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Minister’s Housing Allowance
There are tax perks to filing a tax return as an ordained minister. But some of the things you’ve heard in the pool of public opinion are false, while others have a hint of truth. For example, pastors and ministers do indeed pay income taxes. Churches, on the other hand, do not but that’s a different article for a different newsletter. If you are serving members of the clergy, it is important to understand these perks. One that I see messed up the most is the housing allowance. The IRS allows ordained ministers to exclude their housing allowance from taxable income. That is if they meet certain other criteria. The complete amount the church has deemed as a housing allowance is not always the amount that the IRS allows. Even with that, the excludable amount is only from income taxes, not all tax. Ministers also have special rules and a potential exemption when it comes to social security and Medicare taxes. This is where I see many well-meaning taxpayers and even tax professionals messing up. But that will not be you or your client. We are going to look at what the minister’s housing allowance is according to the IRS. Then we will look at who qualifies for it, and how to calculate it.
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CURRENT EDITION
An Analysis of the OBBBA’s Trump Accounts (Part 1)
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, added a new tax saving tool for minors, the aptly named Trump Accounts. In this article, I go over the details of the new Trump Accounts. In part II, I will discuss some of the potential tax planning opportunities and pitfalls related to the new accounts.
Student Loans After the OBBBA Part 1: New Rules Every Advisor Needs to Know
Big changes are coming to the student loan world (yet again), and they’re not the kind you can just skim past. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has reshaped how much students will be able to borrow, how they’ll repay it, and which programs will qualify for federal aid going forward. For financial and tax professionals, these shifts aren’t just policy updates. They’ll set the stage for how you’ll advise clients for years to come… and could even change the way you manage your own student loans. In Part 1 of our OBBBA student loan series, we break down the nuts and bolts of these new rules to help advisors (and borrowers) get some clarity on the collective question: “Seriously, what’s going on with student loans?”
IRS And Courts Have Wisdom to Offer Startup Businesses
There is a wealth of business wisdom in a fairly unlikely area. All the businesses involved lost money, sometimes enormous sums. The source is the litigation and regulation around Code Section 183 of the Internal Revenue Code – Activities not engaged in for profit. In order to deduct those losses against other income, taxpayers need to convince the IRS or the court that they had an honest objective of making a profit. The determination of whether an activity is carried on for profit is made by reference to objective standards. Is it possible that following those standards might contribute to you being profitable? It’s worth thinking about.
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