Managing Your Church

For employers, the Internal Revenue Code defines payroll tax obligations in two primary areas: (1) federal income tax withholding and (2) Social Security/Medicare tax withholding. The Code determines what income is subject to taxes and the related withholding of the taxes.

Shoes and pants. Toasters and blenders and recliners. Donors want to drop them off at your church’s thrift store or donation center. They will often want a deduction for such noncash donations of personal property. What do you tell them?

First, you can’t tell them ...

In the July/August 2018 edition of Church Law & Tax Report, Bob Cartwright, a seasoned compensation and human resources consultant, gives steps any church can use to create fair and consistent compensation packages. The following excerpt from Cartwright’s article explores ...

In this biweekly column, longtime executive pastor and XPastor.orgfounder David Fletcher takes on readers’ questions about finances, staffing, communications, and more. Submit your questions using the subject line "Hey, Fletch" to editor@churchlawandtax.com.

A damning report was issued Tuesday by a grand jury in Pennsylvania tasked with investigating allegations of child sexual abuse and cover-ups by Pennsylvania Catholic priests and diocesan officials.

The report investigated six of the eight Catholic dioceses in the state. (The ...

Church Organist Gets Ministerial Exception. “In Sterlinski v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, (ND IL, July 23, 2018), an Illinois federal district court held that the ministerial exception doctrine applies to an organist at a Catholic parish. Plaintiff claims he was demoted ...

I do a litigation review every year for church leaders based on about 12,000 cases I read pertaining to religious organizations across all 50 states and the federal courts. I systematically categorize them by type to help understand the top reasons religious organizations, including ...