The following information is provided for those involved with Church Finances. If you have any questions about the information on this page, please contact the Presbytery office at 610.391.9020 or
Forms
Per Capita Information and Rate
Honoraria for pulpit supply & moderating
Pulpit Supply List – Lehigh Presbytery
Forms and Policies of Lehigh Presbytery
ON LINE GIVING PROGRAM THROUGH THE PRESBYTERIAN FOUNDATION
Your church can easily accept secure online donations through the Presbyterian Foundation’s online giving system.
- Add a donation form to your website to accept gifts by electronic funds transfer, debit or credit card.
- Simple, safe and secure.
- No setup or maintenance fees.
Many Americans find that the only check they write is their offering to the church. Those in younger generations may not even use a checkbook–preferring to handle all of their contributions and bills electronically. When your church passes the offering plate on Sunday morning — are you limiting your offering to pocket change from those who feel obligated to put something in, but would give more with an online account option?
Online Options to Simplify Giving
Through the Foundation’s Online Giving Program, your church can now accept secure online donations. You can add the donation form to your website to accept gifts by debit or credit card, and electronic funds transfer. Your members can even set up recurring gifts, adding predictability and regularity to your offering receipts.
No need to negotiate with credit card vendors, merchant services, banks or any other company. The Presbyterian Foundation will take care of processing all online gifts, validating and reconciling transactions for you. Online fund management tools allow you to :
- Monitor donations and funds balances
- Receive disbursements from money raised monthly
- Thank donors and tell about the impact of their donations
- Produce giving reports
For more information click here.
Below are links to the program guide, application and basic sales sheet along with a sample pew card. If you sign up with our online giving program, your church will receive a starter set of 100 pew cars as well. Once you complete the application, you can submit it along with a voided check via email, USPS or fax. it takes 5-7 business days once received from our home office for your site to be live.
If it would be helpful to schedule a zoom meeting with your finance committee and/or session to answer questions and provide a demonstration of what donors see, Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley (Ministry Relations Officer) would be happy to do so. Simply let her know and she will schedule a time. There was a webinar on on-line giving that you can view at https://recording.join.me/yr2y78cGfUWuaVdVTblosQ. There is also a powerpoint presentation from this webinar below.
Online Giving through the Presbyterian Foundation
10928.PFD-Online Giving Program Guide.F
Online Giving Application 7.19 Form F
10910.PFD Online Giving Sales Sheet – Rebrand.F (002)
Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley
Ministry Relations Officer
Presbyterian Foundation
855-251-8212
The Board of Pensions 2020 traditional benefits package for members is 37% of effective salary (Medical 25%; Pension 11%; Death and Disability 1%); If the effective salary is lower than the Board of Pensions Medical participation minimum of $44,000., then the medical portion would be based on the Board of Pensions minimum effective salary.
Board of Pensions informational documents
Board of Pensions – Benefits Plan at a Glance
Board of Pensions – Understanding Effective Salary
Board of Pensions – Quick facts & dues schedule 2020
Churches need to log on to Benefits Connect to enter and make changes to the pastor’s benefits package. Click the logo below to go to Benefits Connect.
Board of Pensions – Quick facts & dues schedule 2020
Board of Pensions – Benefits Plan at a Glance
Information
- Guidance Regarding Church Members Securing Supplies for a Church-Authorized Program
- Legal Resource Manual for PC(USA) Middle Governing Bodies and Churches
- PC(USA) Financial Review Guide
- PC(USA) Financial Review Checklist
- Treasurer’s Manual
- 501(c)(3) IRS Tax Guide for Churches & Religious Org
Links
- Extra Giving Opportunities
- Presbyterian Foundation – Investments & Endowments
- Scholarships, Grants, Loans, and Awards – Synod of the Trinity
- The Hubbard Press – Source for all giving materials such as: Offering Envelopes, Pledge Record Forms, and Automatic Debit Services for Pledge and Gift Giving. See Appendix for Electronic Funds Transfer Program.
Annual Report to the PA Department of State
Churches should submit an Annual Corporation Report to the PA Department of State to help reserve your corporate name and doing so will exempt you from the Decennial Filing in 2021.
You can verify that your church is correctly registered with the state by going to the PA Department of State site – and doing an entity search – https://www.corporations.pa.gov/Search/corpsearch
By doing this you will know the correct corporate name to use when filing the report. You may view the online fillable form by clicking the link below….
We encourage every church to do this annually. It’s FREE!
Tax News & Payroll Procedure Updates
The Clergy Tax Journal is an email newsletter created exclusively for clergy and churches that features breaking tax news, tax tips and services that affect your ministry. Below is some excerpts for the latest edition that you may find helpful.
Clergy Tax Law Update: The Internal Revenue Service recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for pension plans and other retirement-related items for the tax year 2015. Most clergy will be able to increase the amount of maximum contributions into their church pension. Find out how much you can contribute.
Church Payroll Procedures – New Hire Checklist: Before an employee can begin work, the church must have certain documents on file to prove that the worker is indeed eligible to work in the United States. Find out which documents your church needs on file for every worker.
HR Hot Topic: Our employees often don’t turn their timesheets in on time. If an employee doesn’t submit his sheet on time, can we delay processing his paycheck until the next pay period? Find out the answer.
Clergy Financial Resources
11214 86th Avenue N.
Maple Grove, MN 55369
ClergyTaxNet.com
Recent IRS Tax-Exemption Changes DO NOT Apply to Churches
Church Treasurers: The following directive was received on May 10, 2013 from April Davenport, PC(USA) Associate General Counsel, with regard to IRS Form 990. Please be guided accordingly. Information on IRS Form 990-T is detailed below if you need to refer to it.
Dave Boltz, Treasurer
Lehigh Presbytery
May 13, 2013
We have received reports that some churches have received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) stating that they are required to file IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. The Group Ruling held by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which provides 501(c)(3), tax-exempt status to the group, also exempts Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations, presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly from filing Form 990. If your mid council or a church in your mid council has received a letter from the IRS asserting that Form 990 is due, please contact staff listed below from the Office of Legal and Risk Management Services of the Presbyterian Mission Agency immediately for assistance. Please do not ignore these letters from the IRS. Please also note that exemption from the requirement to file Form 990 does not extend to Form 990-T which relates to unrelated business income.
April L. Davenport, Associate General Counsel
(502) 569-5350
Rebecca L. Rayner, Senior Paralegal
(502) 569-8021
Recent IRS Tax-Exemption Changes DO NOT Apply to Churches
July 2010 – The nation’s media has been highlighting changes in IRS policy regarding tax-exempt organizations. Please not that churches do not have to apply to the IRS to maintain their tax-exempt status. For more information, see the brief synopsis from the IRS below or on the IRS website.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 , made two important changes affecting tax-exempt organizations, effective the beginning of 2007. First, it mandates that most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches and church-related organizations, must file an annual return or submit an electronic notice, with the IRS. The Form 990-N, was created for small tax-exempt organizations that had not previously had a filing requirement. Second, the law also requires that any tax-exempt organization that fails to file for three consecutive years automatically loses its federal tax-exempt status. The IRS conducted an extensive outreach effort about this new legal requirement but, even so, many organizations have not filed returns on time. This one-time limited relief program helps small organizations preserve their status.