Enter your annual (yearly) housing costs below to estimate your housing allowance. Actual allowance amounts must be officially approved by your church board in advance.
A few rules shape every housing allowance. Knowing them helps your minister and your board get it right each year.
Your church board must approve the allowance in advance, before the first paycheck of the year. A retroactive designation is not valid.
Ministers can exclude the smallest of the designated allowance, what they actually spend on housing, or, for homeowners, the fair rental value of the home.
Housing allowance is excluded from federal income tax, but it is still included when calculating self-employment (SECA) tax.