Correction for “What We Pay Our Preacher Article”

By Herschel Patton

I reported in this article that according to information given to me by a former IRS employee, preachers did not have to list as income what churches paid them for Social Security taxes. This, however, is in error. It seems that a ruling has been made concerning this since my informant retired some time ago.

The ruling is Number 68-507 and includes this paragraph, “To the extent that the church pays any amount toward the minister’s obligation for income tax or self-employment tax other than from the minister’s salary, the minister is in receipt of additional income that is includible in his gross income and must be considered in determining his income tax and self-employment tax liability.”

Addendum appeared in Truth Magazine XXI: 20, p. 328
May 26, 1977