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Youth/Children's Worker Lessons

This week's lesson:

"Accountable" Expense Reimbursement Arrangements

A church decides that it will reimburse business expenses that church employees incur in the course of their employment up to a specified amount. It adopts a policy allowing reimbursement of each such expense if the employee substantiates the amount, date, location, and business purpose of the expense. The church board assumes that this arrangement is accountable, and so the church treasurer does not report any of these reimbursements as taxable income on the employee's W-2 at the end of the year. Is the church reporting the reimbursements correctly?

Lesson one week ago:

Ministers and Estimated Taxes

Pastor G is serving in his first pastoral position. He soon realizes that the church treasurer is not withholding income taxes from his wages, but he is not sure why. The treasurer informs him that churches are not required to withhold taxes from ministers' wages, and that ministers must use the "estimated tax procedure" to pay their taxes. Pastor G is not familiar with this procedure. This issue is addressed in this week's lesson.

Lesson two weeks ago:

Ministers and Tax Withholding

Pastor J is senior pastor of his church. He is paid a salary and a housing allowance. The church has three non-minister employees. The church treasurer withholds income taxes as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes from the wages of the three non-minister employees. She assumes that she must do the same for Pastor J. Is she correct? This question is addressed in this week's lesson.

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