundation opts not to appeal
The Freedom from Religion Foundation, or FFRF, has decided not to pursue an additional challenge of the clergy housing allowance at the Supreme Court level. This means that clergy housing and parsonage allowance provisions will likely to remain in place for tax year 2019 and for years beyond. For those unfamiliar with court events, the…
Why Did I Owe Taxes This Year? Changes in 2019
In December of 2017 Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This bill took effect for the first time for the 2018 tax year, those due on April 15 of this year. Although called “tax reform,” the TCJA focused on a trillion dollar tax cut. Among other changes this bill significantly lowered taxes, doubled the…
Solar Credits Maximized in 2019, Decrease in Future Years
Under current tax law, the federal government allows 1040 filers to deduct 30% of the costs of installing a solar energy system, with no cap on the amount you can spend. However, these energy credits start to decrease after 2019. In 2020, you will only get a credit of 26% of your costs. In 2021,…
Student Loan Forgiven Programs By State
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia all have special student loan forgiveness programs for residents of their states. Many of the programs are in public service fields, such as health care, teaching, dentistry, legal, and more. Remember, there are still Federal Student Loan Forgiveness programs and Secret Student Loan Forgiveness programs as part…
Do I still need to track Medical Expenses?
In 2018, there were two hurdles to claiming a Medical Expense Deduction. First, you had to spend more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income on medical expenses. If you had a combined income of $100,000, you would first have to spend $7,500 on medical before you could claim any expenses. And that’s unreimbursed medical…
