In this episode of The Pastor’s Wallet, Amy Artiga welcomes A.Z. Suarez, consultant and managing partner of Ascend Business Management, to discuss common budget mistakes and how pastors and church leaders can create budgets that align with the vision and…
Where We Were The Pastor’s Wallet turned 10 years old this past Saturday, September 5. When I started this journey, I was a stay-at-home mom with dreams of becoming a financial planner to help people with this very important, yet…
A 2018 court case helped to clarify when pastoral gifts are considered taxable income. Make sure you know how to classify your income to avoid owing penalties and back taxes.
Members of the clergy are unique among American taxpayers in that they have the option to opt out of Social Security. There is a short amount of time at the beginning of a person’s ministerial career when they can request…
As we’ve discussed previously, churches are not required to withhold taxes for pastors and other clergy. Because of a minister’s dual taxation status, the IRS expects them to pay as if they were self-employed. How do self-employed people pay taxes?…
Paul McWilliams is a pastor’s kid turned financial advisor specializing in helping pastors and churches make wise financial decisions that align with their mission. On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order creating TrumpIRA.gov, a new federal platform…
A Pastoral Reflection on 1 Timothy 5:3–16 This is a guest post by Matt Winquist. Matt is a pastor, husband, and father who has experienced family life from both the pulpit and the living room floor. He and his wife,…
You were going to replace your fence, but then you didn’t. You were going to buy that new sofa, but then you didn’t. You were going to move to a more expensive place, but then you didn’t. Life doesn’t always…
Clergy taxes are incredibly unique in a complex tax system, so it can be hard to find a tax preparer who actually understands how they work. I’m always getting requests for referrals, so I turned to my readers for help.…
This is an excerpt from my book, The Pastor’s Wallet Complete Guide to the Clergy Housing Allowance: The church is not required to report the housing allowance to the IRS. Unless a church includes it in an informational section on…
We’ve arrived at the final days of 2025. At the end of each year, I like to do a recap of the year’s most popular blogs. This is only for 2025. For all time views, the winner would be #8…
Because a pastor’s opportunity to opt out of Social Security is so unique, many Social Security employees don’t understand the law surrounding it. Unfortunately, this results in pastors being denied benefits that are rightfully theirs. This is what you can…