The third number · IRC §107

Fair Rental Value, finally documented.

Your excludable housing allowance is generally the lowest of three numbers: what your board designated, what you actually spent, and what your home would rent for — furnished, plus utilities. That third number can quietly set your ceiling, and it's the one almost nobody documents. ClergyTrak builds it from live local rental comparables, with a printable source packet for your records and CPA.

Run your estimate How the estimate works

Free account · One estimate per property each year included · Not tax advice

ClergyTrak · Example reading
You can exclude $26,400

Here the receipts and the board designation are both higher — Fair Rental Value sets the ceiling.

Why this number deserves real documentation

Not fear. Accuracy.

After Warren v. Commissioner (2000), Congress made Fair Rental Value a hard ceiling on the exclusion — the Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act of 2002. Documenting it isn't about worry; it's about knowing your true number and being able to show your work.

What most pastors file today

A one-line realtor letter

  • Typically bare, unfurnished rent — but the rule is furnished, plus utilities
  • No comparables on file — nothing showing how the number was reached
  • No property profile — square footage, condition, and features go unstated
  • Often understates the number — which can mean excluding less than you're entitled to

What ClergyTrak prepares

A documented, source-backed estimate

  • Live local rental comparables, pulled for your market at the time you run it
  • A disclosed property profile — the assumptions are on the page, not in someone's head
  • Furnishings premium and utilities accounted for — the way the rule is written
  • A printable source packet (Pro) with address-level comparable detail for your records and CPA

See what you'd be holding

A page from the source packet.

This is the shape of the document — a property profile, the comparables, and the math, all on one page your CPA can read in a minute.

ClergyTrak Fair Rental Value
Source Packet · 2026

Fair Rental Value Estimate — Primary Residence

Prepared March 4, 2026 · Method frv-method-2.0-fair · Self-adopted good-faith estimate

Disclosed property profile
TypeSingle-family
Bed / Bath4 bd · 2.5 ba
Size2,150 sq ft
ConditionGood
Local rental comparables
ComparableBed / BathSizeRent / mo
62· Maplew··· Ave4 / 22,040 sq ft$1,795
18· Carriag··· Ln4 / 2.52,210 sq ft$1,925
90· Windin··· Ct3 / 2.52,080 sq ft$1,830
The estimate
Base monthly rent (unfurnished, from comparables)$1,850
Furnishings premium+ $240
Utilities+ $110
Fair Rental Value, annualized$26,400

Self-adopted good-faith estimate prepared from live rental comparables and a disclosed property profile. Not an appraisal. Not a tax opinion. Retain with your housing-allowance records.

Sample for illustration — every address, figure, and date above is fictional. Your packet is built from live comparables in your own market.

How it works

Four quiet steps to a defensible number.

01

Describe your home

Bedrooms, baths, size, condition, and features — a disclosed profile, so the assumptions are on the record.

02

Pull live comparables

ClergyTrak gathers current rental listings near you that match your home's profile.

03

Complete the number

Furnishings premium and utilities are added — because the rule is furnished, plus utilities, not bare rent.

04

Adopt and file it

Save the estimate to your tax year. Pro prints the full source packet for your records, board, and CPA.

What's included

Plan the number free. Document it fully with Pro.

Free & ClergyTrak Plus

One live estimate a year, per property

  • A real, live-comparable estimate — enough to plan the year and inform the board
  • Adopt the number to your tax year alongside receipts and totals
  • Edits recalculate on the year's saved base rent

ClergyTrak Pro — $99/year

Full substantiation

  • Unlimited runs — re-check as the market or your plans change
  • Address-level comparable detail, assumptions, and sources
  • The printable source packet — for your records, your board, and your CPA

Questions pastors ask about Fair Rental Value

Why can Fair Rental Value cap my allowance even when my receipts are higher?

Because the exclusion is generally the lowest of three numbers — the board designation, your actual qualifying expenses, and Fair Rental Value. After Warren v. Commissioner (2000), Congress made Fair Rental Value a hard ceiling with the Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act of 2002. A generous designation and a full folder of receipts can't lift the exclusion above what your home would rent for, furnished, plus utilities.

Isn't a letter from a local realtor enough?

A one-line letter typically reflects bare unfurnished rent — no furnishings premium, no utilities, and no comparables on file showing how the number was reached. The rule is furnished, plus utilities, so an unfurnished figure usually understates your true ceiling. A documented estimate gives you and your CPA something to stand behind — and often a higher, more accurate number.

Is this an appraisal or a tax opinion?

No. A ClergyTrak Fair Rental Value estimate is a self-adopted, good-faith estimate for your records — built from live local rental comparables and a property profile you disclose. It's documentation prepared the way a careful steward would prepare it, not a licensed appraisal, and not tax advice. The full method is public: how the estimate works.

When should I run it?

Two moments matter most. Before the board sets next year's designation, so the number is grounded in your real market. And in any year with unusual housing spending — especially a home-purchase year, when a down payment and closing costs press against the Fair Rental Value ceiling. The Playbook covers the purchase-year strategy in plain English.

Know all three of your numbers.

A free ClergyTrak account includes one live Fair Rental Value estimate per property each year — enough to plan with confidence. Pro documents it fully.

Run your estimate — free account Read the methodology

ClergyTrak is a tracking and documentation tool, not a substitute for a CPA or tax attorney. Fair Rental Value estimates are self-adopted, good-faith estimates for your records — not appraisals and not tax opinions.