@joshwats wrote:
Thanks.
- Ok, but 15.3% of $102,300 is $15,651. Why am I taxed over $19k?
- And if my salary plus housing allowance from the church is 82k, and I’m getting $6k a month in paychecks, that equals 72k total, not 82k. I paid $6,500 in taxes withheld this past year. What happened to the other $4k of my income?
I can't see your tax return or your paychecks or your housing allowance agreement. It sounds like your SE tax is $15,000 and your income tax is $4000? But your income tax should be offset by the $2000 child tax credit, assuming your children are under age 16, or the $500 credit for other dependents, if they are 17 or older. You may need to consult a local accountant who understands clergy taxes (not all do) who can review all your documents.
Putting anything in box 14 does not change your taxes at all, it is a memo field that can be used for anything. To properly report your housing allowance you must check the box for "religious wages" on the page of special circumstances after entering the W-2. That will open the page for housing allowance and you will be asked for your housing allowance (enter $23,400), your qualified housing expenses (enter $23,400 unless your expenses are less), and check "both" for how you want to pay SE tax.
When I was church treasurer I paid my pastor with 2 checks, and I did not withhold any federal or state income taxes, it was better for both of us for the pastor to make the estimated payments.
Assuming a properly declared housing allowance of $23,400 ($1950 per month) and a stated salary of $58,000 ($4833), I would expect your monthly pay to be a gross amount of $6783. If I was treasurer, I would not withhold any taxes, I would pay you $6783 and you would be responsible for paying the federal and state taxes. If your paycheck is $6000 per month, then you could be having federal income tax or state income tax withheld, in the combined amount of $783 per month. If those taxes are being properly withheld, they would show up in box 2 and box 17 of your W-2. They go to your credit on your tax return. You say you had $6500 in taxes withheld, that doesn't add up (783 x 12=9,396). Did you have $6500 in federal tax and $2896 of state taxes withheld? If it doesn't add up you need to talk to the church treasurer or an accountant or both.
The withheld taxes go to your credit. From what I can see, this is my guess of what your return should look like:
From what I can see, you owe about $15,000 in self-employment tax.
Then, for income tax, your taxable income is $58K + $20K + $900 = $79,000. You get a standard deduction when married filing jointly of $29,200, so your taxable income is about $50,000. The income tax on $50,000 of taxable income is about $5,560. You should be eligible for the $2000 child tax credit on your children, assuming they are eligible, and that should zero out the federal income tax. These credits do not change the SE tax, so you still owe $15,000. If you had $6500 of withholding, you should be looking at a net payment due to the IRS of $7500.
But that's just a guess.
You may need to print your tax returns. If using Turbotax online, you have to pay the fee before you can print, but you don't have to file. Pay the fee, print your returns, then go back to one of the other tabs (don't file) until you can review and understand everything. A tax return is just a simple series of addition and subtraction problems. The rules about what number goes where can be complex, but you should be able to follow the numbers and see where the various taxes and credits are being applied.
