How to use housing allowance with no income

[mmallonee]

I am the outreach pastor as well as a fill in Pastor for our church and other churches in our denonination. I am bi vocational and do not recieve any compensation. I have never claimed any tax credits in the past but often wondered if I could.

Another local Church is offering me the head Pastor position with a very meek salery but if if this is where I am called to go then I would prefer to take the position with no sallery so not to be a finantial burden on the congregation.

With absolutly no salery or compensation is there any possibility of claiming any tax credits or housing allowance, and if so is there something that needs to be in writing from a church?

Thank you

[NeilZ]

I am the outreach pastor as well as a fill in Pastor for our church and other churches in our denonination. I am bi vocational and do not recieve any compensation. I have never claimed any tax credits in the past but often wondered if I could.

Another local Church is offering me the head Pastor position with a very meek salery but if if this is where I am called to go then I would prefer to take the position with no sallery so not to be a finantial burden on the congregation.

With absolutly no salery or compensation is there any possibility of claiming any tax credits or housing allowance, and if so is there something that needs to be in writing from a church?

Thank you

This is more a question for a tax advisor, than this forum. Most of us are not accountants, but everyday users of the software. My initial instinct is to say that without getting something from the church for housing, whether in a monetary housing allowance, or a manse/parsonage to live in, you have nothing to claim as a housing allowance.

Housing Allowance is a benefit that allows ministers to get an income from the church to use for their housing tax free, this is not a tax credit, it is something that has to be declared on the end-of-year W-2 statement. In addition, any housing allowance must be included as taxable income for SECA (Self-Employment) tax. So while a housing allowance payment is not taxable for Income Tax, it is taxable under SECA for Social Security & Medicare. Even if you are living in a manse/parsonage supplied by the congregation, the congregation must list on the W-2 the average yearly rental amount for comparable housing in the area as a Housing Allowance.