For the church board · Free, no account

The housing allowance resolution your board can adopt.

A housing allowance is a board action with a date, not just a dollar figure. Fill in four things, print one page, and hand it to the board before the year begins. The language matches what the IRS expects to find in the minutes: the amount, the year, the minister, and the words “designated as a housing allowance.”

Nothing you type here is saved or sent. Model language, not legal advice; adopt it with your board and your denomination's own form where it has one.

Transcript

One thing before your board meets in December. Your housing allowance for next year only counts from the day the board designates it. Designate it in February, and January is gone. Not reduced. Gone. So the December meeting decides your housing exclusion for the whole of next year. Most of us hand the board last year's number because we don't have a better one. ClergyTrak gives you a number you can defend, and prints the resolution your board can adopt that night. It's free. And it only takes about fifteen minutes. Don't give the board last year's number.

Fill in the resolution

Round the amount up. A designation set too low caps the whole year; unused allowance is simply reported as taxable income.

Church or organization name Minister's name, as it should appear Amount to designate for the year Actual housing costs plus the Fair Rental Value check, with a margin. Not sure? The two-minute checkup. Calendar year the designation covers Include the continuing clause The designation stays in force each year until the board changes it, so a missed December meeting does not cost the minister a year.

Preview

The printed page adds the timing rule, a certification of adoption, and two signature lines. It prints on one sheet.

Three things every board should know before it votes.

It only works going forward.

A designation applies to compensation paid after it is adopted, never before. Adopted in December, it covers all of next year. Adopted in February, January is gone. That is why this belongs on the December agenda, and why the continuing clause is worth including.

Too low is the costly direction.

Whatever the minister does not use is reported as taxable income when he files, so a generous designation costs the church nothing and risks nothing. An amount the board never designated can never be excluded. When in doubt, round up.

The number should come from three numbers.

The minister's exclusion is capped at the lowest of the designation, his actual housing costs, and the Fair Rental Value of the home. The right designation sits a little above the lower of the other two. ClergyTrak gives a minister all three, free: the two-minute checkup is the place to start, and the setup guide is where each number is recorded.

More for the church office: the treasurer's page covers the clergy W-2, voluntary withholding, and the accountable reimbursement plan. ClergyTrak provides organizational tools and educational guidance, not legal or tax advice. See IRS Publication 517.