The clergy housing allowance (sometimes called a parsonage allowance or a rental allowance) is an allowance paid to ordained ministers and rabbis in Canada and the United States.[1][2][3]
In the United States, the rental value of a home furnished to, or the rental allowance paid to, a minister of the gospel or rabbi is not included in his or her taxable income if certain conditions are met.[2][4][5][6][3][7]
In order to qualify, the clergy must be duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed by a religious body constituting a church or church denomination or synagogue, and the clergy must be given the authority to conduct religious worship according to the prescribed tenets and practices of that religious organization.[2][4][5][6][8][3]
The allowance must be for the minister's or rabbi's services performed:
In order to qualify, the service must be performed for a church or synagogue or an integral agency of a religious organization. An integral agency of a religious organization is generally one where several of the following apply.
The following services do not qualify:
Retired clergy are also eligible to claim the exclusion for the housing allowance because the Internal Revenue Service deems clergy housing allowance as compensation for past services as clergy.[8][12]
The tax-exclusion for clergy housing allowance also applies to retired clergy. A retired minister or rabbi who receives compensation for past services, such as withdrawals from an employer-sponsored retirement plan, may designate a portion of the compensation as a clergy housing allowance, and this amount is excluded from taxable income to the extent it is used for expenses directly related to providing a home.[13]
In the case of a widow of a deceased minister or rabbi, the tax-exclusion applies only if the housing allowance is designated with respect to a retirement plan representing compensation earned by the widow for the widow's past services that were in the exercise of ministry.[14][15]
The home must actually be used as a home by the clergy. The allowance cannot exceed the fair rental value of the home, furnishings, appurtenances, and utilities.[4][5][6] Clergy may legitimately include housing costs such as cost of buying or renting a home, real estate taxes, mortgage interest, condo or co-op fees, homeowners association dues, heat, electricity, basic telephone service, water, sewage, furniture, appliances, dishes, cookware, rugs, pictures, curtains, bedspreads, sheets, towels, insurance on the home and its contents, home improvements, home repairs and maintenance, home cleaning, snow removal, and lawn mowing.[16][17]
The minister's or rabbi's total compensation, including salary, fringe benefits, and clergy housing allowing, cannot exceed reasonable compensation for the services performed.[16][18]p. 22[2][3]
After year-end, the church or religious organization must provide a written notice indicating the total amount of clergy housing allowance for the year; using box 14 of a Form W-2 is an example of such a written notice.[16][3]
Clergy housing allowance is not generally subject to income tax, but it is generally subject to self-employment tax[6] unless the person is retired clergy.[18]p. 23
In November 2013, the clergy housing allowance faced judicial opposition. In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, the Federal District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin issued a decision holding that the allowance violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. However, the Justice Department appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court reversed the decision, ruling that the plaintiff did not have standing; therefore the tax-free status remained unchanged.[19]
Because the reversal pertained to standing of the plaintiff and not to the merits of the case, the same case, with minor revision, was reinstituted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in the same federal district court in 2017.[20][21]
On October 6, 2017, the federal judge struck down the clergy housing allowance, ruling that the law is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", because the law "does not have a secular purpose or effect and because a reasonable observer would view the statute as an endorsement of religion".[20][22][23]
The ruling only affects tax-free compensation paid to clergy, which the clergy uses to pay for the clergy's own home.[24] The ruling does not affect housing actually owned by, or leased by, a church.[24]
On December 13, 2017, the federal judge ordered that any injunction should be stayed for 180 days pending resolution of any appeals, so the effect of the decision was not yet in effect.[24][25]
On March 15, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on the law exempting clergy housing allowances from income tax, saying that its effect was to "neither to endorse nor to inhibit religion".[26] The Court of Appeals affirmed that Congress has the power to provide federal tax exemptions for religious organizations and that Congress has done so since at least 1802.[26] The Court of Appeals stated that while any sort of financial interaction between a religious entity and the government may be considered a degree of entanglement, but the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution is violated only with excessive entanglement.[27]