The 2012 Church Tax Calendar

By Raul Rivera

Every year in January and February, our office gets numerous phone calls from pastors and leaders asking about tax forms and whether or not there is anything they should be doing now that it is the beginning of a new year.  To that effect, we have put together a tax calendar to educate and guide you in the process.  This calendar is specific for churches and ministries.  Many of you will be surprised that in the first six months of 2012 there are 33 calendar events of significance to churches.  If you have a large church, the list gets even longer.  We hope that it helps you in your endeavors to accomplish something great in 2012.  This calendar will cover you through June 30^th.

January 1^st:  If you have non-ministerial employees who received advance payments of earned income credit last year, stop advanced payment for any employee who did not give you a new Form W-5 for 2012.

January 1^st:  Have the annual board meeting of the directors.  If you do not know what agenda items need to be covered in the annual meeting, we have a service whereby we create your annual minutes for you so that all you have to do is get together with your board of directors, go over each item to approve, and sign the minutes.  Have the minutes stored into your Corporate Records Notebook.

January 1^st:  In the annual board meeting, designate each minister's housing allowance.

January 1^st:  Each board member must sign the annual Conflicts of Interest Statement.  If you have been to one of our conferences, a sample statement can be found on page 73 of the conference manual.           

January 15^th:  Ministers that had a housing allowance must add up their qualifying housing allowance expenses by calculating the actual value of the home as well as the fair rental value (fair rental value is not what you think).  If you have our Compliance Kit software program, please use the housing allowance statement that is provided and follow the steps.

January 17^th: Ministers must make the estimated tax payment for the 4^th quarter of 2011 using form 1040ES.  Only make this payment if you believe you will owe taxes for 2011 and you will not file your tax return by January 31^st.

January 17^th: If you have non-ministerial employees, the December 2011 payroll tax deposit is due.

January 30^th:  Last day to file Form 8274.  This is a form you can file after you hire employees, but before the first date on which a quarterly or annual employment tax return is due.  If you hired any non-minister employees between October 1st and December 31^st, 2011, your church may file for an exemption from payroll taxes.

January 31^st:  Deliver tax-deductible contribution statements to all persons who made contributions to your ministry.  

January 31^st:  Give W-2 forms to all of your employees, including the pastor.  For those of you who have the Tax Kit software program, all you have to do is go to any office supply store, purchase W-2 and W-3 tax forms, put them into your printer and then click the print button for the appropriate forms, and out they will come. 

January 31^st:  Give 1099-Misc forms to independent contractors, including guest speakers and landlords, who received $600.00 or more in payments or honorariums for 2011.  If you paid anyone royalties, give them form 1099-Misc if you paid them $10.00 or more.  For those of you who have the Tax Kit software program, all you have to do is go to any office supply store, purchase the 1099-Misc and 1096 tax forms, put them into your printer and then click the print button for the appropriate forms, and out they will come. 

January 31^st:  File Form 941 (payroll tax) for the 4^th quarter of 2011 and deposit any unpaid taxes, or file Form 944 for the 2011 tax year (only file this form if you have been notified in writing by the IRS that you are required to file this form).

January 31^st:  File Form 945 to report income tax withheld (back-up withholdings) for 2011 on independent contractors, including guest speakers and landlords.  File this form only if the proper income taxes were withheld for 2011 and sent in by December 31^st, leaving you with a running balance of no higher than $2,500. Send in whatever running balance there is, along with this form.  If you have already paid the taxes in full prior to today, then you can opt to wait as long as February 10^th before sending in this form (since no payment will be remitted).  It is important that you become familiar with this form.  There are many reasons why a church would have to file this form. 

Any time in January:  If your ministry changed addresses last year, now will be the right time to update your address with the IRS.  To do that you will need to file Form 8822. Click here to download it.

February 1^st:  Consider applying for Self Employment Tax Exemption before your two-year window of time expires on April 17th.  This can be big.

February 1^st:  Carefully document any qualifying health insurance premiums your church pays for its staff members.  The new law requires that they be reported in next year's W-2 forms on line 12.

February 10^th:  File Form 945 if your church already paid in full the back-up withholdings mentioned above for January 31^st.  As mentioned earlier, this form may be filed on February 10^th only if you had no balance due after December 31^st of 2011.

February 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the January 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

February 28^th: Send Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to the Social Security Administration along with Copy A of all employees' W-2's you issued for calendar year 2011.  For those of you who have the Tax Kit software program, all you have to do is go to any office supply store, purchase the W-2 and W-3 tax forms, put them into your printer and then click the print button for the appropriate forms, and out they will come. 

February 28^th: Send forms 1099 and 1096 to the IRS.  For those of you who have the Tax Kit software program, all you have to do is go to any office supply store, purchase the 1099-Misc and 1096 tax forms, put them into your printer and then click the print button for the appropriate forms, and out they will come. If you file these electronically, the due date is March 31^st.  See below!

March 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the February 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

March 31^st:  As mentioned earlier, forms 1099 and 1096 are usually due by February 28^th of each year. However, the IRS grants a one-month extension and allows you to file them as late as March 31^st only if you do so electronically.

April 17^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the March 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

April 17^th:  Ministers must make the estimated tax payment for the 1^st quarter of 2012 using form 1040ES.  Only make this payment if you believe you will owe taxes for 2012.

April 17^th:  Your personal tax return is due.  If you need to file for an extension, it must be mailed on or before this date.  The extension is for 6 months. 

April 29^th:  Last day to file Form 8274.  This is a form you can file after you hire employees, but before the first date on which a quarterly or annual employment tax return is due.  If you hired any non-minister employees between January 1^st and March 31^st, 2011, your church may file for an exemption from payroll taxes.

April 30^th:  The 941 payroll tax return for the first quarter of 2012 is due. 

May 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the April 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

May 15^th:  Your ministry's 990 tax return is due.  If you are not ready to file it, send Form 8868.  Now is a good time to review your IRS 501(c)(3) approval letter (letter 947) to see if the form describes your approval as a church. It will also say whether Form 990 is required. 

May 15^th:  Last day to file for a healthcare tax credit.  You must use Form 990-T and Form 8941.  The Health Care Act gives a refundable tax credit of 25% of the cost of health care insurance that the church pays for its employees.

May 15^th:  If you have a church school or other 501(c)(3) school you must file Form 5578.  This is an annual certification of racial nondiscrimination by a private school.

June 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the May 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

June 15^th: If you are a minister, your second estimated quarterly tax payment for year 2012 is due.

 

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