1st Quarter Tax Calendar for 2016

By Raul Rivera

Can you believe that 2016 is almost here? Every year in January, our office gets flooded with tons of phone calls from pastors and church leaders asking about tax forms and what needs to be filed in January. To that effect, we have put together a tax calendar to educate and guide you in the process. This calendar is specific for churches and ministries. We hope that it helps you in your endeavors to accomplish something great in 2016.

Before January 1st: Have the annual board meeting of the directors. If you do not know what agenda items need to be covered in the annual meeting, we have a service whereby we create your annual minutes for you so that all you have to do is get together with your board of directors, go over each item, and sign off. If you were unable to hold your annual board meeting prior to January 1st, then it is best to hold the annual board meeting as early as possible in January.

January 15th: As recommended by our StartRIGHT™ Program, ministers that have had a housing allowance properly designated by the church must add up their qualifying housing allowance expenses by calculating the actual value of the home and the fair rental value.

February 1st: Consider applying for self-employment tax exemption before your window of time expires on April 15th. This can be big. For more information, call our office, toll free, at 877-494-4655 and we will help you.

February 1st: Give W-2 forms to all of your employees, including the pastor. Be sure to carefully document any qualifying health insurance premiums your church paid for its staff. The new law requires that they be reported on line 12 of Form W-2. For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099 Tax Kit, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instruction to electronically file Form W-2.

February 1st: Give 1099-MISC forms to independent contractors, including guest speakers and unincorporated landlords, who received $600.00 or more in payments or honorariums for 2015. If you paid anyone royalties of $10.00 or more, give him Form 1099-MISC. If you used the services of an attorney and paid him $1.00 (one dollar) or more for his services, you must issue a 1099-MISC. For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099 Tax Kit, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions to electronically file both 1099-MISC and 1096 tax forms.

February 29th: Send Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to the Social Security Administration along with copy A of all employee W-2’s you issued for calendar year 2015. For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099 Tax Kit, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions to electronically file Form W-3 with your W-2 forms. If you file these electronically, the due date is later in March. Download our 2016 Tax Calendar for more information!

February 29th: Send copy A of Form 1099 with Form 1096 to the IRS. For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099 Tax Kit, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions to electronically file Form 1096. If you file these electronically, the due date is later in March. Download our 2016 Tax Calendar for more information!

These are just a few of the key 1st quarter tax dates for 2016 that you should keep in mind. For more information and key tax dates in 2016, please click here to download our 2016 Tax Calendar.