What Expenses Can Be Used to Justify the Housing Allowance Exclusion?
Generally, any expense to provide or maintain the home can be used to justify the housing exclusion. Regulations do specifically state that expenses for groceries, paper products, personal toiletries, personal clothing, and maid service cannot be used. You may legitimately include the following: (1) rent, principal payments, or down payments plus the cost of buying the home; (2) taxes…
Five Myths about the Ministry Housing Allowance
The Housing Allowance is one of the best tax benefits available to members of the Clergy, but also one of the most misunderstood. Here are five common misconceptions about the Clergy Housing Allowance. 1. I can only change my designation once a year. False. There is no IRS regulation stating that designations can only be…
Do I still need to track Housing Expenses?
A lot of people used the Standard Deduction in 2018, rather than Itemizing. You may also wonder, as a member of the clergy, “Does take the standard deduction mean we don’t have to track housing expenses in 2019?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. Even if you used the Standard Deduction, you must still keep track…
Court Upholds Clergy Housing Allowance
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Clergy Housing Allowance On Friday, March 15, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the clergy housing allowance. In a unanimous 3-0 decision, the judges ruled that the housing allowance is constitutional and cited two legal precedents in support of their ruling. This is a tremendous victory…
Don’t Underestimate Your Housing Allowance!
In our last article about the Clergy Housing Allowance, we discussed the fact that if you don’t properly designate and document a Housing Allowance, IRS could end up disallowing it. Even when you properly document a Housing Allowance, there is an additional risk that we should discuss: designating too little. Consider the following scenario: A…
How to Properly Designate a Housing Allowance
Do you get paid an allowance for housing? Are you sure that it’s set up correctly? Double checking your housing allowance is an easy way to avoid annoying tax headaches later. In order to take a housing allowance, there needs to be proper documentation: A specific dollar amount or percentage of salary must be designated,…
Guide to Minister’s Compensation
You may find it helpful to begin by considering the goals of a compensation package. A church should provide its staff with adequate income so that they can fulfill their roles without undue concern about current and future financial needs. Freedom from financial anxiety lets the minister focus on his or her service. It also helps your church…
Can Nursing Home Expenses be Claimed as Housing Allowance?
If the clergy person is a permanent resident of the nursing home, the housing allowance applies to the nursing home because the nursing home is the minister’s primary residence. Charges for food and medical care are not considered housing expenses. Ask the administrator of the residence to provide the portion of their monthly payments that…
Housing Allowance for Clergy Couples
Clergy couples are limited to the equivalent of one housing allowance between the two incomes, providing they live in the same location. In this instance, clergy need to be mindful of the amount requested by each spouse in the annual housing allowance resolution. Generally, any expense to provide or maintain the home can be used to justify…
What type of housing expense records should clergy be keeping?
Ideally, clergy should keep careful housing expense records to determine whether expenses are greater or less than the annual designation. Records are also important for estimating a reasonable housing allowance for the next year. Original receipts, invoices, canceled checks, charge card records, etc. are all essential. To simplify record keeping, some pastors find it helpful to have one charge…
