I am self employed (a minister). My church gave me a monetary gift. Do I report it?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
2 replies
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Employee

I'm sorry, I disagree. If you are an employee (or non-employee independent contractor) of the church, then anything of monetary value they give you is taxable income, and should be reported on your W-2 or 1099-MISC. If not reported, you still need to include it as taxable income.

Church members can give you tax-free gifts, but the church cannot.

O

Opus 17

Employee

Also, you are probably not really self-employed. Most pastors are common law employees and must receive a W-2, even though for income tax purposes you pay self-employment tax rather than being subjected to FICA withholding. Being a common law employee has other implications; your church must follow wage and hour laws, laws on documenting pay and paychecks (this is a biggie in NY for example) and other things.

You will want to read this.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.ecfa.org/PDF/2016-Preparing-Tax-Returns-For-Clergy.pdf">http://www.ecfa.org/PDF/2016-Preparing-Tax-Returns-For-Clergy.pdf</a>

T

TomD8

Employee

Generally speaking, gifts are not taxable to the recipient, nor does the recipient have to report them (unless, in some instances, they are from a foreign source). [But see Opus 17's correct comments re: gifts to clergy]

**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.