2019 Tax Calendar for Churches and Ministries

By Christine Bove

It’s that time of year again for pastors and ministry leaders all over the country—time for taxes!

We often receive calls from pastors and administrators asking what is needed to complete taxes and forms required by the IRS.

To make this year your best yet, we have created a 2019 Tax Calendar for Churches and Ministries!

In this blog, I’ve outlined some of the most important and encroaching deadlines for forms and taxes. Keeping these dates in mind will help you jumpstart your new year by making sure your ministry starts off on the right foot.

Important 1st Quarter Tax Deadlines and Dates of 2019

Early January

Hold an annual meeting of the Board of Directors. 

In this meeting, you will want to cover:

• Designating the Minister’s housing allowance
• Elections of Directors and Officers
• Any Ratifications of Prior Acts
• Financial Reports

If you don’t know what the agenda should be or what to cover in the annual meeting, we provide a service that prepares annual meeting minutes for you. With meeting minutes prepared for you, all you have to do is gather your board members together and approve each item listed. 

If you have not yet held your annual board meeting, you will want to schedule that as soon as possible.

Each board member must sign the annual Conflict of Interest Statement. If you’d like a sample Conflict of Interest Statement, give us a call at 877-494-4655.

January 15th

Add up qualifying housing allowance expenses.

Through our StartRight Service, ministers who have had a housing allowance properly designated by the church must add up their qualifying housing allowance expenses. You can do this by calculating the actual value of the home and the fair market rental value.

Ministers must make the estimated tax payment for the fourth quarter of 2018 using Form 1040-ES.

However, you don’t have to make this payment if you file your 2018 tax return (Form 1040) and pay your taxes by February 1, 2019.

If your church or ministry has non-ministerial employees and deposits payroll taxes monthly, the December 2018 payroll tax deposit is due. This tax deposit occurs on the 15th of every month unless the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday.

January 31st

Provide tax-deductible contribution statements.

For everyone who has made contributions to your church or ministry, you’ll want to provide them with tax-deductible contribution statements. 

Provide and File Tax Forms.

W-2

You will also want to provide Form W-2 to all of your employees, including the pastor. 

Be sure to carefully document any qualifying health insurance premiums your church paid for its staff. The law requires that they be reported on line 12 of Form W-2. 

For those who have the Tax Suite, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions to electronically file Form W-2. 

If you would rather have someone else file your taxes, why not hire StartCHURCH? Our Minister's Tax Return Service will file your taxes correctly. Plus, you'll save money by getting every legal tax benefit allowed to you.

W-3

Send Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to the Social Security Administration along with copy A of all employee W-2s you issued for calendar year 2018.

If you have the Tax Suite, all you need to do is follow the instructions to electronically file Form W-3 with your W-2 forms. If filed electronically, the due date is extended to April 2nd.

1099-MISC

Provide 1099-MISC forms to independent contractors, including guest speakers and unincorporated landlords who received $600 or more in payments or honorariums in 2018. 

If you paid anyone in royalties of $10 or more, give that individual a Form 1099-MISC. 

If you used the services of an attorney and paid $1 or more for his or her services, you must issue a 1099-MISC. 

Again, for those with the Tax Suite, you can just follow the instructions for filing the 1099-MISC and Form 1096.

Apply for Self-Employment Tax Exemption.

Self-employment tax exemption is an excellent way for pastors and ministers to save on their taxes. You can learn more about this tax benefit by reading one of our blogs here.

This is the perfect time to apply for the Self-Employment Tax Exemption before the deadline on April 17th.

To speak to a specialist about this, call us at 877-494-4655.

File Form 941 and others.

File Form 941 (payroll tax) for the 4th quarter of 2018 and deposit any unpaid taxes.

Or, if your employment tax liability was $1,000 or less and the IRS sent you a written letter to allow you to use 944, file Form 944 for the 2018 tax year.

File Form 945 to report income tax withheld (backup withholdings) for 2018 on independent contractors, including citizen and non-citizen guest speakers.

February 1st

As a pastor, if you do not pay your 4th quarter estimated tax payment using Form 1040-ES by January 16th, you may choose to file your 2018 income tax return by February 1st to avoid a late penalty for not making the January 16th 4th quarter payment.

February 15th

If your church or ministry has non-ministerial employees and deposits payroll taxes monthly, the January 2019 payroll tax deposit is due.

February 28th

Send copy A of Form 1099-MISC with Form 1096 to the IRS. For those of you who have the W-2 and the 1099-MISC Kit, you can just follow the instructions provided. 

If you file these electronically, the due date is extended to April 2nd.

March 15th

If you have non-ministerial employees and deposit payroll taxes monthly, the February 2019 payroll tax deposit is due. 

Never miss a deadline

Want the rest of 2019's dates for filing? Give us a call at 877-494-4655 and ask one of our team members for a complementary 2019 Tax Calendar. 

The beginning of the year can be overwhelming, but we're here to help! 

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