turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Close icon
Do you have a TurboTax Online account?

We'll help you get started or pick up where you left off.

I am clergy & receive salary & am exempt from SS tax with a form 4361 but am also employed at an hourly wage w/ the church & SS taxes were withheld on W2. How do I file?

 
Connect with an expert
x
Do you have an Intuit account?

Do you have an Intuit account?

You'll need to sign in or create an account to connect with an expert.

3 Replies

I am clergy & receive salary & am exempt from SS tax with a form 4361 but am also employed at an hourly wage w/ the church & SS taxes were withheld on W2. How do I file?

Please explain.  How are you clergy and non-clergy at the same time?  Do you get 2 W-2s?  A W-2 and a 1099-MISC?

I am clergy & receive salary & am exempt from SS tax with a form 4361 but am also employed at an hourly wage w/ the church & SS taxes were withheld on W2. How do I file?

I was only given one W2 but was hired by the church at an hourly wage to do side jobs in addition to my work as a pastor that I receive a salary for. They only gave me one W2 showing only my hourly wages as "Social Security Wages" and "Medicare Wages and Tips". Those wages are taxable but my salary that I receive for being a pastor is exempt because I have a form 4361. Turbo Tax will not let me efile because it says that I should not check the box that says I have a form 4361 since there were SS and Medicare taxes that were withheld.

I am clergy & receive salary & am exempt from SS tax with a form 4361 but am also employed at an hourly wage w/ the church & SS taxes were withheld on W2. How do I file?

This situation is not covered by Turbotax, and I haven't seen it come up before in the many years I have been volunteering here.

Generally, if your primary responsibilities are religious and pastoral in nature, and you occasionally perform other duties around the church (sweeping, keeping the membership list in a an office, other duties in a small church with no other employees for example), those duties would be considered part of your pastoral duties and would not be required to be listed separately with mandatory FICA withholding.

While it is true that if you had an non-religious outside job (school teacher, bus driver, etc.) you would be subject to FICA even though your clergy job is exempt, I have never seen that rule applied to split a pastor's income from the same church into two different categories.

I think that the splitting is unnecessary, and the church could probably pay you entirely under the clergy rules.  Of course, you aren't paying me for professional advice and I don't know all the facts, so you may want to seek the guidance of a local professional.  If it is determined that you don't need to split the wages into different categories, then the treasurer may be able to issue a corrected W-2 and get you a refund of the FICA and medicare withholdings from throughout the year, although this would require amending the form 941s and might need the help of the same professional.

If you decide to keep this arrangement, then Turbotax online probably can't handle it.  To calculate the correct tax, you may need to use Turbotax Desktop version to make some manual overrides, and overrides void the accuracy guarantee.  Also, I don't know if the e-file block that is coming from the combination of FICA and form 4361 is a Turbotax check that can be overridden, or an IRS issue that would prevent e-filing no matter what.  You may need to print your return and mail it in, or seek the help of a professional.




 

message box icon

Get more help

Ask questions and learn more about your taxes and finances.

Post your Question
Manage cookies