Question

Does Housing Allowance include money for utilities?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
April 14, 2020
1 reply
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My husband is a pastor and we live in the parsonage rent free. The church covers the utilities. In other words, the church takes care of the housing costs as part of our package, but no money comes through us for that. In box 14 of his W2 there is an amount listed as Housing and a separate amount listed as Utilities. Do I add these together to get the "Housing Allowance" and "Qualifying Expenses" amounts?

It depends. Please check these references for more information.

Is a parsonage or housing allowance deductible?

How do I enter a parsonage or housing allowance reported on a W-2?

Here are additional resources for other details related to clergy income:

Income from the church: Is my clergy income subject to the self-employment tax?
Earnings from individuals for baptisms, weddings, and funerals: Reporting self-employed income and associated expenses.
Clergy reporting self-employment are eligible for the (new since tax year 2018) Qualified Business Income Deduction.

2019 IRS Publication 517: Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers