The New Tax Form Is Postcard-Size, but More Complicated Than Ever
IRS Dumps Proposal to Ask Charities for SSNs of Donors
The Internal Revenue Service has dropped a proposed regulation giving tax-exempt organizations the option of providing the Social Security Numbers of their donors. The rule, which the IRS and the Treasury Department proposed last September, called on charities to ask for additional personal donor information, including Social Security numbers for any donation of $250 or…
2016 Tax Season Will Begin On February 1st.
Clergy Financial Resources will begin accepting and e-filingย individualย returns on February 1, 2016.ย ย We willย also begin processing paper tax returns at the same time. We look forward to opening the 2016 tax season.ย Our employees have been working hard helping clergy all year to get ready for thisย filing season. The filing deadline to submit 2015 tax returns is…
2016 Standard Mileage Rates
Optional standard mileage rates for ministry and business use of a vehicle will go down in 2016, the IRS announced on Thursday (Notice 2016-1). For ministry and business use of a car, van, pickup truck, or panel truck, the rate for 2016 will be 54 cents per mile, compared with 57.5 cents in 2015. Driving…
New exemption rules not expected until July 2016
In June 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced proposed changes to overtime regulations that would significantly increase the minimum salary required to classify an employee as an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee, and proposed indexing those wages to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics data on annual earnings in future years. Those proposed…
Health Care Reform Changes Effective July 1
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance (DOL technical release 2013-03 and IRS Notice 2013-54) that may impact how your church funds medical coverage for some employees. The guidance states that, effective July 1, 2015, organizations may no longer directly pay premiums for an individual health insurance policy [a health…
IRS Offer Temporary Relief For Churches That Pay Individual Health Premiums
IRS Clarifies Individual Health Plan Premium Reimbursements The IRS recently issued a notice that provides transitional relief to churches who provide reimbursements for their employees to purchase individual health insurance. Prior to this latest guidance, any reimbursed premiums and other medical reimbursement arrangements would be included as taxable income in 2014. As with all things…
IRS Announces 2015 Mileage Rates
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for ministry, business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The ministry/business rate is increasing from the 2014 rate, while the medical and moving mileage rates are decreasing from last year. The charitable rate is…
Housing Allowance Withstands Atheist Challenge
Today, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2013 ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that identified the housing allowance benefit for clergy(IRS Code ยง107(2)) unconstitutional. The original lawsuit, filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation argued that the parsonage allowance exclusion violates the separation of church and state and the constitutional guarantee…
2015 Tax Year Updates
In advance of the new calendar year coming up, the Internal Revenue Service has announced several changes to tax laws starting in January 2015. Here are a few of the highlights that are common for clergy. Standard Deduction – Single $6,300 (up from $6,200 in 2014) – Married Filing Jointly $12,600 (up from$12,400 in 2014)…
