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Hundreds of New Changes
The years 2004 through 2006 experienced well
over 120 changes to the way churches and ministries should be managed on a
day to day basis. The beginning of 2007 proposes over 100 more
changes, many which are expected to become law by the end of the year.
With the implementation and regulation of Internal Revenue Code Sections
4958, 7611, a myriad of many revenue rulings and the Pension
Protection Act of 2006, thousands and thousands of churches are now
operating out of compliance with all of the new IRS requirements
that are now mandatory.
Intermediate
Sanctions
Under these new laws the IRS is now able to
impose intermediate sanctions against the church...even against the board
members personally. That means that they can impose monetary fines
against the church and the board members. Because of that, we
created this Complete Church Compliance Kit with the goal of
assisting the church and ministry with compliance issues without
compromising a Biblical governing structure.
IRS Auditing
Church Minutes
Unfortunately, the IRS is able to ask any
church, at any time, to see complete copies of their minutes and all
other documents it wishes to make sure that the church is operating
in compliance. The IRS will review the minutes of the church
and all decisions made by the leadership to ensure that they comply with the
church's bylaws and that all salaries, pastoral
love gifts, stipends, reimbursements, purchases (including
benevolence distributions) were all documented in the church’s
minutes and approved in a board meeting. Section 4958 requires that
all such activities be in writing and approved by the board at a
board meeting. Failure for the church to provide such evidence
will result in what the IRS titles intermediate sanctions.
Under these rules the law imposes an excise tax of 25% for any violation that
can be increased to 200% if the church or ministry does not correct
the problem before the end of the year.
The wonderful news in all of this is that we
have met the challenge by creating a software program that will walk
you step by step in the creation of board meeting minutes that are
perfectly formatted to meet state and federal law. Additionally,
you will be able to create an agenda in just minutes and have the
program send out the agenda to all of the board members by email and
also attach a copy of the proposed minutes of the last board
meeting. It will also create a note-taking form created dynamically
according to the items on your agenda. Taking minutes
of the actual board meeting will never be easier. Finally, when all
of the notes have been taken and entered into the program, perfectly
formatted minutes are just a click away. Never again misplace your
minutes or lose them because they will always be saved in the program.
You can
print as many copies as you need...at any time.
IRS
Requirements Concerning Ministers and Creating a Test
Another important feature of the program is the
new, hotly IRS-scrutinized issue of licensed and ordained ministers
of non-denominational churches and ministries. With increasing
intensity the IRS has challenged the licensing and ordination of
many ministers. This is due to the fact that many churches have
never created a comprehensive licensing and ordination program that
manages, maintains and defines a clear set of requirements. A
church must at all times maintain records of all of its current and
past individuals to which a licensed has been issued. Many
churches or ministries will often license an individual but fail to
correctly document it in the church records and minutes. Moreover
many ministers have been licensed by other churches who have not
kept accurate records to be able to prove the year in which the
minister was actually licensed. This could have negative tax
consequences. With the Complete Church Compliance Kit version 5.0
you will be able to maintain all of the records necessary to
completely maintain a licensing and ordination program and issue
examinations that can be specifically designed with varying degrees
of difficulty such as commissioned, licensed and ordained ministers.
The software allows you to create as many
multiple-choice and true/false questions as you want. Once
created the program stores the questions and then uses them randomly
to create tests that can be administered to applicants. The
examinations created by the software pass the IRS regulations which
allows the minister to take advantage of all the tax benefits
extended to legitimately licensed and ordained ministers.
Salary
Compensation
Ever wondered how to correctly set up pastoral
love offerings, a stipend or a pastoral salary? The Complete Church
Compliance Kit version 5.0 will interview you and create a perfectly
formatted compensation package for the pastor, president or any
other employee of the church or ministry. Under Internal Revenue
Code section 4958 the IRS requires that any and all financial transactions
between the church or ministry and any individual be in writing in
the form of a contract. Under the new requirements, failure to do so
results in the classification of an excess benefit transaction
resulting is a 25% to 200% excise tax penalty assessed against the
church or ministry.
Complete Church Compliance Kit version 5.0 will
cover all scenarios including section 105b medical reimbursement
benefits, voluntary withholdings, section 62 accountable
reimbursements, tax free insurance benefits, holidays, housing
allowance and the newly added Deferred Housing Allowance (tax exempt income for the
minister after retirement). It even contains a built in job
description to help better prove that the salary compensation
package is reasonable and consistent with IRS regulations.
You can create a full employment contract or a
short agreement between the church or ministry and the individual
being compensated. Complete Church Compliance Kit version 5.0 will
eliminate the possibility of being penalized by the IRS for failing
to put all financial transactions between the church or ministry and
an individual in writing.
Opting Out
of Social Security
You may have heard that ministers are able to
opt out of social security. However, very few ministers are aware
that if done correctly, ministers that opt out are able to retire
and receive the full benefits of social security. Using the
Compliance Kit we will show you how to do it right. The software
will interview you and completely prepare the IRS application for
you. All you have to do is print it and sign it.
Creating the
Housing Allowance
The Complete Church Compliance Kit software
program will also create a customized housing allowance for you and
any other minister of your church. The housing allowance under
section 107 allows the church to exclude from taxable income the
amount of cash that it takes for the minister to provide a home for
himself and his dependents. Using the Complete Church Compliance
Kit software program, you will be able to create a perfectly
designed housing allowance for each of the ministers of the church.
The
Challenge
With all of the changes that are taking place
today, the church faces a challenge like never before. Startchurch,
Inc
is here to help you meet that challenge. Ministry is not was it was
20 years ago. But why struggle along when the tools you need are at
hand to help your church or ministry comply with all of the laws of
the land. That is why we invested hundreds of hours of research and
time to create the Complete Church Compliance Kit. There is not a
software program like it anywhere else today.
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