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NOW CONFIRMED—THEY ARE COMING

3/29/2019

I had just concluded a Church Management and Tax seminar last year when one of the attendees approached me. I noticed that this gentleman sat through the entire class, took copious notes, yet never asked one question during the question and answer sessions. Usually when they come to me privately it is something so embarrassing that they did not want others to hear it. This was not the case this time.

He began by looking around to make sure no one else was in listening distance and then told me these shocking words: “I work for the IRS and because I have just been added as a Trustee to my Church Board, I needed to know where our Church stood on IRS Compliance.”

He Immediately Had My Attention

He proceeded to tell me that he worked for the for-profit side of the IRS (his words), but he had heard they were about to hire thousands of new agents for the non-profit division. These new agents would be auditors specifically hired to conduct on-site audits of non-profit organizations—especially Churches.

I began to share what he had told me during other seminars, but the information seemed to fall on deaf ears. It seems Pastors and Church Boards think they can continue operating the way they did 50 years earlier.

His last words to me were, “The IRS is coming and the last thing I need as a Church Trustee and as an IRS employee is for my Church to be one they audit and our Pastor and us Trustees be declared out of compliance and face legal charges.”

It Has Now Been Confirmed

The IRS this year has increased the non-profit audit staff by thousands of agents. These agents will be targeting compliance issues in all non-profits, but especially in Churches. They will be targeting all 277 compliance topics that affect Churches and Pastors.

They will further target those who are not legal 501(c)(3) Churches and those who chose the 1023EZ route to 501(c)(3) status.
Although the code stipulates Churches do not have to file a 1023, they are required to obey all IRS codes and regulations that apply to 501(c)(3) organizations (Jack Taylor vs. The Commissioner).

It was further confirmed that Churches using in-house volunteers to manage Church records, would be highly scrutinized. When asked why, the agent declared, “There is no way they are able to stay abreast of all of the changes to the tax code.”

With thousands of Pastors, Trustees, Board Members, and Church Treasurers being indicted every year, those indictment numbers will soon astronomically increase.

These audits will begin in the next few weeks.

But Isn’t It Difficult for the IRS to Justify a Church Audit?

While Congress did enact section 7611 which states an inquiry may only begin when a high-level official has written information that provides reasonable belief that the Church is out of compliance—the IRS is NOT required to ensure the information it has is reasonable or reliable.

Furthermore, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, one statement in those 2000 plus pages stated that anyone subject to the ACA (any entity with at least one employee) was subject to random audits.

This further opened the door.

You Must Act Now

For more than 81 years our ministry has been that of assisting and protecting Churches and Pastors against onslaughts from the IRS. Any of our clients reading this blog, you know the importance of Chitwood & Chitwood maintaining your Church books and records. For those of you who are not clients, the moment you delay may prove to be your demise.

Every Pastor and Church Board that are not clients must attend the next Church Management and Tax Conference. It is here that you will learn how to ensure you would survive should they walk into your Church.

To register please call 800-344-0076 or visit us online at www.cmtc.org. Remember, it is not what you know that will hurt you—it is what you don’t know. The IRS is coming and you and your Church are probably on their radar. ACT NOW!!! THE CHURCH YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN!!!

By Dr. Micheal Chitwood

What You Will Learn at our Conferences

Our Church Management Conferences will arm you with the information you must have to shield your Church or Ministry from IRS intrusiveness; teach you how to get your Taxes to the lowest possible rate; and daily operate your Church or Ministry within IRS acceptable guidelines.

Our Conferences have been taught across the Nation for over 48 years. Because of the Penalties, Fines, and even Imprisonment that the IRS imposed on many Churches and Pastors, Dr. Chitwood felt led by the Holy Spirit to become a buffer between Churches, Ministers, and the IRS.

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HALLELUJAH, WE WON AGAIN

3/29/2019

Beginning in 2011, Freedom from Religion Foundation has kept Churches and Pastors in their crosshairs, in attempts to infringe upon benefits legally allowed to a Pastor. This month, it appears the battle is finally over.

Pastoral Occupation Among the Least Paid and Least Thankworthy

With the exception of a few mega-Church Pastors in this nation, most men and women who have answered this high call from God, are among the least thanked and least paid of all the occupational positions in America.

Most Pastors provide comfort, care, Scriptural guidance, and other Pastoral duties to congregations of less than 70 people. These men and women of God are on call 24/7. Many are awakened in the dark of late night and early morning by a phone call alerting them to a member who has just been rushed by ambulance to the Emergency Room. Many answer the late night and early morning phone calls to be notified of the death of a member or a member’s family.

A huge portion of these faithful Pastors do their tasks without grumbling and often with barely enough pay to survive week to week.

Satan’s Attack via Freedom from Religion Foundation

If these men and women of God, the Pastors of our Churches, did not struggle enough, Freedom from Religion Foundation intended to invoke further financial harm upon these Pastors by removing one of the only few financial benefits these men and women can enjoy—the Pastor’s Housing Allowance.

Without tax-free housing, many ministers across the nation would have been subjected to living in poor conditions and some may have had to resort to finding shelter in a Government-funded Housing Project.

With God’s Help, We Win Again

Two lower Federal courts ruled in favor of the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s lawsuit. The first one was overturned because Freedom from Religion did not have legal standing. However, they restructured their salaries, providing Housing Allowance for all of their employees. When the IRS denied their Housing Allowance claims, President Obama’s Treasury Secretary stated that the IRS ruling gave Freedom from Religion Foundation the necessary requirements to now have legal standing.

They refiled their lawsuit in 2016 and Federal Judge Juanita Crabb ruled in favor of their lawsuit. It has hopefully come to an end this month. This month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overruled Judge Crabb and declared Ministerial Housing Allowance to be constitutional.

Since Freedom from Religion Foundation’s initial attack on Ministers Chitwood & Chitwood has been diligently fighting on our Ministers’ behalf. With 81 years of experience protecting the rights of Churches and Ministers, we are excited to see another win for God’s servants.

Why You Need Us

Our staff has been at the forefront of all IRS changes that could affect a Church or a Minister. We know how to best protect God’s House and His servants during times of uncertainty.

With Chitwood & Chitwood in your corner, you and your Church can do what God has called you to do in your community, while leaving any stress to us.

It would behoove every Pastor and Church, who are not currently represented by Chitwood & Chitwood, to attend the next Church Management and Tax Conference. To register call 800-344-0076 or visit us online at www.cmtc.org.