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Clergy Tax Preparation
Not for the Faint of Heart

Superior clergy tax preparation is essential for every pastor and church. Without clergy tax help a pastor may pay too much in taxes, or worse, his clergy tax return may sound alarms at the IRS and result in an audit.

So no matter who works on your income tax return, make sure they are adequate for the job.

I’m not a tax professional. I am only a pastor with life experience. And my experience tells me that clergy taxes require specialized knowledge and training. The IRS has made it quite a challenge to file clergy income tax.

And don’t count on the IRS for clergy tax help. I called their help line once – that was all I needed to realize that I knew more about clergy tax preparation than they did.

As you probably already know, a Google search for “clergy tax” produces a list of many individuals and firms willing to help you file your return.

How Do You Choose a Tax Advisor?

I recommend you use the following criteria when choosing someone for clergy tax preparation.

  • Experience. Pastor’s need to be a significant part of your advisors clientele. And clergy tax preparation shouldn’t be something new for him or her.
  • Training. A Saturday morning seminar is hardly enough to prepare someone to handle the complexities of a pastor’s taxes.
  • Audits. It is more comforting for me when I know my advisor has represented other pastors before the IRS.

I Recommend...

I’m sure there are a lot of competent advisors who can provide clergy tax help.

However, in my experience there are no better advisors than those who work at Worth Tax & Financial Service. B.J. Worth has been at it for over 33 years. And she literally wrote the book on clergy tax preparation (Worth's Income Tax Guide for Ministers: 2008 Edition).

Her firm services pastors from all over the world. And they can work with you at their office in Indiana, or you can email, fax, or mail your information to them.

Caution!

I strongly recommend you use the Worth service for pastor tax preparation. But you still need the Worth's Income Tax Guide for Ministers: 2008 Edition

Final Thought

Your accountant brother-in-law probably won’t do the best job with your tax return. When it comes to clergy tax preparation you need someone who is experienced and trained. For my money, Worth Tax Service and their Income Tax Guide for Ministers are superior to all others.

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