How to report correctlyCorrection will increase or decrease taxes
| 1 | reporting Social Security taxes as an employee | all ministers are self-employed for purposes of Social Security with respect to their ministerial income (except for some government chaplains) | increase |
| 2 | reporting income taxes as a self-employed worker | most ministers are employees for income tax reporting purposes under the tests used by the IRS and Tax Court | increase |
| 3 | failure to report “special occasion gifts” as taxable income | most special occasion gifts to ministers (e.g., Christmas,birthday, anniversary, retirement) represent taxable income | increase |
| 4 | failure to report the personal use of a church-provided car as taxable income | a minister’s personal use of a church-provided car represents taxable income, and such use must be valued and reported as income by the church on the minister’s W-2 form | increase |
| 5 | failure to claim an “adjustment” for half of one’s self-employment tax liability | ministers, like any taxpayer who is self-employed for Social Security, can deduct (as an adjustment on line 27 of Form 1040) half of their self-employment tax computed on Schedule SE | decrease |
| 6 | claiming the housing allowance exclusion when computing self-employment taxes | the housing allowance is excluded from taxable income when computing income taxes, but not when computing self-employment taxes | increase |
| 7 | self-employed ministers claim exclusions available only to employees | some items (such as employer-paid health insurance premiums, employer-paid group term life insurance up to ,000, “cafeteria plans,” and 403(b) annuities) are excludable from taxable income only by employees, and not by self-employed persons | increase |
| 8 | failure to report income associated with “below-market interest loans” | low-interest and no-interest loans made to ministers generate taxable income (if the loan amount is ,000 or more) | increase |
| 9 | inadequate records to substantiate business expenses | ministers can participate in accountable expense reimbursement arrangements, and deduct unreimbursed and nonaccountable reimbursed expenses, only if they maintain adequate records to substantiate their expenses | increase |
| 10 | ineligible ministers exempt themselves from Social Security | eligibility of ministers for exemption from self-employment (Social Security) taxes requires that several strict conditions be met | increase |
| 11 | excluding the church-designated housing allowance when computing federal income taxes | ministers may only exclude the lowest of the following amounts when computing their income taxes: (1) church-designated housing allowance; (2) actual housing expenses; and (3) if they own their home, the annual fair rental value of the home (furnished, including utilities) | increase |
| 12 | failing to deduct unreimbursed and nonaccountable reimbursed expenses on Schedule SE | ministers can deduct unreimbursed and nonaccountable reimbursed expenses in computing their self-employment taxes on Schedule SE even if they cannot deduct these expenses on Schedule A (because they cannot itemize deductions) | decrease |
| 13 | disregarding the Deason rule | ministers must reduce their income tax deduction for unreimbursed and nonaccountable reimbursed business expenses by the percentage of their total income that consists of a nontaxable housing allowance | increase |
| 14 | applying the Deason rule when computing self-employment taxes | ministers should not reduce their business expense deductions in computing self-employment taxes by the percentage of their total income that consists of a housing allowance, since the housing allowance is not a tax-free fringe benefit when computing self-employment taxes | decrease |
| 15 | failing to claim a parsonage allowance | ministers who incur any out-of-pocket expenses to maintain a church-provided parsonage can exclude from their taxable income (when computing federal income taxes) that portion of their compensation that is designated by the church as a parsonage allowance, to the extent it is used to pay for parsonage-related expenses | decrease |
| 16 | failure to report a church’s reimbursement of a spouse’s travel expenses as taxable income | a church’s reimbursement of a spouse’s travel expenses incurred while accompanying a minister on a business trip represents income to the minister unless the spouse’s presence serves a legitimate business purpose and the spouse’s expenses are reimbursed under an accountable arrangement. | increase |
| 17 | failure to report a forgiven debt as taxable income | a minister incurs taxable income in the amount of a church loan that is forgiven (principal and accrued interest) | increase |
| 18 | incorrect tax liability entered from tax tables | the IRS cites this as one of the most common mistakes made by taxpayers, so be sure to double-check that you are obtaining your tax liability from the correct table and line | either |
| 19 | computational errors | the IRS cites this as one of the most common mistakes made by taxpayers, so be sure that all totals (deductions, income, etc.) are correct | either |
| 20 | incorrect or missing Social Security numbers | the IRS cites this as one of the most common mistakes made by taxpayers, so be sure to use correct Social Security numbers (they no longer are printed on the mailing label you receive from the IRS) | neither |
