Clergy Tax Seminar text only

Join us for this informational and instructive seminar!

Clergy Tax Seminar 2024

January 27, 2024
11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Students, clergy, and anyone who deals with clergy finances are invited to participate in this online Zoom seminar.

• Learn how to prepare clergy taxes correctly and legally.
• Comply with regulations while maximizing tax deductions.
• Earn 0.3 CEUs – for the first 2 sessions only.

Sponsors: The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, the Church of the Brethren Office of Ministry, and Bethany Theological Seminary.

Schedule:

11:00am – 12:30pm EST (0.15 CEUs): Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Clergy Taxation, part 1.
Topics covered: IRS’s definitions of ministers (ministerial “status”) and of ministerial work (ministerial “services”), as well as the three kinds of income ministers receive, the two kinds of taxes ministers pay, and the various ways ministers can pay those taxes during the tax year.

1:00pm – 2:30pm EST (0.15 CEUs): Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Clergy Taxation, part 2.
Topics covered: Housing exclusion, parsonages and parsonage adjustments, and self-employment taxes, as well as ways to reduce total taxes.

3:00pm – 4:00pm EST: Completing the Clergy Tax Return.
Rev. Zeke Zacharias, pastor at Litlold Church, has a typical clergy tax return to complete. We will walk through it with him. Deb will be using H&R Block’s Premium (for self-employed people) version of their downloadable software.

During this 5-hour webinar, you will learn a great deal about clergy tax law, tax preparation, and clergy compensation.  It will be a resource-full day, so plan to take care of yourself as you learn.  Eat when you’re hungry. Get a drink when you’re thirsty. Stand up and walk around when you need to. But most importantly, ask questions! If you have a question, Deb guarantees at least 6 other people are wondering the same thing! 

 Registration and Cost

Registration is $40 per person (generally nonrefundable to keep fees and overhead low). Current Brethren Academy, Bethany Theological Seminary, and Earlham School of Religion students may attend the seminar at no cost, although registration is still required to allow us to provide you with web access to the seminar. Instructions and handouts will be sent a few days prior to the event. Registrations are not complete until payment is received. For quality reasons, registrations may be capped at eighty-five persons.

Prompt registration is advised – registration deadline is January 18, 2023.
A Zoom link will be sent prior to the seminar.

 Leadership:

Deb Oskin has been doing clergy tax returns since 1989, when her husband left seminary to pastor a small rural Church of the Brethren congregation. As a pastor’s wife and later as a tax professional, she learned the tax problems and pitfalls associated with the IRS’s identification of clergy as “hybrid employees.” In 2011, after twelve years with H&R Block, Deb left to start her own tax practice, specializing in clergy taxes. Clergy clients now make up 86 percent of her client base.

Deb was ordained in 2004 when she was called by the Living Peace Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio, to be their peace minister to the wider community. She served as Southern Ohio District’s board chair from 2007-2011 and served as the Southern Ohio-Kentucky 2018 District Moderator. She is currently serving as Chair of the denomination’s Pastoral Compensation & Benefits Advisory Committee.

She has been teaching and presenting nationally on clergy taxation to clergy, treasurers and administrators, and tax pros since 2004. Other than the fact that she really likes to teach, Deb does this because of her deep belief that clergy can devote more of their energy to ministry if they aren’t stressed by tax debt.

Deb is an experienced presenter, and despite the complexity of the material, you’ll find yourself laughing. Learn and enjoy!

Deadline to register is January 17, 2024