FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Year-end Tax Review for U.S. Ministers
With the Feast now over, the end of the year rapidly approaches. It is time to start putting your tax records in order for the tax return that you will need to file early next year.
We want to remind you of a couple of the many items you need to consider in preparing your return. First, be sure to review your housing allowance to be certain that what you have set aside is the appropriate amount. Any amount that has been set aside and not spent during the year must be declared as income. On the other hand, any amount spent but not previously set aside cannot now be deducted. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to consider filing an updated Ministerial Housing Allowance form.
The other item you need to plan for is your expense records for both the monthly ministerial and second tithe allotments. Any unused allotment should be returned. Please make separate checks for second tithe funds and for the monthly allotment.
Regarding the monthly allotment, when your allotment check is mailed, it is sent in advance of projected expenses. At the end of the year, the total of all allotment checks will be added to your W-2 form as income. Unless you can sufficiently justify to the IRS the business expenses that match the expense allotments you received, you will end up having to pay tax on it.
The allotment check is to be used only for Church business expenses. If you have received more expense money than you actually spent, you should return the excess to the Church. If you find that your allotment has exceeded your expense by a large amount, you may need to consider reducing the allotment. If you want to do this, please include a note to that effect with your reimbursement check.
We need to receive any reimbursement checks by the middle of December in order to credit the amount to your W-2 statement. If we don't have it by then, we can't be sure the necessary processing will get done. If it isn't received in time, your W-2 statement will not reflect the returned money, and you will have to pay tax on that amount. You will need to estimate your expense needs for the rest of the year to know how much to return.
Comments From Monthly Church Reports
From the United States
TEXARKANA, TX — CHARLES BRYCE: We have witnessed a definite improvement in the attitudes of YOU members recently. In general they are becoming more responsive and responsible. We attribute this at least in part to young ones who have been "turned-on" by the YES program and are now at the bottom end of YOU. So we are beginning to see in YOU some of the good fruits of YES. We hope the improvement is also due to the ministry's increased involvement in the YOU program.
BISMARCK, ND — DAN CREED: Overall, the Church here is doing very well. One of the greatest pleasures of being in an area a number of years is to see the young people come along and be baptized. Many I am now counseling for baptism were just young teens when I first arrived in the area.
MOBILE, AL — STEVEN MOODY: Our attendance has had a marked increase with new PMs beginning to attend. We have had an excellent response among the new contacts lately. Also, several grown children of members who had left the Church are now wanting to return.
RALEIGH, NC — MIKE BOOZE: We have experienced several examples of God's miraculous intervention this month. One woman had a dark spot on her lung disappear after anointing. One of our PMs contracted hepatitis after donating blood. The case was severe enough that the doctor mentioned the possibility of death. After prayer, he was completely healed in two days. The doctor said, "I don't know what you did, but if I ever get hepatitis, I'm going to call you and find out what it was!" These are only two cases. God has been very generous with us this month.
— Joe Tkach, Ministerial Services
