Clergy If you are a member of the clergy, you must include in your income offerings and fees you receive for marriages, baptisms, funerals, masses, etc., in addition to your salary. If the offering is made to the religious institution, it is not taxable to you. If you are a member of a religious organization and you give your outside earnings to the organization, you still must include the earnings in your income. However, you may be entitled to a charitable contribution deduction for the amount paid to the organization. See chapter 26 .
Special rules apply to members of the clergy.
The home or allowance must be provided as compensation for your duties as an ordained, licensed, or commissioned minister. Expenses of providing a home include rent, house payments, furniture payments, costs for a garage, and utilities. They do not include the cost of food or servants. The church or organization that employs you must officially designate the payment as a housing allowance before the payment is made. If you are employed and paid by a local congregation, a resolution by a national church agency of your denomination does not effectively designate a housing allowance for you.