Sample Housing Allowance for Pastors

Editor’s note: A resolution can only be applied prospectively, never retroactively. For a church to have a resolution in place for a specific calendar year, it needs to adopt the resolution by December 31 of the previous year. A resolution can be adopted after the start of a new calendar year, but it only applies from the date of the adoption and going forward.

Church boards can use the language below to create a resolution for a pastor who owns or rents a home:

The following resolution was duly adopted by the board of directors of [Name of Church] at a regularly scheduled meeting held on [Day, Month, Year], a quorum being present:Whereas, ministers who own or rent their home do not pay federal income taxes on the amount of their compensation that their employing church designates in advance as a housing allowance, to the extent that the allowance represents compensation for ministerial ...