WHAT ARE THINGS WE SHOULD BE DOING AS WE NEAR 

                                              THE END OF THE YEAR?

           

            We are nearing the end of the year, where we are celebrating Advent and looking forward to Christmas Eve services and the joy of spending time with family and friends on Christmas Day. I know for a lot of us in the church, this is a busy time of the year, and thinking about finances in detail is just one more thing that we don’t want to do.

            But there are some things that pastors and “finance people” in the church should be thinking about and talking about. I received an email from Church Law & Tax and they provided a “to-do list”. I want to share that list with you and some thoughts:

1.    Make sure your clergyperson(s)’ housing allowances were set at your Charge Conference and verify any “housing exclusion resolutions are completed and in place prior to the end of the year. Remember, clergypersons can only exclude income for housing for housing costs that occur after proper completed housing allowance/exclusion forms. Delaying any of this could affect how much the clergyperson can exclude from taxable income.

2.    Remind your folks about the rules around year-end giving. Gifts must be postmarked by December 31, 2025, or received on or before December 31, 2025 to be counted in 2025. Anything else cannot be include in a person’s giving statement or giving records for 2025, no matter their intent.

3.    Review your procedure for handling receipts for noncash donations. Non cash donations are not included on “normal” giving statements. They are recognized only in separate letters, stating the date of the gift and what was given. Your letter does not include the value. That is up to the giver to determine in preparing their taxes.

4.    Have your music people review what your church’s copyright licenses allow, to make sure you are only sharing music you have the rights to share.

5.    Have your trustees review plans for common winter hazards, making sure plans are in place to assure the safety of everyone.

6.    Also have trustees get ahead of a common winter issue: freezing pipes. There is little that is worse that a frozen water pipe: no water, no toilet; and broken pipes: water damage, large repair bills.

7.    Review your church’s cancellation plans. Who makes the decision? How is it communicated to folks? Do your cancellations “travel with” an outside cancellation policy?

8.    Revisit exempt and nonexempt classifications for employees. No matter how it’s “always been done”, there are rules to protect the church and protect the employees. Make sure people that should be paid hourly and paid overtime are properly being paid, and those being paid by salary are properly paid by salary.

9.    Doublecheck with your employees if their W-4s are up-to-date. Any W-4 you’ve previously received remains in effect until changed by the employee. Many employees don’t think about make changes when they have life or tax changes. A simply check-in can show you care and help your employees make good decisions.

 

 

Feel free to contact me at sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org with any thoughts or questions.