Pastors who save into their church’s retirement plan are eligible to withdraw some of that money as a tax-free housing allowance in retirement. It’s a great benefit to have. Unfortunately, a lot of church retirement plans have investments with higher…
This is an excerpt from the book The Pastor’s Wallet Complete Guide to the Clergy Housing Allowance, which is available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon. Treasury regulations state that, In order to qualify for the exclusion, the home…
One of the greatest financial benefits available to pastors is the housing allowance exemption. This comes in two forms: the minister’s cash housing allowance and parsonage allowance. These allow “ministers of the gospel” to exempt all of their housing expenses…
Congratulations, you made it to 2024! Whether you triumphantly marched into the new year or skidded in on your knees like me, I hope 2024 turns out to be your best year yet. As I have in most previous years,…
Because of Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to take a break from the usual technical stuff and write a blog post about thankfulness. It’s not something you’ll find in any IRS publication, but it is a financial issue. As I…
We recently went over Form 4361, the IRS document used by pastors to receive an exemption from self-employment taxes. If you’re not familiar with it, you should go back and read about it here. One thing we didn’t discuss in…
I recently announced that I have obtained the Certified Financial Planner™ designation. As a result, I got a number of responses asking what kind of services I offer as a financial planner. One generous reader even wisely told me, “a…
If you’re new to the ministry, you may have heard about Form 4361 from someone. Likely another pastor has mentioned it and told you that it will save you a lot of money. What is this mysterious money-saving piece of…
As you probably know if you read this blog (or can find out here), pastors have to pay both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes as if they were self-employed. Those Social Security and Medicare…
Having a baby comes with a lot of responsibility and a long to-do list. Here are the things you should do legally and financially to set yourself up for success once your little one arrives.