Can all church employees qualify for housing allowance?
Q. Can all church employees qualify for housing allowance? A. No. Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code allows only a “minister of the gospel” to have a housing allowance. Thus, only taxpayers who are serving as clergy under IRS rules for tax purposes are eligible for a housing allowance. These rules state that the…
Clergy Housing Allowance
Clergy Housing Allowance Ministers who own their home can not only take advantage of the housing allowance by including mortgage payments as housing expenses but also can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes on their itemized deductions. This is often referred to as a “double deduction. Once ministers pay off their mortgages, however, they can…
Limitations on the Housing Allowance
Limitations on the Housing Allowance After reading about the Housing or Parsonage / Manse Allowance, you may be thinking, “if I designate my entire salary as a Housing Allowance, would it all be excluded from federal income taxes?” IRS has already addressed this by limiting the Allowance to the least of the following: 1. The…
Mid-Year – Housing Allowance Review
Mid-Year Review of Housing Allowance Designations Perhaps the most beneficial tax benefit available to a minister is the clergy housing allowance, which allows a minister to exclude permissible housing expenses from taxable income. Now that that the current year is more than half over, it is a good time for churches and their ministers to…
Can I deduct the mortgage for a home that is being constructed? Does it qualify for the housing allowance?
The IRS allows for taxpayers to deduct all of the interest they pay on a construction loan within the 24 months before the home is completed. (See Publication 936 https://www.irs.gov/publications/p936) There are some rules in order to qualify for the mortgage interest deduction: You can treat a home under construction as a qualified home for…
FAQ: Can I use nursing home expenses for the housing allowance? Can I deduct them anywhere else?
For clergy who are living permanently in a nursing home, they can use some (but not all) of their nursing home expenses for the housing allowance. For example, the rental cost of their room and the utilities are eligible for the housing allowance. The food and medical care are not eligible for the housing allowance….
The Parsonage Allowance
IRC § 107 provides an exclusion from gross income for a “parsonage allowance,” housing specifically provided as part of the compensation for the services performed as a minister of the gospel. This includes the rental value of a home furnished to him or her as part of compensation or a housing allowance, to the extent…
What is the housing allowance?
A licensed, commissioned, or ordained minister who performs ministerial services as an employee may be able to exclude from gross income the fair rental value of a home provided as part of compensation (a parsonage) or a housing allowance provided as compensation if it is used to rent or otherwise provide a home. A minister…
Guide to Clergy Compensation
Clergy Status is a person who has been granted ecclesiastical authority by an association, denomination, or state through the rite of ordination, commissioning, or licensing. 1. Generally, an ordained minister has a Master of Divinity from an accredited theological school and is recognized through the rite of ordination to preach and teach the gospel, to…
Can I take out a home equity loan and use that as an expense for the housing allowance?
Answer: Yes, you can use a new home equity loan for your housing allowance, but with some restrictions. The Internal Revenue Service allows ministers to use home equity loans as a housing expense, but only if the loan is used for direct housing-related expenses (i.e. for maintenance or the purchase of a home). If you…