For churches, boards, and networks
Take care of the person who takes care of everyone else.
Most churches want to do right by their pastor and are not sure what right looks like. Compensation for ministers is genuinely unusual, and a well-meaning board can cost a pastor real money without ever knowing it.
Three things we do for churches
Pastoral compensation review
We look at how the package is built, whether the housing allowance is being designated correctly and on time, how the retirement contribution is structured, and what the church may be doing that quietly creates a tax problem for the pastor.
Retirement plan review
What plan the church offers, what it actually costs the participants, whether anyone has explained it, and whether staff who are eligible are enrolled.
The housing allowance item your board agenda is probably missing
A housing allowance has to be designated in advance, in writing, before the pay period it covers. A vote taken in March for the year already underway does not reach back and cover January and February. A vote taken the following January for the year that just ended does not cover anything at all.
The fix is a standing item on the last board meeting of each year, designating the allowance for the year ahead, recorded in the minutes. It takes two minutes and it prevents a problem the pastor cannot fix afterward.
General education, not legal or tax advice for your organization. Individual situations vary. Have your own tax professional review your resolutions and your payroll treatment.
Why a fee-only firm
Plenty of people are willing to come speak to your staff for free. Most of them are paid by a product company and the session ends in appointments.
We are fee-only. We are paid by our clients and by no one else, we sell no insurance and no annuities, and we earn no commissions. If your staff later chooses to work with us individually, that is their decision and it is priced openly on this site.