Beyond the Call Podcast presented by StartCHURCH | Helping empower pastors and ministry leaders.

Have you ever felt like the dream and vision God placed on your heart is bigger than the current financial state of your church? Are your church fundraisers simply not bringing in the revenue you hoped for? What if your church no longer had to solely rely on tithes and offerings? In today’s podcast, we address this pain point by answering the question, “Can a church own a business”

Filing taxes can be a daunting task for anyone. Ministers’ taxes can especially be daunting because if churches do not properly handle the ministers’ compensation and taxes, then ministers can end up paying more taxes than the average taxpayer. In today’s podcast, we discuss 7 common tax mistakes made that our tax team has been able to identify as recurring themes when it comes to ministers’ taxes.

When a pastor is about to begin receiving a salary from his church, we often hear the question - "How much can my church pay me?" This is a very logical question to ask since many pastors who recently started their churches have no idea where to begin when it comes to setting the salary. For many pastors, there exists an internal dichotomous tug-o-war with regards to being a good steward with the church's finances and the ability to adequately support their families. In today's podcast, we discuss everything that needs to be considered when putting together your compensation agreement in order to ensure you are fair to both the pastor and the ministry.

On December 20, 2017, the largest tax reform since 1986 was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President of the United States. With the new tax reform act, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, overhauling the tax code, there are many questions in need of answering. For instance, does the new tax reform affect ministers’ taxes? 

In today’s podcast we take a look at how the new tax reform affects pastors like all other taxpayers; however, there are some nuances to consider. Specifically, we discuss 4 changes from the tax reform that every minister must know about. Find out more by listening to Episode 4 of Beyond the Call.

The dialogue that surrounds the taxability of love offerings is similar to a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other. There are some that believe all love offerings are tax free, others that believe a love offering can never be tax free, and a whole group of folks that have no idea.

In today's podcast, we break down when love offerings are taxable and when they are not. We will also walk you through how you should handle love offerings moving forward.

Every minister will forever remember the day they were ordained through the local church; it is a life-giving experience for both the ministry and the minister. Yet many ministers are unaware that their ordination may not stand legally should it be challenged by the government.

In today's podcast, we discuss the importance of making sure that your ordination is legal. You will learn the key benefits of being legally ordained, as well as some myths surrounding ordination. If you question the legality of your ordination then you will want to listen to this podcast. We explain how to know if you’re legally ordained, and we even provide you with the steps you can take to implement an ordination program in your ministry.

While churches are considered tax-exempt without officially applying for 501(c)(3)status, the implications of not obtaining 501(c)(3) approval are often misunderstood and can be costly. The problem is that there is this disconnect . . . this knowledge gap, so to speak, among pastors and the truth of what it means to apply for 501(c)(3) tax exemption.

In this podcast, we will debunk some myths surrounding the issue of 501(c)(3) status. You will also hear 3 major benefits to applying for 501(c)(3) status. And finally, we will discuss what steps you need to take and the requirements needed to qualify for 501(c)(3) status.