Financial planning for ministry leaders and church staff.
Not everyone on a church payroll is treated the same way by the tax code, and the people most affected by that are usually the ones nobody explained it to.
The first question is whether you are a minister for tax purposes
It is not about your title and it is not about how the church thinks of you. It turns on ordination, commissioning or licensing, and on the nature of the duties you actually perform. A worship pastor may qualify. An executive pastor may qualify. A bookkeeper does not. Two people with similar-sounding roles at the same church can land on opposite sides of it.
The answer matters, because it decides whether you can receive a housing allowance, whether your earnings are treated as self-employment for Social Security purposes, and whether the Form 4361 question was ever yours to consider.
Getting this wrong in either direction is expensive. Claiming an allowance you do not qualify for creates a real problem. Not claiming one you do qualify for leaves money on the table every year.
General education, not advice. Clergy tax rules turn on specific facts, and individual situations vary considerably. Nothing on this page is advice about your circumstances or a prediction of any outcome. Talk with a qualified tax professional about your own facts before you act.
Who we work with
Worship and associate pastors
Often credentialed, often eligible for a housing allowance, and frequently paid less than the senior pastor with the same complexity to manage.
Executive and administrative pastors
Usually the person who understands the church budget best and has spent the least time on their own.
Missionaries and church planters
Support-raised income, multi-state or overseas questions, irregular cash flow, and retirement saving that has to happen anyway.
Denominational and network staff
Including people whose role sits between a ministry position and an administrative one, which is exactly where the classification question lives.
Non-ministerial church employees
Office staff, facilities, childcare, and school employees. No housing allowance, but the retirement plan questions and the modest-salary math are just as real.
Retired and transitioning ministers
Including those leaving vocational ministry for other work, which changes several things at once.
How we are paid
Fee-only. Our clients pay us and nobody else does. No commissions, no products, no third-party compensation of any kind. We are a fiduciary, which means a legal duty to put your interests first.
For most ministry staff, the right starting point is the Pastor Retirement Checkup at $599 for an individual or $799 for a married couple. One engagement, written findings, no obligation to continue.
Fee-only does not mean conflict-free. Ours are disclosed in our Form ADV.
Start here
The Pastor Retirement Checkup
One focused engagement. You bring your situation, we tell you in writing where your retirement actually stands, and you decide what happens next. No ongoing commitment.
$599 for an individual. $799 for a married couple.