Housing Allowance Update: Judge Grants Right to Intervene By order dated January 19, 2017, Judge James Peterson of the federal district court for Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: How Should We Handle our Pastor’s Club Dues? The answer depends on the purpose of the club. Richard R. Hammar
Tax Court rules ‘Love Gifts’ to Pastor Represent Taxable Compensation "Love gifts" made by churches and church members to clergy constitute taxable compensation Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: What if Our Minister Requests a Housing Allowance that Exceeds His Total Salary? A church can only allocate the total amount of its minister's yearly salary toward a housing allowance. Vonna Laue
Housing Allowance Challenge Continues FFRF's renewed effort may negatively affect this important benefit. Richard R. Hammar
Setting Pay Packages for Pastors Why churches need to get three tax issues right with compensation. Richard R. Hammar
The Pastor’s Sabbatical and Tax Implications Pastor sabbaticals are valuable ministry tools, but they have tax implications every church leader should know. Elaine L. Sommerville
Q&A: Can a Pastor Receive a Deduction for “Donating” Vacation Time? Charitable contribution deductions are only available for donations of cash or property. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Can an Interim Minister Receive a Housing Allowance? The Tax Court's "five-factor test" provides the answers. Elaine L. Sommerville
The Tax Code’s “No Inurement” Limitation Failure to meet certain conditions can jeopardize a church's exempt status. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Are Donations Given for a New Minister of Music Tax Deductible? Tax-deductible donations can be designated for a specific ministry purpose. Vonna Laue
Do we need to pay our youth pastor separately for work not related to his ministerial position? Our church is licensing our youth director as a youth pastor, which will change his Frank Sommerville
Q&A: Does Our Pastor Have to Report This Payment as Income? One couple in our church wanted to get married out of state. They paid our Richard R. Hammar
A Closer Look at the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling The decision's potential effects on churches and clergy. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Do Lapsed Credentials Affect a Minister’s Housing Allowance? No precedent exists, so here’s what to look at. Richard R. Hammar
Can a minister who previously opted out of Social Security change his or her mind? Once a minister's application for the exemption (Form 4361) is approved, it is good for life. Elaine L. Sommerville
Secular Income and Vows of Poverty Church Law and Tax Report Secular income and vows of poverty Key point. Attempts to
Court Dismisses Atheist Challenge to Filing Exemptions for Churches Judge cites federal appeals court’s rejection of housing allowance challenge. Matthew Branaugh
Q&A: The Risks of Taking Social Security Early Is there any way to reverse a previous decision to receive early benefits? Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Can we treat someone our church hired for a ministerial position as a nonminister employee for Social Security? We have a ministerial staff member who opted out of self-employment taxes many years ago, Richard R. Hammar