trying to figure out my tithing

[kevieb]

My husband is payed a monthly salary and he also has a retirement , of sorts, being set up for him. It is an over payed life insurance policy. Our life health insurance is also provided for us--and in the past, the company always payed the premium--now we have to pay just a little under 140.00 a paycheck towards our premium to get a better policy. We could take a lesser policy and not have to pay any of the premium.

In past years, the life insurance was always added to his salary and listed as one amount so that the taxes could be taken out---and then the money was pulled back out of the pay check----so it is money we don't have access to.

I knew that when we eventually would use the money, it would have gained interest and the amount would be different, so in the past, I used to subtract that amount from my gross and then pay tithing on the rest--my plan was that I would pay tithing on the money when we actually were able to have access to it.

after awhile, I just decided to go ahead and pay my tithing on the full amount, before it was pulled back out of our check--even though I knew this meant I would eventually be paying tithing twice on a lot of the money.

My husband lost his job---but after 2 1/2-3 years, he was rehired--and a few month later, a new over payed life insurance/retirement was started again.

The pay stubs are done differently now. His actually salary is written, then below ity the insurance amount is written and then below that it shows a subtraction sign before the medical insurance amount that we pay. Each amount is listed separately--salary, insurance, Health Insurance. His life insurance is added to his salary, then the insurance premium is subtracted from this amount and the total is listed as his gross income-------so, his gross income is quite often listed as less than his actually salary. It is done this way so that taxes get taken out of the life insurance but not out of the insurance premium--then they subtract all his taxes and social security and they also subtract the life insurance back out and then they add 50.00 to reimburse him for his company phone.

He had his own phone when he started back with this company, so the owner just payed him the amount that he payed for the other store phones, which was actually less than what my hubby's phone cost, but this way he could use it for his own personal use, also, without taking advantage of the company phone. we eventually got his phone bill down to less than the amount his boss reimburses him----it took awhile before I realized we were getting that little bit of extra money--so i went back and did my best to figure out what I owed in tithing and got it payed--then I forgot about the phone again--so I tried to go back and figure out when I had payed the extra tithing so i could make sure and make up the rest---I don't know if I got it exact--but I'm trying.

The biggest issue I just ran in to is that the pay stubs are written out differently now, and since his actual salary is written separately from the insurance amount---and the gross amount never matches up---and actually changes because sometimes there are odd little amounts listed as salary that are either subtracted or added---I don't know what they are. I just recently realized that I have been paying tithing on my husbands salary amount and I haven't been paying on the extra Life insurance/retirement that is added in for taxes and then subtracted back out. I know we will pay tithing on the money when it is actually available to us and we are able to pull it out.

How do I fix this mistake I made? My husband has been back working for this company for probably a year and a half--maybe more. I just didn't catch the difference in the way the check stubs were written, and didn't even think about his retirement benefits. Plus, the whole check stub was confusing because his gross amount was always less than his actual salary and it was sometimes a different amount. consequently, I always made sure to pay on what I knew was his salary. What am I supposed to do in a situation like this. I have always been a full tithe payer and would rather overpay than underpay---but I don't know how to make up this amount that i missed totally by accident.

Does everyone pay tithing on retirement benefits that are being put away for them by their employers--or do you pay tithing on it when you actually start pulling it out, since it will have gained interest? What do I do in this situation?

[Vort]

As a wage-earner, I tithe on my "gross" (if you want to call it that), less FICA withholdings. I do not tithe "earnings" that I don't actually get; when I receive that money for Social Security, then I will tithe it. I do tithe on taxes that I pay, since I consider that to be income. But Social Security withholdings are not income.

[MorningStar]

I've thought about changing the way I do it, but we've paid on the Social Security too and that would make it more confusing when we do receive it someday (that is, if the funds are still there).

[gopecon]

Fortunately the tithing code is not as complex as the tax code!

I don't tithe on tax or retirement withholdings from paychecks, with the understanding that i will pay when I retire, or if I get a tax refund at the end of the year.

[kevieb]

you all have made some interesting points that I have never thought of--the fact that social security and medicare are being pulled out of our paycheck---but it is not money that we are actually "gaining" at this time. I had just always heard that you were supposed to pay on your gross and not your net---but I know that the farmers usually pay their tithing in a lump sum at the end of the year because they take all their costs out of their earnings for the year and then pay tithing on that---which means they are paying tithing in a very different way than the rest of us. although, I'm not really sure how they figure it.

My husband doesn't get very many work related expenses--but if he did, we wouldn't subtract them from the amount of money we pay tithing on----but we do use it as a tax deduction.

We end up paying tithing on part of our tax return almost every year because of the child tax credit---and we have so many kids.

My sister told me that in my heart I was paying a full tithe, and she didn't think I should worry about the past and just change it from now on.

You have given me a lot to think on and study about--but from what you all have said--it doesn't sound like I missed paying any tithing that won't get paid later--unless we die extremely early---and then we wouldn't ever receive it anyway.

Thanks

[mnn727]

Please don't get hung up on the arithmetic of tithing, its 10% of your increase, decide what you believe that is, pray for confirmation from God and then pay it.
Some people pay on Gross, some people pay on Net, some people use all kinds of formula for deciding how much to pay, as long as you honestly get a confirmation from God for the method you use, you are a full tithe payer.

[pam]

I think sometimes we get so caught up in the letter of the law we tend to forget the spirit of the law.

[Maureen]

Originally Posted by kevieb

...I had just always heard that you were supposed to pay on your gross and not your net...

I believe whether you pay on gross or net is your choice.

M.

[kevieb]

I'm just one of those people that really wants to try and do the right thing--and I have a tendency to over think things to the point that i no longer even know my own thoughts. Now that i know that what you are supposed to pay on isn't as cut and dry as i thought it was--it bugs me.

[Vort]

Originally Posted by Maureen

I believe whether you pay on gross or net is your choice.

Whether you pay tithing at all is your choice.