Every October, churches across the United States make a point of appreciating the pastors in their congregation, those that give of their lives to serve the church. These celebrations include cards from parishioners, and gifts of many kinds.

Wisdom Over Wealth is pleased to announce the retirement of Bill OConnell from Wisdom Over Wealth.  This announcement is the culmination of a succession plan announced October of 2020 here.

Curious if you or your tax preparer is including your clergy income correctly? Wondering if your church even does your payroll right? Join Wisdom’s experts on the topic & get you questions answered!

Or, do you need the confidence that a CPA looked at your church’s books?

The term “audit” has been used in church circles to refer to having an CPA look at the books, exercise their professional judgment, and give accounting support. In the world of CPAs, a traditional audit requires many regulations and procedures that we have found many churches and nonprofits do not benefit from. We at Wisdom have found another option: Financial Statement Preparation.

Starting in July 2021 over 80 million American households become eligible to receive a new payment from the Internal Revenue Service. An increased child tax credit has allowed for monthly payments of $300 per child aged 5 and under, and $250 for each child aged between 6 and 17 to be sent as advances for the Child Credits found on next year’s (2021) Federal Income Tax return.

In the latest round of COVID legislation, the ERTC was made available to more businesses, including churches. The ERTC is a tax credit that’s rewards are two-fold: rewarding employers who have retained employees during COVID and thus providing cash to continue providing these jobs.

But churches do not pay taxes, how can they get a refund from the IRS?

Although churches are exempt from paying income tax, most churches do submit and pay in for payroll taxes. The ERTC is a credit against the Social Security taxes withheld by employers, including those taxes withheld by churches.

Congratulations! You have become a member of your church’s board. Now what?

What must I do? What must I not do? What is expected of me? What is my role vis-à-vis the Pastor, the staff, members, active volunteers, other board members?

Disorientation is a good word for how the disciples must have felt after the death of Jesus. The one they thought was the long-anticipated Messiah was now dead. Their hope was extinguished. What did this mean, where did they go from here?

Vertigo: “Confusion resulting from misleading information sent to the brain.”

Vertigo occurs in pilots when they fly in hazy conditions and lack any reference to the reality of the horizon. Without reference to objective truth, the horizon, it is possible for pilots to fly their airplanes into the ground while thinking they were flying level.

Church accounting systems can also suffer vertigo. Unless there is a connection to objective truth outside the system, the accounting may become out of touch with reality – possibly causing a crash to the ground.

To allow flexible work arrangements, receive updates more quickly, and work more efficiently, many churches are migrating their business solutions to the cloud. Many have already moved to the cloud and are experiencing the benefits of having software available wherever they are rather than being tied to a specific desktop. If you are using the desktop version of QuickBooks, we would recommend making the move to Intuit’s cloud-based solution, QuickBooks Online (QBO) one of Wisdom’s preferred accounting software solutions.

In recent years, the IRS has noted an increase in the cases of identity theft related to taxes. In an effort to help individuals protect their identity, the IRS has issued an opt-in program to receive a six-digit Identity Protection PIN to include with individual tax returns.

Tax season is upon us! If you have not already begun to receive documents in the mail for IRS forms, you likely will soon. With that, for clergy, comes both understanding your housing allowance and setting up your allowance for next year.

Or, do you need the confidence that a CPA looked at your church’s books?

The term “audit” has been used in church circles to refer to having an CPA look at the books, exercise their professional judgment, and give accounting support. In the world of CPAs, a traditional audit requires many regulations and procedures that we have found many churches and nonprofits do not benefit from. We at Wisdom have found another option: Financial Statement Preparation.

Christmas time! A time of wonder, joy, and excitement. This time around Christmas is usually spent preparing for yummy feasts, exchanging thoughtful presents, and spending time with loved ones. But this year may look a little different; this year may feel like the wonder is lost, the joy has been taken, and the excitement is nowhere to be found. As the month of December continues, it almost feels like just another month to make it through. As we wrestle with how Christmas 2020 feels, we should stop and listen.