Treasurer's Update
December 2004 (Fourth Quarter)
Great Commission Fund Results through November 30, 2004Total YTD revenues for the five months ending November 30 equal $12,821,000, or 88.3 percent of the revenue budget of $14,525,000. This represents improvement from October 31 when YTD revenues were 85.4 percent of budget. Please pray that we will receive 100 percent of the revenue budget for December and have a strong finish to the 2nd Quarter of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005.
»Click Here to see the current Great Commission Fund figures.
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All church remittances received in the Finance Office through December 31, 2004, will be included in December 2004 income. With the change to a fiscal year, church remittances received the first week of January will be included in January 2005 income. Gifts from individual donors postmarked by December 31, 2004 and received by January 6, 2005, will be included in December 2004 income.
Year-End Giving Opportunities
Your church has received a supply of year-end bulletin inserts, describing projects made possible through the Great Commission Fund. These bulletin inserts highlight the need to support Alliance ministries around the world. We ask that you include any year-end gifts with your regular monthly remittance and send to the National Office by December 31, 2004, if you want this included in December income.
Contribution Substantiation Requirements
Donors who give individual contributions of $250 or more must have a receipt or statement in their possession for such contributions before they file their tax returns in order to deduct these gifts. The written acknowledgment must state that no goods or services were provided in exchange for these gifts. Please give these statements to your people as early in 2005 as possible. You may want to remind your congregation not to file their individual returns until receipts or statements have been received.
Christmas Gifts
In most cases, gifts made by the church or congregation to pastors and/or staff should be considered taxable income and not tax-free gifts and should be reported as income on the recipients' W-2.
Housing/Parsonage Allowance
Your church board should approve, in writing, a 2005 housing/parsonage allowance for your pastor(s) before the end of 2004. Legislation was passed in 2002 that limits the excludable amount of housing allowance for pastors who own their own homes to "not exceed the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities." We recommend that this housing allowance be approved as a continuing resolution so it will not expire if the board does not consider it the following year. An example of this follows::
The following resolution was duly adopted by the governance authority of [church name] Church at a regularly scheduled meeting held on [date], a quorum being present:
It is hereby resolved that a housing (or parsonage) allowance be designated for Rev. [pastor's name] in the amount of $ [amount] for the year 2005 and for all future years unless changed by specific action of the governance authority.
It is hereby resolved that a housing (or parsonage) allowance be designated for Rev. [pastor's name] in the amount of $ [amount] for the year 2005 and for all future years unless changed by specific action of the governance authority.
The IRS has issued the standard mileage rates for 2005. The business purpose mileage will be 40.5 cents per mile, an increase from 37.5 cents per mile in 2004. Charitable mileage remains at 14 cents.
Opting Out of Social Security
We often receive questions about opting out of Social Security. Opting out of paying self-employment (Social Security) taxes is allowed in the first two years of receiving ministry income. The only valid basis for electing to opt out is a moral or religious objection to receiving payments from the government for items such as death, disability, retirement, old age, or medical services. The C&MA position's is one of neutrality. If an individual official worker has an honest moral or religious objection to receiving benefits from the government, then the denomination will support that individual's right to hold that position. We cannot support in any way a pastor opting out of Social Security for financial reasons. This is not allowed by law nor is it financially wise in our experience of dealing with retiring pastors.
C&MA Health Plan
Health Plan rates for 2005 have increased by 5 percent. This compares favorably to an industry average increase of approximately 14 percent. If your church is in a participating district and you have specific questions about enrollment, please call the Office of Employee Benefits at 1-800-700-2651. For specific coverage-related questions, you can contact Highmark BlueCross/Blue Shield's member services at 1-866-472-0926.
C&MA Retirement Plan
The C&MA has selected Great-West Retirement Services as the new plan service provider effective December 1, 2004. Great-West will bring significantly improved services to the Plan including daily valuation of your account. In addition, you will be able to choose from thirteen different investment options. The ability to make transfers between investment options should be available by December 21.
2004 Finance Manual for Church Treasurers (and Pastors)
A new edition of the Finance Manual for Church has been published on the C&MA Web site. The Finance Manual can be found in the Alliance Resource Center (www.cmalliance.org/resources/books/books.jsp), along with other valuable resources.
Church Software
We regularly receive requests from churches to recommend church database software. Based on studies that we did a number of years ago, we have recommended Membership Plus from Parsons Technology. However, we recently heard from churches that have encountered major problems when they upgraded their software to Membership Plus 8. We would like to update our review of church database software by surveying churches regarding the software they are currently using. If you would be willing to help us with this, please let us know the following:
* What modules you use (membership tracking, donor giving, etc.).
* How long you have been using it.
* How satisfied you are with it, and whether you have had any major concerns with it
Please respond to Bill Stedman at the National Office, by email to stedmanb@cmalliance.org or by regular mail. We appreciate your assistance with this study. We will publish the results in a future issue.
Vice President for Operations/Treasurer
