Internal Revenue Service Auditing Churches – Is Yours Next? Many years ago, Churches never worried about intrusion from the Internal Revenue Service. For the most part the IRS never sought entrance to Church affairs. This has all changed. Churches are being audited by the thousands, with many being closed, and some Pastors and [...]
Avoiding the “Pay or Play” Penalty Some Churches have fallen prey to the “Pay or Play” penalty without realizing the financial incurrence that it will have upon their ministry. Beginning in 2015, large employers that fail to offer employee health insurance that meets Affordable Care Act (ACA) standards may be assessed a shared [...]
Beware of Who Is Completing Your Individual Tax Returns and Church Tax Form Filings It is quickly approaching the time of the year when Pastors will be filing their Income Tax Returns. Most of these will hire an individual or tax firm to complete this process on their behalf. While it is admirable for [...]
Are Contributions Made to You Protected as Tax Deductible Not all, but many who make charitable contributions do so with intentions of claiming them as deductions on their tax returns. For any donation to be accepted as a tax-deduction, the Church is tasked with a responsibility to ensure those contributions are proper and that [...]
Upcoming Elections and What Your Church Needs to Know As an election approaches, especially those that are Presidential, people get passionate in support or lack thereof for a particular candidate. This is especially true for Churches when one candidate seems to mirror their doctrinal beliefs while the other candidate is the antithesis. Almost [...]
Huge Penalties If You File Late Tax Returns Every year taxpayers, Churches, and especially Ministers, file tax returns late for a litany of reasons. Some are late because they are afraid of the amount of tax they must pay. Some blame their tax preparer for not completing the return in a timely manner. However, some file [...]
GIVE THANKS Today, I want to part from my normal Blog format and just write a few words from my heart on being thankful. Of the thousands of Churches that have closed and thousands of Pastors, Trustees, and Church Bookkeepers that have been indicted, all of them would probably gladly change places with [...]
Churches Must Obtain 501(c)(3) Approval Now As I travel across the nation teaching Church and Clergy Tax Seminars, I am continually amazed at Pastors, Church Leaders, and Bookkeepers who feel as if they are exempt from obtaining formal 501(c)(3) approval from the Internal Revenue Service. Some of these Pastors and Leaders feel as if [...]
Is Embezzlement Happening in Your Church? Embezzlement happens much too often within Church settings. It often goes unnoticed for months or years, and when it is discovered the amount of the loss is usually astronomical. All anyone needs to do to discover the frequency of this type of activity is to type “Church Embezzlement” [...]
Ministers Can Reduce Their Tax Burden The occupation of a Minister is unique and as such it is the only occupation that carries dual status with the Internal Revenue Service. The Minister is an employee for Federal Income Tax purposes, but is self-employed for Social Security purposes. For this reason, Ministers should be very [...]