A financial group has scheduled seminars for next year to address the IRS changes affecting churches and pastors in the upcoming tax season.
Making correct IRS filings and minimizing taxes are important issues for ministries and pastors, so the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) plans to conduct an hour-long webinar in January and February that will feature leading experts who will discuss IRS requirements for congregations.
ECFA President Dan Busby says the webinars are scheduled to take place just before next year’s filing deadlines.
“There are a lot of fine-line issues between what’s taxable and what’s not taxable, especially with the fringe benefits,” so he says it is important to get “a proper filing for the ministry’s W-2 and then [get] the right amounts on the form 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income for payments to those who independent contractor payments are made for.”
The webinar scheduled for February 23 will focus on the multiple changes clergy must consider in order to file accurate income tax returns.
“Because of the recession, the IRS has held the rates — the limits on retirement contributions and so on — they’ve held them the same,” Busby notes. “So it’s a rare time that a lot of these rates are the same, mostly just a refresher on how to minimize taxes and file a correct tax return or file correct W-2s by the churches.”
Both webinars will feature two of America’s top church experts, including attorney and certified public accountant Richard Hammar, who serves as legal counsel to the Assemblies of God denomination and is the author of more than 100 books. Busby, who serves as the Zondervan tax and finance author for clergy and churches and is also a certified public accountant, will be speaking as well.
Registration for each webinar is free for ECFA members and $49 for nonmembers. A recording of each will then be available through the ECFA website at no cost to ECFA members and at $29 for nonmembers.
(Source: Onenewsnow)