How does tithing work with taxes?

astral · #1 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 10:55 PM

I've worked various jobs off and on between 1989 and 1999. Obviously I had to file my income taxes. During this time I was semi-active in the church. I never submitted my tithing along with the taxes. I've been on social security disability since 2002. My annual income is about 8,000 dollars a year. That's below the level required to file taxes. A family member passed away & I inherited money. That places me well into the level on having to file taxes again.
I want to know if the tithing paid to the church can be used to offset what i will owe the govt in taxes. I think its called a deduction. I'm not married or have any children. I live in low income housing. I would have no other deductions except for tithing. that is if it can work as a deduction.
The first Sunday of this year I paid the church my full tithing and fast offerings for the entire year. Now this inheritance stuff has messed things up for me. I paid the additional tithing. However the govt took away my SSI for 3 years. That almost caused me to loose me to loose my state medical benefits. I had to dispose all of my income to be below the 2,000 dollar level. That saved me from being let go of the state benefits. now my concern is having to file taxes and hope i can submit tithing to help. Thanks for any info any of you may provide.

Just_A_Guy · #2 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 11:15 PM

Generally speaking, tithing is tax-deductible; you'll need to talk to a CPA or a tax lawyer for more details. I'm not sure whether tithing will ease the situation with your SSI. You might have been better off simply disclaiming the inheritance in the first place--again, you'll want to talk to a tax or estate planning lawyer in your state to see whether that's still an option.

(I'll spare you the lecture about paying tithing for the "right reasons"

)

bytebear · #3 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 11:19 PM

You can deduct tithing, but you may want to do the standard deduction, because it may be more. Basically, the government lets you itemize deductions (add up everything, and deduct the total) or take a standard deduction (a fixed amount based on marriage status and # of kids). Most people with little to deduct just do the standard, so compare the two values, and whichever is bigger, use that. Standard deduction is also easier to do. In fact they have a special form called 1040EZ (get it) for this.

Mahonri · #4 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 11:20 PM

Sounds like you've figured your tithing correctly.

10% of our interest annually.

tubaloth · #5 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 11:31 PM

Tithing falls under charity. I'm sure you know the amount you paid, if not you can get that from the Bishop.

ztodd · #6 (**permalink**) 05-19-2009, 11:32 PM

If you do your taxes online, like at taxactonline.com where we did ours, it will figure out for you if deducting your tithing would be better than taking the standard deduction, and it does all the forms and electronic filing and everything for you.

missingsomething · #7 (**permalink**) 05-20-2009, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astral

I've worked various jobs off and on between 1989 and 1999. Obviously I had to file my income taxes. During this time I was semi-active in the church. I never submitted my tithing along with the taxes. I've been on social security disability since 2002. My annual income is about 8,000 dollars a year. That's below the level required to file taxes. A family member passed away & I inherited money. That places me well into the level on having to file taxes again.
I want to know if the tithing paid to the church can be used to offset what i will owe the govt in taxes. I think its called a deduction. I'm not married or have any children. I live in low income housing. I would have no other deductions except for tithing. that is if it can work as a deduction.
The first Sunday of this year I paid the church my full tithing and fast offerings for the entire year. Now this inheritance stuff has messed things up for me. I paid the additional tithing. However the govt took away my SSI for 3 years. That almost caused me to loose me to loose my state medical benefits. I had to dispose all of my income to be below the 2,000 dollar level. That saved me from being let go of the state benefits. now my concern is having to file taxes and hope i can submit tithing to help. Thanks for any info any of you may provide.

I think you know that you can deduct it... but I think you are asking if you should. Yes you can deduct it - the church is ok with this - when you go to tithing settlement they give you a slip that can be used. I always deduct my tithing. When my income was smaller however, as others have said, I took the standardized deductible. You want to consult someone or at least use something like turbotax.com. You may qualify for other deductions like dependent credit or even earned income, but Im not a tax expert.

pam · #8 (**permalink**) 05-20-2009, 08:25 AM

I agree with what others have said. Talk to someone who knows taxes. Unless any of us here are ones that work with that on a daily basis...we probably don't have the answers you are looking for. You need a professional.

Saguaro · #9 (**permalink**) 05-20-2009, 03:45 PM

It's been 12 years since I took my tax classes in business school, so things may have changed since then, but If I remember correctly gifts and inheritances are not taxable to the receiver, in otherwords your inheritance will not increase your taxabale income. You may still have to file, but you won't have anymore taxable income to be offset by deductions as you did before. As others have said you will probably be bettter off taking the standard deduction, I would also suggest you consult a tax expert.