Payroll and taxes are usually a confusing topic for churches that can easily find themselves in trouble with the IRS if payroll taxes are not reported correctly. Church payroll taxes can be especially tricky due to the dual-tax status of their pastoral staff. There is...
As summer ramps up so does travel, especially in ministry. Churches and nonprofits are organizing summer youth trips and conferences, mission trips and conventions around the world. While exciting, anything that disrupts a normal work week routine raises questions. Primarily, who pays for what? What do...
Question: “When paying severance, which is better: one lump sum or monthly payments over a set time period?” ANSWER: Generally, we recommend organizations provide severance spread out rather than one chunk amount because it encourages a continued amicable relationship between the church and the leaving employee. It also...
Can you modify housing allowance mid-year? The Housing Allowance can be amended (changed) as often as needed. We always recommend overestimating when designating a housing allowance. The goal would be to have enough of a buffer in the designation to end up with unused housing...
Question … Our elders developed a sabbatical policy that provides our pastors with benefits that includes normal salary and benefits. There is additional pay for activities like meeting with mentors, studying, developing relationships with peers, exploring industry best practices, and resting-rejuvenation. Because these activities almost...
Employers can generally offer different PTO benefits to different employees as long as there is a valid and non-discriminatory business reason for doing so. We would recommend mentioning your policy variations in your employee handbook to be clear on the subject. With that said, it is...
Tax documents are currently arriving in mailboxes and inboxes, reminding us all that tax season is rapidly approaching. This article will give a brief and broad overview of what credits and deductions are all about. The federal tax code allows for certain “credits” and...
Is your nonprofit subject to the FLSA? The answer isn't a simple yes or no. Nonprofits fall into a special category, but fortunately, the Department of Labor has provided guidance in this area. In brief, says the DOL, there are two ways in which an employee...
Nearly all the approximately 1.74 million organizations recognized as tax exempt by the IRS must file Form 990 or another form in the same series annually. Organizations making less than $200,000 in revenue and having less than $500,000 in assets must file Form 990-EZ, and...
Springtime in the ministry world is all about getting ready for Easter, but now that Easter is over, we can all take a collective breath as we refocus our attention to the rest of 2022. If you haven’t already begun to jump into your spring cleaning,...