Apparently, there is something to this, at least as far as Hammar's Church & Clergy Tax Guide 2019 is concerned. On page 339 he says:
"Since a housing allowance is not an exclusion in computing self-employment (Social Security) taxes, no reduction in business expenses is required in computing these taxes on Schedule SE. This understanding is affirmed in the IRS audit guidelines for ministers and in 2019 IRS Publication 517. It was questioned in a 2005 Tax Court Decision, Young v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-76."
It took some scouring but I found the reference in Pub 517 on page 10 at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p517.pdf in the form of a tip in the middle of the page: "Reduce your otherwise deductible expenses only in figuring your income tax, not your SE tax."
I found the reference in the audit guidelines at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/ministers.pdf on pages 15 and 18, in which they gave Example 8 and used total expenses in calculating Sked SE instead of the Sked C deductible expenses.
Finally, Hammar addresses the tax court question on page 338 with the following: "Fortunately, this case is a 'small case,' meaning it cannot be cited as precedent."
I was fortunate to have found this book in our library. However, I haven't decided whether to do it this way. Like you, @Opus 17 , I leave it to future readers to decide this on their own. If nothing else, I have found documentation which seems to support this other method that my 2009 tax preparer used. But I am curious if you have any opinions about what I found this evening.
Thank you again for your time and help.
