Tax Workshop on February 27 Aims to Tackle Pastors' Questions Regarding Finances

by Brianna Benzinger, Middler MDiv Student

When I was a Junior student at Austin Seminary, I attended the "Fiscally Fit Workshop" hosted by the Board of Pensions. It was a wonderful workshop and I learned so much about the benefits offered to pastors, taxes, forms, housing allowances, and the list goes on. I also left with the realization of how much I didn’t know and, in sharing my experiences, how much my peers also didn’t know. In the months that followed, I had several conversations with Ministers Facing Money Coordinator Carrie Graham and Education Beyond the Walls Vice President Melissa Wiginton. Lemuel Garcia, Director of Alumni and Church Relations, also offered support. Soon the idea for the “What Do You Owe Caesar” tax workshop was born.

This workshop is designed to be open level, so to speak. It provides helpful tips and practices to pastors who have never filed taxes on their own before, but also benefits those who know the ins and outs of IRS Publication 517 (the publication for clergy taxes). We have a special tax speaker coming in to lead the workshop who will cover everything from basic language needed in order to for tax preparation to a case study example of specific clergy taxes. A question and answer period is also scheduled, where more specific questions can be addressed.

We are pleased to offer this workshop not only on campus, but also via an online livestream with a chat-box so questions from online viewers can be answered. The “What Do You Owe Caesar” clergy tax workshop will be held Friday, February 27^th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Central time) in McMillian 210 at Austin Seminary.

Click to register for the workshop.