Archive for the ‘Upcoming Events’ Category

The Clergy Tax Puzzle

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Not utilizing all of your tax benefits could be costing you thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes every year. Don’t be a tax casualty and  keep your housing allowance benefits for life.    Transform the way you use your tax benefits. Attend our free, “Tax Free Money for Ministers” and “Don’t Let Ministry Expenses Eat Your Lunch.”

By breaking the puzzle into three main categories and fitting them into a practical and complete plan, you’re likely to see huge savings right away.   Learn how to maximize the critical, “Tax Biggies” and 90% of your tax puzzle is solved:

  1. Housing Allowance
  2. Maintaining Housing Allowance Benefits FOR LIFE & using the right retirement plan
  3. Understanding Ministry Expenses and the Accountable Plan

Using your housing allowance effectively requires much more than  knowing what you can & can’t deduct. Understand three basic principles before setting your housing allowance for the year.  Learn effective strategies for special circumstances like, buying or selling a house to create even more tax deductions.

Keep your housing allowance benefits when you retire. Even if you never plan to retire, you can have the tax free stream of income for life. The wrong kind of retirement plan can cost you your housing allowance benefits and tens of thousands of dollars over the years.  There are unique tax strategies available to pastors, and there are unique financial strategies available as well.

Ministerial Expenses are a huge area of tax losses for ministers without an Accountable plan. If your Accountable Plan isn’t set up and implemented properly, you ARE LOSING significant deductions every year. Discover a host of frequently overlooked deductions AND reduce your audit risk enormously.  If you’re a typical pastor, you could be adding hundreds or even thousands to your income every year.  You’ll have everything you need to present to your board,  implement and budget an Accountable Plan.

New Tax Provisions for Roth IRA Conversions in 2010

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

You owe it to yourself to see if a Roth IRA is a good strategy for you. We’ve used and advocated converting retirement income into a Roth IRA for many people over the years, but it has become even more appealing due to new tax provisions for 2010.  Some of the restrictions on converting money to a Roth have been removed and you can actually undo any portion of  the conversion as late as October of next year. 

Who should look at a Roth IRA Conversion?

This is an individual discussion because of all the various concerns and factors for each situation. We’re suggesting that everyone take a look at the benefits of converting some or all of a regular IRA into a Roth, particularly if you’re a married minister or in a high or low tax bracket.  Many ministers in the 0% tax bracket don’t realize it because of their housing allowance. These people definitely meet some of the criteria to consider a Roth conversion.   However, you can’t automatically disqualify yourself if you fall into the middle ( 10-15% ) tax brackets either.  Don’t believe you’re too young or too old for this strategy to work for you, either.  For many, but not all ministers, the best time to consider this strategy is when housing espenses are highest.   

Your state tax and estate plan need to be taken into account, as well as,  the cost and possible tax ramifications for the year of the coversion and a myriad of other factors, so it’s not as simple a calculation as one would hope.   Most people shouldn’t  try  to  figure this one out on their own.  The best way to determine and weigh all of the necessary factors is to evaluate your situation carefully with a qualified tax planner and financial advisor.  We’ll go deeper into the ramifications and criteria if you’d like to call us for a personal evaluation or join us for a  free webinar for more details. Learn more details of Roth IRA Conversions  in a free webinar to discover more about Who should convert and Why. Click here for information or to Register. 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Upcoming Events:

Tax Free Money for Ministers Webinars

Set up a Hassle-free Accountable Plan (Video)