Chuck Woodson, Clergy Benefits Under Fire

Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a minister of the gospel’s gross income doesn’t include the rental value of a home (parsonage) provided; if the home itself isn’t provided, a rental allowance paid as part of compensation for ministerial services is excludable. The benefit is generally referred to as a parsonage allowance. Thus, a minister can exclude the fair rental value (FRV) of the parsonage from income under IRC Sec. 107(1), or the rental allowance under Sec. 107(2), for income tax purposes. The Sec. 107(2) rental allowance is excludable only to the extent that it is for expenses such as rent, mortgage payments, utilities, repairs, etc., used in providing the minister’s main home, and only up to the amount of the FRV of the home.

However, either type of parsonage allowance is only excludable for income tax purposes and is subject to self-employment taxes, although for years before 2018 and after 2025, the amount subject to self-employment tax can be reduced by the minister of the gospel’s employee business expenses.

Back in October 6, 2017, in the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Judge Barbara B. Crabb, in Gaylor v. Mnuchin (the treasury secretary), concluded that Section 107(2) of the Internal Revenue Code is unconstitutional. Specifically, she concluded that this code section violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it does not have a secular purpose or effect and because a reasonable observer would view the statute as being an endorsement of religion.

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