Tax Deduction
Any clever accountants out there figured out how to deduct Logos taxes off of their 1040, except as a "Schedule A" itemized deduction?
Thanks,
Steve
Pastor, rural Baptist church
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Comments
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Steve Johnson said:
Any clever accountants out there figured out how to deduct Logos taxes off of their 1040, except as a "Schedule A" itemized deduction?
Thanks,
Steve
Are you clergy? If so, you can run them through your account reimbursable, which is 'above the line'. Of course, you have to do that within the tax year, not afterward when you are preparing your taxes.
Pastor, seminary trustee, and app developer. Check out my latest app for churches: The Church App
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Logos taxes? HMM. Are you somewhere that collects sales tax on Logos resources? If so sales tax can only be deducted on Schedule A AFAIK.
Chris' suggestion that your church give you a professional expenses reimbursement allowance is a good one. They set the limit and you can be reimbursed up to the limit and it is non-taxable as income and probably purchases would be non-sales taxable if the Logos account is set up with the church's tax exempt ID.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Check out using Form 2106 to for Unreimbursed employee expenses. That could work if you are clergy and can be deducted before you pay Social Security taxes.
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Rev Chris said:
Are you clergy? If so, you can run them through your account reimbursable, which is 'above the line'. Of course, you have to do that within the tax year, not afterward when you are preparing your taxes.
If you're clergy, this is the only way I know of...
To ensure you meet USA IRS regs, ensure annual "contract" specifies the amount of accountable reimbursements (this line item could either be Professional Expenses or Book Purchases, but it should be specified up front). And as an accountable reimbursement plan the church needs to pay in the exact amount, which would be the total book cost (including sales tax).
The easiest / safest way (from an audit standpoint ) is for you to pay with a credit card that's used ONLY for church expenses. Then have the church reimburse THE CREDIT CARD, NOT YOU. Then it's clear that it's a non-taxable business expense.Blessings!
Grace & Peace,
Bill
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Steve Johnson said:
Any clever accountants out there figured out how to deduct Logos taxes off of their 1040, except as a "Schedule A" itemized deduction?
If you are clergy and have funeral or wedding income you need to claim as income, you can claim it on Schedule C and claim Logos and any books and out of pocket expenses on the same form. You can do this even if it is a loss which will reduce your taxable income. Being clergy is important to be able to do this. Most clergy also have to file a Schedule SE for Social Security which the church does not pay for clergy.
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Mark Smith said:
Logos taxes? HMM. Are you somewhere that collects sales tax on Logos resources?
I assume that Logos collects tax on all sales to residents in Washington State. I guess that would now mean residents in Arizona too.
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alabama24 said:
I assume that Logos collects tax on all sales to residents in Washington State. I guess that would now mean residents in Arizona too.
I would, too. But 'Logos taxes' seemed vague so I asked.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Ud Laugh 2 said:
If you are clergy and have funeral or wedding income you need to claim as income, you can claim it on Schedule C and claim Logos and any books and out of pocket expenses on the same form. You can do this even if it is a loss which will reduce your taxable income. Being clergy is important to be able to do this. Most clergy also have to file a Schedule SE for Social Security which the church does not pay for clergy.
Thank you, friends, for ALL the posts. Ud Laugh 2's suggestion is the most attractive to me: I posted above about my reservations in using the church's accountable reimbursement account. Anyone else using the Schedule C to deduct Logos expenses?
Pastor, rural Baptist church
Notebook: Dell Precision 4400; Core 2 Duo, 2.5gh; 8Gb RAM; NVIDIA FX 770M w/ 512Mb; Win7 Pro 64-bit; Novabench 510; WEI 5.9
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I am employed as a counselor so I have been able to deduct some individual counseling resources that I have purchased.
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alabama24 said:Mark Smith said:
Logos taxes? HMM. Are you somewhere that collects sales tax on Logos resources?
I assume that Logos collects tax on all sales to residents in Washington State. I guess that would now mean residents in Arizona too.
Until they change the rules on taxing INTERNET sales, Logos (and other companies) needs to collect sales tax only if they have an office in the state.
[[Have worked in IT on Sales Taxes for a company that had Nexus (I think that is the correct term) in many states but not all]]
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Ud Laugh 2 said:
Most clergy also have to file a Schedule SE for Social Security which the church does not pay for clergy.
Unless of course you have filed for and received an exemption. Then you do not have to pay SE Tax. It has to be based on religious objections not just because you think Social Security is a bad idea. I filed for the exemption the first year I was in ministry and it was approved. You have two years from the date you begin working in full-time ministry to apply for the exemption. After that you must pay SE tax.
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David Ames said:
Until they change the rules on taxing INTERNET sales, Logos (and other companies) needs to collect sales tax only if they have an office in the state.
Which is why I said they probably collect taxes in Washington State & Arizona.
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alabama24 said:David Ames said:
Until they change the rules on taxing INTERNET sales, Logos (and other companies) needs to collect sales tax only if they have an office in the state.
Which is why I said they probably collect taxes in Washington State & Arizona.
Not exactly true. There are some states that have rules against this. When I lived in Texas I had to pay Logos sales tax.
Pastor, seminary trustee, and app developer. Check out my latest app for churches: The Church App
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Bob Schlessman said:Ud Laugh 2 said:
Most clergy also have to file a Schedule SE for Social Security which the church does not pay for clergy.
Unless of course you have filed for and received an exemption. Then you do not have to pay SE Tax. It has to be based on religious objections not just because you think Social Security is a bad idea. I filed for the exemption the first year I was in ministry and it was approved. You have two years from the date you begin working in full-time ministry to apply for the exemption. After that you must pay SE tax.
Also you have to inform your ordination board of the theological stance you are making.
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Arent we forgetting one thing, its all Gods money..
Did he promise to supply your needs or not?That includes monies to pay taxes
Never Deprive Anyone of Hope.. It Might Be ALL They Have
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DominicM said:
Arent we forgetting one thing, its all Gods money..
Did he promise to supply your needs or not?That includes monies to pay taxes
And money to buy Logos books... [:)]
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Rosie Perera said:
And money to buy Logos books...
Yes, the ones we need [:P] sadly not all the ones we desire from our greed
Never Deprive Anyone of Hope.. It Might Be ALL They Have
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DominicM said:
Arent we forgetting one thing, its all Gods money..
Did he promise to supply your needs or not?That includes monies to pay taxes
So instead of the 'prosperity gospel', is this the 'taxation gospel'? [:P]
Pastor, seminary trustee, and app developer. Check out my latest app for churches: The Church App
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Rev Chris said:
Also you have to inform your ordination board of the theological stance you are making.
That goes without saying Chris since part of the documentation you must supply to the IRS with the application for exemption is a letter from the board of your church verifying that you are indeed employed by them as a full-time minister of the Gospel. I also had to supply a copy of the church bylaws.
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Bob Schlessman said:Rev Chris said:
Also you have to inform your ordination board of the theological stance you are making.
That goes without saying Chris since part of the documentation you must supply to the IRS with the application for exemption is a letter from the board of your church verifying that you are indeed employed by them as a full-time minister of the Gospel. I also had to supply a copy of the church bylaws.
Yes, except that in denominations that are not congregational-based (such as the United Methodist Church), there is a denominational board of ordination separate from the local church where you are serving. I know several clergy that would have filed for the exemption if it was just a matter of telling their local church what their theological stance was. But since it goes to the denomination, the stakes are a bit higher and made it not worth it.
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smithereens said:
Care to link to something that could fill me in on what I clearly missed?
Sure. [:)] Logos opened a new office near Phoenix:
http://blog.logos.com/2011/12/logos-opens-phoenix-development-office/
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Rev Chris said:
Yes, except that in denominations that are not congregational-based (such as the United Methodist Church), there is a denominational board of ordination separate from the local church where you are serving. I know several clergy that would have filed for the exemption if it was just a matter of telling their local church what their theological stance was. But since it goes to the denomination, the stakes are a bit higher and made it not worth it.
I guess I am not sure what you mean by "the stakes are a bit higher and made it not worth it", Chris. Why would having to send the notification the the district denominational board of ordination be an issue? Does the Methodist Church frown on their pastors taking the exemption? Is there something in their bylaws that prohibits the exemption? Or is it just the hassle of the paperwork because the hassle is there no matter what the denomination. When the dollar amount might run into tens of thousands depending on how long one preaches after receiving the exemption, I can't see that it would not be worth it. I realize we have drifted off topic somewhat but I was just curious.
I apologize for the belated response. I have been quite busy the past week and haven't been on the forums.
Blessings,
Bob
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No problem. It is certainly a theological issue. We don't have stated policies on the issue, but we do have non-negotiables such as the Christian duty to serve the poor, and to care for the wellfare of all people. Since the opposition to the tax can't be based on whether the current system is an effective one, but rather whether the idea of a welfare system is theologically appropriate, it creates a conflict. And since the denominational board determines ordination which in turn determines whether you will be able to serve as a pastor in any United Methodist Church, the stakes are much higher than in a congregational system where the pastor can always look for a different church to serve that agrees with their theology.
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