For almost 100 years, since the Revenue Act of 1921, pastors in the United States have had the privilege of living in employer-provided housing without having to pay income taxes on it. Back then, it was common practice for churches…
Side business, side gig, tent-making ministry, side hustle, part-time self-employment, side job; doing some extra work on top of your regular job has a lot of different names these days. No matter what you call it, a lot of pastors…
So, you’re entering the ministry and you’re excited. You’re excited to devote your life to God’s work. You’re excited to make an eternal impact on the world. And you’re excited to do your taxes in a completely new way. No,…
Summer is in full swing and that means house listings are skyrocketing and people are moving. This has been on my mind as our neighbors behind us just sold their house and we have yet to meet our new neighbors.…
Thanks to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, people are paying a whole lot more attention to their tax withholdings this year. Employers had a hard time calculating withholdings with all the changes in the law and the result was…
Here in the Pacific Northwest, it is strawberry season. For most of us, that means we get to chow down on juicy berries that make us avoid the bland store-bought strawberries for several months afterward. For my daughter, it means…
Do you know your net worth? Do you know how to figure out your net worth? Do you even care? What Is Net Worth And Why Does It Matter? Net worth is basically that which you’ve stored up here on…
I recently had a friend run some reports on my website to see how people are finding me. One of the most popular things that people search for, I learned, is “minister housing allowance calculator.” Now, I’ve written a lot…
While premarital counseling addresses a lot of expectations that we enter marriage with, anyone who has been married for over a day knows that there is no end to the surprises of how our spouse sees things. There are so…
Last week we discussed the value of an accountable reimbursement plan for churches now that pastors can no longer deduct their unreimbursed business expenses. Today, I will tell you how to actually set one up. What Makes A Reimbursement Plan…
If you’re like a lot of clergy members, you had an unpleasant surprise this tax season when you learned that you can no longer deduct unreimbursed church business expenses with your itemized deductions. You’re probably used to covering a lot…
As a parent, have you ever seen one of your kids walking down the hallway with a large stick and been forced to ask, “And what are you planning on doing with that?” You don’t ask because you’re particularly interested…