Total YTD revenues for the eight months ending February 29 equal $26,252,000, or 96.0 percent of the revenue budget of $27,334,000. YTD expenses have been held to 94.7 percent of the expense budget. Please continue to pray that God would provide beyond our expectations so that Alliance work in the United States and around the world would be fully funded.

On Great Commission Sunday in May, Alliance people will have the opportunity to express their commitment to reaching lost people by giving an extra gift to the Great Commission Fund. As Church Treasurer, please indicate the amount of this special offering on your church’s monthly remittance. A special field for recording the offering total will be included on the remittance form for May. We appreciate your church leadership team encouraging 100 percent participation as we partner together in the worldwide work of The Alliance.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a quick reference guide of federal tax law and procedures for churches and religious organizations to help them voluntarily comply with tax rules. This tax guide can be accessed on the IRS Web site.

Churches are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made by or on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) has revised the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification and published an updated Handbook for Employers to aid in the completion of the form. Employers are encouraged to start using the new form immediately for all new hires. Use of the new form is for all new hires on or after November 7, 2007. The specific revisions to the Form I-9 merely include removal of five documents from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents. Also, one additional form, Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), has been added to List A. You may access this form at the USCIS Web site.

Churches should treat their pastors as employees for federal income tax purposes. This allows health insurance and other fringe benefits to be provided to pastors on a nontaxable basis. In addition, this reduces the audit risk to pastors since the IRS considers most ministers to be employees. Clergy income is reported in Box 1 of the W-2 with all tax withholding reported in Box 2. Because clergy are not subject to FICA, Boxes 3 through 8 should be left blank. The housing allowance should not be included in the amount reported in Box 1 but should be reported in Box 14 (Other).

When you have questions or need information related to your ministry as church treasurer, look at the Finance Manual for Church Treasurers (and Pastors) that is located on the C&MA Web site. The Finance Manual can be found in the Alliance Resources section under Publications, along with other valuable tools. A similar resource in the Church Resources section is the Church Risk section related to taxes, law, and risk management. These pages are set up in a “frequently asked questions” format and refer to the Finance Manual for details. Our desire is that these resources will assist you in your ministry. If you still have questions after reviewing them, please contact Eddie Swanson (C&MA controller/assistant treasurer) at swansone@cmalliance.org or Tim Cummings (C&MA general counsel/assistant corporate secretary) at cummingst@cmalliance.org.

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. You may want to remind your congregation not to file individual returns until receipts or statements have been received. Effective January 1, 2007, donors are required to maintain a bank record (e.g., cancelled check) or a written communication from the church for all contributions indicating the church name, date, and contribution amount. This requires all cash contributions to be receipted and detailed for the donor to qualify for a tax deduction.

Personal gifts to missionaries (birthday, anniversaries, Christmas, etc.) will be processed at the National Office as non-tax deductible gifts and forwarded to the missionary’s field if received directly from individuals. Effective January 1, 2008, personal gifts processed through the local church and remitted by the church will be processed as missionary outfit gifts. These gifts may be tax receipted by the local church but will be included in the missionary’s taxable income. This policy change is to align with current IRS requirements.

We are looking for qualified individuals who would be willing to serve and perform external audits on the financial records of C&MA fields in any of the regions above. Interested parties may contact Bill Ramirez at 719 265-2085 or ramirezb@cmalliance.org for further information and minimum requirements.

We are very excited in how God continues to bless the health and retirement plans. With the start of a new year, the Benefit Office would like to bring a few items to your attention:

1. The Benefit Board approved the C&MA domestic health plan rates to stay at the 2007 rates. This means that over the past five years the total rate increase has been around 10 percent. If your church is not using the C&MA Health Plans and you are within one of the districts participating, call the Benefit Office today to receive more information concerning the health plans.
2. The Benefit Board also approved a new High Deductible Plan as an added option of plans available.
3. If your church is over a year old and not a church plant, you should be paying your Fellowship Fund (FF) Contribution. Funds may be forwarded with your regular GCF contributions; however, clearly indicate that they are for “FF Contributions.”
4. The Fellowship Fund rate for 2008 will continue at 0.7 percent of your church’s local income for 2007.  Statements will be mailed to each church in April.
5. With the beginning of a new year, it would be a great time to support your staff by encouraging them to participate in the C&MA 403(b) Retirement Plan. Check with the Benefit Office for more details.

For more information, contact the C&MA Office of Employee Benefits at 800-700-2651 benefits@cmalliance.org.

The IRS has issued the standard mileage rates for 2008. The business purpose mileage will be 50.5 cents per mile, an increase from 48.5 cents per mile for 2007. Charitable mileage remains at 14 cents.

ADF can provide funding for any church’s property purchase or building project or refinance an existing loan from another lender. For more information, call 888-878-3060 (toll free) and ask for the Church Services Group. Visit www.adf-inc.com/dlp to find out how ADF can help.

Thank you for your sacrificial support and prayers for The Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Ken Baldes
Vice President for Operations/Treasurer