Housing Allowance

Ministers who pay off their mortgages may have a housing allowance for other eligible expenses of maintaining a home, such as utilities, taxes and repairs. With no mortgage payment, their expenses are likely to be much lower. Some ministers mistakenly think that they can exclude the...

04 April, 2019

Episcopal News Service - In the latest installment in a nearly decade-long effort to have the Internal Revenue Service’s clergy parsonage exemption declared unconstitutional, the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled just the opposite. A three-judge panel said March 15 that the principal effect of the...

21 March, 2019

Only Ministers for Tax Purposes are eligible for a housing allowance on their ministerial earnings. Church custodians, secretaries and ministerial staff who are not Ministers for Tax Purposes are not eligible for a housing allowance. A church may call someone a minister, but the IRS may...

31 January, 2019

We’re past the halfway point of the year, which means this is an optimal time to check up on pastoral housing allowances, whether you receive one or you set one or more for other qualifying ministers. Specifically, a mid-year review will help determine whether the allowance...

27 September, 2018

The most important tax benefit available to ministers who own or rent their home is the housing allowance exclusion. To the extent the allowance represents compensation for ministerial services, is used to pay housing expenses, and doesn't exceed the fair rental value of the home, including...

23 August, 2018