Tax Calendar for 1st Half of 2013

By Raul Rivera

Every year in January and February, our office gets tons of phone calls from pastors and 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.  It covers topics such as payroll deposits, Healthcare tax credits for churches, board meetings, W-2's and 1099's. We hope that it helps you in your endeavors to accomplish something great in 2013.  This calendar will cover you through June 30^th.

January 1^st-14^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees who received advanced payments of earned income credit last year, stop advanced payment for any employee who did not give you a new Form W-5 for 2013.

January 1^st-14^th:  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.  Call us at 770-638-3444.

January 1^st-14^th:  In the annual board meeting, designate the minister's housing allowance.

January 1^st-14^th:  Each board member must sign the annual conflicts of interest statement.  If you have been to one of our conferences, a sample statement can be found on in section 2 of the conference manual.    

January 15^th:  Ministers that had a housing allowance must add up their qualifying housing allowance expenses by calculating the actual value of the home as well as the fair rental value (fair rental value is not what you think).  If you have our Compliance Kit software program, please use the housing allowance statement that is provided and follow the steps.

January 16^th: If you have non-ministerial employees, the December 2012 payroll tax deposit is due.

January 17^th: Ministers must make the estimated tax payment for the 4^th quarter of 2012 using form 1040ES.  Only make this payment if you believe you will owe taxes for 2012 and you will not file your tax return by January 31^st of this year.

January 31^st: Deliver tax-deductible contribution statements to all those who made contributions to your ministry.  

January 31^st: Give W-2 forms to all of your employees, including the pastor.  For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099-Misc Kit, all you have to do is go to any office supply store and get the W-2 and W-3 tax forms and put them in your printer, then click the print button for the appropriate forms and out they will come. 

January 31^st:  Give 1099-Misc forms to independent contractors, including guest speakers and landlords, who received $600.00 or more in payments or honorariums for 2012.  If you paid anyone royalties, give them form 1099-Misc if you paid them $10.00 or more.  For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099-Misc Kit, all you have to do is go to any office supply store and get the 1099-Misc and 1096 tax forms and put them in your printer, then click the print button for the appropriate forms and out they will come. 

January 31^st:  File Form 941 (payroll tax) for the fourth quarter of 2012 and deposit any unpaid taxes, or file Form 944 for the 2012 tax year if your employment tax liability was $1,000 or less.  Do not file form 944 unless the IRS writes you and tells you that you need to file it.

January 31^st:  File Form 945 to report income tax withheld for 2012 on independent contractors, including guest speakers and landlords.  File this form only if income tax was withheld for 2012.  It is important that you become familiar with this form.  There are many reasons why a church would have to file this form. 

January 31^st:  Last day to file Form 8274.  This is a form you can file after you hire employees, but before the first date on which a quarterly or annual employment tax return is due.  If you hired any non-ministerial employees between October 1st and December 31st, 2012, your church may file for an exemption from payroll taxes.

Any time in January:  If your ministry changed addresses last year, now will be the right time to update your address with the IRS.  To do that you will need to file Form 8822. Click here to download it.

February 1^st:  Consider applying for Self Employment Tax Exemption before your two-year window of time expires on April 15th.  This can be big.  Call us and we will be happy to explain.

February 1^st:  Internal Revenue Notice IR-2011-31 makes it optional to report on Form W-2 the cost of the health insurance coverage that your church provides its employees.  If you choose to report it, it must be reported on line 12 using code DD.

February 10^th:  File Form 945 if your church is required and deposited all required payments in a timely manner.

February 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the January 2013 payroll tax deposit is due.

February 28^th: Send Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to the Social Security Administration along with Copy A of all employee W-2s you issued for calendar year 2012.  For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099-Misc Kit, all you have to do is go to any office supply store and get the W-2 and W-3 tax forms and put them in your printer, then click the print button for the appropriate forms and out they will come. 

February 28^th: Send Forms 1099 and 1096 to the IRS.  For those of you who have the W-2 and 1099-Misc Kit, all you have to do is go to any office supply store and get the 1099-Misc and 1096 tax forms and put them in your printer, then click the print button for the appropriate forms and out they will come. If you file these electronically, the due date is in March.  See below!

March 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the February 2013 payroll tax deposit is due.

March 31^st:  If you chose to file W-2 and 1099-Misc electronically, file them now.  If by paper, the due date was February 31^st.

April 16^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the March 2013 payroll tax deposit is due. 

April 16^th:  Ministers must make the estimated tax payment for the 1^st quarter of 2013 using form 1040ES.  Only make this payment if you believe you will owe taxes for 2013.

April 17^th:  Your personal tax return is due.  If you need to file for an extension, it must be mailed on or before this date.  The extension is for 6 months. 

April 29^th:  Last day to file Form 8274.  This is a form you can file after you hire employees, but before the first date on which a quarterly or annual employment tax return is due.  If you hired any non-minister employees between January 1st and March 31st, 2013, your church may file for an exemption from payroll taxes.

April 30^th:  First quarter 941 payroll tax return for year due.

May 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the April 2013 payroll tax deposit is due.

May 15^th:  Your ministry's 990 tax return is due.  If you are not ready to file it, send Form 8868.  Now is a good time to review your IRS 501(c)(3) approval letter (letter 947) to see if the form describes your approval as a church. It will also say whether Form 990 is required.

May 15^th:  For churches and ministries: This is the last day to file for a healthcare tax credit.  You must use Form 990-T and Form 8941.  The Health Care Act gives a refundable tax credit of 25% of the cost of health care insurance that the church pays for its employees.

May 15^th:  If you have a church school or other 501(c)(3) school you must file Form 5578.  This is an annual certification of racial nondiscrimination by a private school.

June 15^th:  If you have non-ministerial employees, the May 2013 payroll tax deposit is due.

June 15^th: If you are a minister, your second estimated quarterly tax payment for the year is due.

 

 

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