If there are to be discretionary funds for the use of the pastor, it is extremely important that the account be properly set up by the church board AND that the church board exercise administrative oversight over the expenditures from the fund. Otherwise it is possible that:
We recommend that the Church Board immediately implement the following guidelines from the 2019 Church & Clergy Tax Guide by Richard Hammar. In the Church Board Minutes, document wording that shows that the Church Board is:
NOTE: Church Board “control” is established if the board documents a periodic review— quarterly/annually— of all distributions from this account to ensure consistency with the congregation’s exempt purposes.
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The original version of this page was provided to Jewel by the Georgia-Cumberland Conference Audit Team. Created by Linda McCabe.